The Russian Premier is presented with a British bulldog, who has been fitted with a transmitter (Operation Bandy Legs) by Dr. Francis Trevelyan (Laurence Harvey). The red comrade conveniently takes the dog everywhere (even the opera) and before long 200 Russian agents working in England have been captured. To plug this leak, the Ruskies put Princess (?) Natasha Romanova (Daliah Lavi) on the case. She makes mild mannered Stanley Farquhar (Lionel Jeffries) biggest dream come true: a naked lady waiting when he enters his hotel room. For reasons impossible to dispose here (it could trigger international chaos), the chip must be removed again and only Trevelyan (third best dressed man in the whole world three years running), can do it.
Although the pre-credit sequence and the order of billing would make you believe Harvey, as the ladies man veterinarian, is the lead, he only appears sporadically during the first half of the film. It is Golden Globe nominee Jeffries who carries the picture as the low key counter intelligence agent ridiculed by his wife and children. Daliah Lavi has but a few scenes scattered throughout, but does get to show off some incredible sixties outfits and underwear. Denholm Elliott is wasted as usual, and Erik Sykes plays the kind of stupid assistant who would make Peter Sellers blush.
For a spy spoof there is little action, just some people trying to lure the dog with the help of a mate. It also seems like every character has a funny but difficult to remember surname (or a silly codename). A couple of meaningless references to popular culture immediately fall flat, and the old Get Smart cone of silence (or Sound Proof Bubble as it is called here) is dragged out again for all it's worth. This does provide one amusing bit when Trevelyan loses the only thing he has going for him: the most stuck up British accent ever committed to film.
5 out of 10
