User reviews

As a longtime resident of SW Florida, I had to watch this film after finding out it was filmed entirely in the city of Cape Coral, and showed parts of Cape Coral Gardens (known to local residents as The Rose Gardens - an abandoned water park that was a popular hangout for teens back in the late 70's/early 80's). The story is pretty incoherent, and as a previous reviewer put it, was basically a sales pitch for the city of Cape Coral. It looks like the majority of it was shot at the Cape Coral Yacht Club (the beach scenes anyway), with the remainder being Cape Coral Gardens (obvious sale pitch for the park at about 1 hour in), and the corner of Del Prado Boulevard and Cape Coral Parkway. Pretty low budget... The performances, as well as the music... just plain bizarre (though it was the '60's).

I rated this a "4" simply for the archival footage of the city I've known for 30 years. Of particular interest to local residents is a shot of the Iwo Jima statue - located originally at the entrance to Cape Coral Gardens, left abandoned when the park closed and long neglected for years... is the very same statue that now resides by Eco Park along Veteran's Memorial Parkway westbound from the Midpoint Bridge (one of the entrances to Cape Coral from the city of Fort Myers). And unbelievably...this film is available on DVD!

"Off the Florida coast, teenagers (sic) come to a nearly deserted island, rumored to have 'The Fountain of Youth.' This island's owner is none too happy about that, and dispatches his daughter, Junior, to get rid of them. The island's only resident, Irving (Jack E. Leonard), is Junior's sweetie. He is sent to spy on the kids to find out what they know. Irving's twin brother and his girlfriend Camille (Phyllis Diller), are also headed for the island, with their own nefarious plans," according to the DVD sleeve description.

Baby-fattened Jayne Mansfield (as Junior) is introduced hiding her belly behind a bust of George Washington. But, the titular "Fat Spy" refers to "Bronx High School of Science" and "Fink University" stand-up comic Jack E. Leonard (as twins Irving and Herman). With a bald head, Mr. Leonard smooches Ms. Diller, while a toupee allows gets him some necking time with Ms. Mansfield. Her father is rotund Brian Donlevy (as George Wellington), who mutters something about "LSD 26"and speaks on a phallic telephone.

Hopefully, Mr. Donlevy had more blackouts than flashbacks regarding this appearance. Leonard and Diller were likely able to laugh it off. Also appearing, in a candy-striped swimsuit, pop star Johnny Tillotson (as Dodo Bronk) re-plays the "Mermaid" subplot from "Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965). None of the aforementioned cast members are seen at their best, but four stars must be awarded Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones (Chuck Alden, Tom Trick, Ed Wright and Tom Graves) for the bathing suits and tight tunes.

"People Sure Act Funny" (an apt opener), "Nanette" and "Wild Way of Living" (the version nearer the end of the film) are highlights.

**** The Fat Spy (5/11/66) Joseph Cates ~ Jack E. Leonard, Phyllis Diller, Jordan Christopher, Jayne Mansfield

What was everyone thinking when they signed on for this one?

The Fat Spy has just about everything wrong with it, actors not motivated to act, jokes that just fall flat, a plot that makes no sense, and Jack E. Leonard.

I remember Jack E. Leonard from many viewings of the Ed Sullivan show in the Fifties and Sixties. He was the Don Rickles of his day. A roly-poly comedian who made his bones in burlesque, Leonard specialized in insult comedy.

For some reason someone thought he'd be good to star in a feature film. So The Fat Spy was created and we got two Jack E. Leonards. They're playing brothers, one of whom is involved with Jayne Mansfield and the other with Phyllis Diller. Talk about differing tastes, that is the funniest thing about The Fat Spy.

No one ever asked Leonard to star in another film. Jayne Mansfield would make two more and then be tragically taken from us. Phyllis Diller was better served by her appearances with Bob Hope. Brian Donlevy is Jayne's father in this film and he calls her Junior. Donlevy has a look of pain throughout the film, wondering if his paycheck was going to clear the bank.

Anyway a group of treasure hunting teenagers on Brian Donlevy's private island look like they might discover the fabled Fountain of Youth rumored to be there. As Shaw says, "youth is wasted on the young" so the older generation wants to chase the kids off and get the secret of eternal youth for themselves.

Johnny Tillotson who is a fine singer and songwriter made his one and only appearance in film as a character. Acting was not among his talents, but he got to run off with a mermaid.

Pass this one by unless you want to hear Johnny Tillotson sing.

