El F.B.I. en Europa

Eddie Constantine who might have had a career in the USA playing the same kind of tough guy parts plays an American secret agent (CIA?) in this humorous spy thriller put out by the French. Constantine's assignment is to get a scientist back and pay a ransom in jewels for this guy who has invented a paralysis device embedded in a ring. Dean Martin used something similar in one of the Matt Helm films only it was in a coin and getting stuck with it was instantly fatal.

I was struck by the fact that Constantine's voice and this was the first time I'd ever seen any of his work was remarkably similar to Ben Gazzara. Constantine decided to work in Europe, France in particular where he perfected a Mickey Spillane type private eye Lemmy Caution. He was wildly popular on the continent and his character of Lemmy seems to have been worked into Fire At Will. At least he came off like Mickey Spillane as opposed to James Bond.

Fire At Will was a production of cheap values so it can't rate high. It looked like something Monogram might have done in America. But it did have its humorous aspects and it's a good introduction to Eddie Constantine.