Really one of the worst movies I've ever seen. But funny in the same way "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is. The "musical" scenes are stunningly bad and the songs themselves are worse still. The acting is consistently horrific throughout. The plot and storyline impossible to fathom let alone follow. The 'actors' themselves seem to have no idea what the plot is. High point would be the 'musical' number near the end with Phyllis Diller and Jack E Leonard dancing around in some garden. But even though it's terrible from start to finish, it's watchable on some strange campy level. It's just so incredibly bad ... I kept wondering if it might eventually make some sort of sense before it was all over. But it didn't.

It would be impossible to write a spoiler of 'The Fat Spy' because even after watching it twice, I have no idea what it was about.

I found this on DVD at Wal-Mart for $2.00 CDN.

Not much. BUT, for a low (low, low, low) budget "beach party" film (set in Florida, for a change) there are *just* enough special moments to satisfy the truly curious. Those moments are all found in the musical numbers: Frank E Leonard croons to his long-lost love, cosmetics mogul Phyllis Diller, an amusing "love" song regarding Diller's supposed ugliness in "You Haven't Changed a Bit"....with lines like "the paper said that Peeping Tom was pulling down your shade.." Ironic, as Phyllis Diller looks quite good here. Jayne Mansfield portrays a chubby daddy's girl/bush pilot who is sent by her father (Brian Donlevy) to see what 'those kids' are up to, and in doing so meets up with her beloved (Frank E Leonard, in a second role). Jayne gets to sing one song, the charming "I'd Like To Be a Rose in Your Garden (But I'm Just a Thorn in Your Side)." In real life, Jayne is obviously pregnant (with her youngest child); in some scenes there was no attempt to conceal her growing belly. Maybe the intention was for her character to be plump? Other numbers include cast member Lauree Berger (a very appealing short-haired brunette who could easily have given Annette Funicello a run for her money) singing the weirdly upbeat but submissive ditty "You Put Me Down the Nicest Way You Can." Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones appear as "the boys" and perform "The Turtle", a slow-moving dance -which is like nothing you'll ever see in the big-budget "beach" movies. However, none of these musical moments belong in the same film with the Jordan Christopher-Lauree Berger duet "Nanette", a dreamily beautiful melody that could have been a hit if it wasn't lost in this film. "The Fat Spy" succeeds in a few fragments -if not as a whole- and for that its worth a look.

I am watching it as write and am amazed at how they actually got people to perform for this. I really don't think it is as bad as some of the other viewers have commented. True enough that it is basically a rip-off but if you paid under 10$ for this movie like I did then you should think of it as a bargain. kept waiting to see if Phyllis Diller was gonna do anything exciting with her riding crop. I have seen all of the Beach Blanket movies and find that this is actually a good comparison. Makes Frankie and Annette look really good. I will have to watch it again to see if I have missed anything. Sure I will find something interesting the next viewing. Take care and have fun watching.....

I would like to know the story behind "Fat Spy". After all, when you watch it, you keep saying to yourself that this must be a joke! That's because it's a horrible and incomprehensible mess--even worse, in many places, than films like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" or "Robot Monster"! That's because the movie is so disjoint--as if someone just tossed many disparate pieces of junk and strung them all together. In fact, just describing the plot is practically impossible, as the film is THAT much of a mess.

The film consists of three usually separate films. One is a teen film--sort of like a SUPER-cheap surfer film. None of the folks performing in it appeared to be real actors--just a bunch of young adults cavorting on some island off the coast of Florida. They say that they are looking for some hidden treasure but this rarely seems to be the case. Another consists of music videos by some group I'd never heard of...and I assume the same would be true for you and I can DEFINITELY understand why they never became more famous! The final is made up of professional(??) but mostly D-list stars performing some skits--most of which aren't funny in the least (but I did like the Jackie Leonard song that he sings to Phyllis Diller). The scenes really look like outtakes--bad ones at that. You KNOW a film is doomed when it is anchored by Diller, Leonard and Jayne Mansfield. Oddly, however, Brian Donlevy (a legitimate actor!!) appears in a few of these scenes. All three are woven, ineptly, together with some plot involving the fountain of youth...kind of. And, to make matters worse, the film has no ending....just some sort of hurried comments on the screen trying (in vain) to wrap everything together!

Is the film worth seeing? Well, since it's in the public domain, it costs nothing--so at least that's a plus. Otherwise, unless you are a bad film addict, stay away...RUN from this film. But, for folks who like to see people embarrass themselves, it is an interesting curio.

This quasi-comedy/parody of Teen Beach party films actually does have its fun moments. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Jayne Mansfield's Junior and Jack E. Leonard's Irving myself. Nevertheless this is widely uneven and never quite fully succeeds in terms of the parody it's attempting to pull off. Plus it's not really all that funny either. Still if you're looking for something representative of the 1960s Beach Party phase but even more offbeat and strange than that, look no further (and the music really isn't so bad in terms of what came from the period).

Apparently, the beach movie "Beach Blanket Bingo" was very successful with the wasted minds of 60s teenagers, for green-eyed exploiters were quick to copy it just for a part of the cash. This movie stars Jayne Mansfield, who is the daughter of a megabuck businessman who goes on a quest for the Black Rose (aka "The Fountain of Youth"). Very unfunny indeed, but it is a lot more enjoyable than "Beach Blanket Bingo", because it had only 1/18 of the energy in it. Be careful of the music!

A film best watched on DVD so you can fast-forward through the songs (except possibly Jayne Mansfield's). Despite the cast it's far too dull to be really awful, and sounds much more interesting than it actually is. But you can't completely hate a film in which people look straight into the camera and say things like "Boy, is this a movie!" and features a dance called 'The Turtle'.

This movie is a must-see for any B movie connoisseur. The combination of sub-par dance choreography, word bubbles, and breaking into song presents a wide range of filmography faux pas that is sure to get at least a couple laughs out of anyone who watches. The movie itself seems to have three or four separate story lines, the only connection being everyone's search for the Fountain of Youth on the island; and at one point, the movie jumps back and forth between them so quickly that it's almost difficult to keep up; in fact a plot is practically nonexistent. It's basically one of those movies that you can't pick just one moment to describe because every scene leaves the viewer thinking "Did that REALLY just happen?" If you have 75 minutes of time AND an iron constitution, you're qualified to handle this particular train wreck.

Let's not beat around the bush. This movie is terrible. Jack E. Leonard is just not funny. He's fat in a rather unpleasant-looking way, he tries too hard, and he's given nothing funny to do in playing TWO PARTS.

HOWEVER, for fans of the genuinely wrong-headed and insane, this movie has some appealing facets. The music is pretty doggone cool. The film begins very suddenly with two guys singing an acoustic rock number on a dock. Recorded live, they're just singing "People Sure Act Funny When They Get A Little Money", and it goes on for about 5 minutes and you don't know if it is part of the movie or what. It suddenly ends and shifts to a cool, cartoon mid-60s style of credits with a bouncy title tune.

Later the band, The Wild Ones, treat us to their song "The Turtle". It's the "slowest dance you'll ever do," replete with leering camera shots of the chicks in their skimpy suits writhing along. The song really rocks in an intense way. The lead girl character gets a song of her own, which would serve as a brilliant parody of Lesley Gore, if the filmmakers were smart enough. It is unbelievably catchy, but the basic theme is "I'm so glad I never get my way and you are a man, because you put me down the nicest way you can." On second thought, that's the actual chorus!

So these and a few other musical moments bring the movie to a level of disbelieving watchability. Fast forward through all the "comedy".

This film is a bunch of disjointed skits. They try too hard to be campy; however, with not enough lead and no finish, each disjointed sketch just leaves you wanting them to finish. There are a few made-up ersatz songs and Jayne Mansfield's accouterments; aside from those everything else is flat.

There are a few personalities, but they never shine: Phyllis Diller (fully clothed) Brian Donlevy (storms the beach) Jayne Mansfield (always points north) The Wild Ones (People Sure Act Strange)

The introductory song was the best part of the film.

A final thought "Love is a rose, but you better not pick it"

Truly abysmal beach 'comedy' featuring the fading glamour that was Jayne Mansfield.

I think I would be hard pushed to find a worse movie than this! The acting, direction, stock quality, music, sound recording and plot are all dreadful. The plot, or what little of it there is, has something to do with the fountain of youth on a small tropical island but will leave you bamboozled to say the least.

The only attraction here is Jayne Mansfield and it will only be fans of the actress that will want to get hold of this film. However, by now Jayne was on a downward spiral that would eventually lead to her tragic death. Never averse to making a quick B picture to bring in some cash and push her celebrity, things were by now in dire straits and this is well and truly a Z grade film made for next to nothing. Mansfield takes 50 steps backward here in her personal quest to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress. Her dumb blonde performance in this picture is an embarrassment to behold and her sex pot image is seriously on the wane as her famous curves have been filled by extra flesh.

A disaster in every sense of the word and a real shame to see someone with Jayne's obvious potential wasted in a load of old rubbish. It's hard to imagine that someone who appeared in the classic 'The Girl Can't Help It' and got the full Fox treatment is now doing Monroe rip-offs in nonsense such as this.

Steer clear...!

Oh, dear God, no! Well look, okay, we all know that some truly awful music films were made in the 60s (look at most of the dross with Elvis in), and I have to say that this really is awful.

Such lines as "gee, can I sing my song now" punctuate the film throughout, as do pointless dance scenes... oh, not proper choreography such as with Oliver! or Guys and Dolls, but just dreadful F-rated actors and actresses swinging on the beach.

Oh and then we have the Fat Spy himself, who must be in his late 50s. He joins in the swinging (sadly, dancing, nothing blue) and when the cats and dudes (or whatever they called girls and boys) talk about him, one of the girls said that he was at school in New York. For freud's sake - he looks about 50! Oh dear God! Well look, yes Elvis filmed some dross, but at least his films were partially saved by the songs and by his charisma. The songs in this piece of.... of... I can't think of a non-rude word... are just awful. Poorly recorded, terrible lip synch... to be honest the whole film could have been done better by a film student who has only attended Cinematography 101.

There we go... now for goodness sake, get off this board and go watch a decent old movie like Oh, Mr Porter or if you fancy some flimsy popcorn pap, maybe something like Bullet Proof Monk (yes its mediocre, but the two leads have more charm in their little toes than this whole movie!)

My dad was forever telling my brother and I that this was the worst movie ever made. We never really believed him until a few years ago when my brother happened across this in a DVD bin somewhere. So, we sat as a family to watch this movie. The first 15 minutes feel like an eternity.

This movie is so bad that our DVD player died after, maybe 30 minutes, just so that it didn't have to continue to play this drivel. We tell people all the time how bad this movie is, and when they don't believe us we lend them the DVD. So far, only our DVD player has committed suicide,but I'm hard-pressed to find someone (other than my father) who has actually managed to sit through the whole movie.

That's what I kept repeating: "It's only a movie." How else do you think I got through this movie with my sanity intact? It's bad on so many levels I wouldn't know where to begin. The real humor is imagining how anybody involved with making "The Fat Spy" thought it would be watchable. In fact, if there had been a documentary filmmaker hanging around the producers from the very beginning, I'll bet THAT would have been a world-class comedy. I see a bunch of fat old guys with cigars, sitting around talking about how "the kids'll love it, it's the bee's knees." In the end, nobody wanted to claim this movie. That's why it's available on cheap DVDs. Nobody renewed the copyright. I'll bet the names of the director and writer are pseudonyms. Even the best thing in the movie, beach babe Lauree Berger ("Nannette"), who's now a psychologist and the wife of a famous film and TV producer, has renounced this turkey by simply ignoring its existence.

I first saw this movie on television in the 1980s, and I immediately loved it and enthusiastically set out to get a copy of it. Yes, objectively it's a terrible movie with ridiculous humor, but those facts are obvious enough that they doesn't need to be belabored. Now let's look at what the film has going for it:

1. set in Florida

2. '60s culture

3. '60s music

I truly love some of the songs in this film, especially "Come On Down" (?), "Wild Way of Living," and "The Turtle" (?), especially when set to scenes of teenagers dancing in swimsuits, rushing around in cars, and cruising on boats, all with a '60s Florida backdrop and a party feeling.

4. '60s architecture

5. Jayne Mansfield

6. ladies in swimsuits

7. captures a party feeling

8. humor

Although much of the humor is marginal, some of it is good, and some of it is quite original. For example, I thought the part where Junior (Jayne Mansfield) is tied up to an air conditioner that is supposed to destroy the building when it's left on too long was delightfully offbeat. And while tied up Jayne can't help but get carried away making kissing motions at the camera, which "forces" them to do multiple takes, whereupon she keeps doing exactly the same thing, and they leave all those takes in the movie.

9. offbeat touches

The air conditioning threat, the acoustic guitar duo that starts the film without warning, the film cards left in the final footage, Irving's "B-I-K-E" emphasis are all totally unexpected, original, and wacky, which adds to the humor.

10. film obscurity

11. scientific touches

12. escapism

This film came so close to being great. If only they had put some fast footage-with-music scenes, like at the motorboat scene in the part where "Wild Way of Living" is playing, in the style of the aerial scene in "Where the Boys Are" (1984) where the fast song "Hot Nights" is playing, or in the style of some of the better episodes of The Monkees or Laugh-In, this would have become a very appealing film that would have perfectly captured the beach party feeling. And some better Florida scenery thrown in, even if unrelated--better beaches, more theme parks, interesting buildings, parrots, iguanas, coral reefs, and so on--would have added attractiveness, interest, and ambiance. And a sexier scene of Jayne, a more straightforward plot, a clear-cut ending, and fewer old-fashioned songs all would have helped to streamline the film, and all that would have been so easy to do.

They had the right models, the right music, and the right locale, but they simply didn't put them together correctly. The essence of a great beach party film is here, but as it is you have to sort of read between the lines to enjoy it.

It's probably one of the worst films that I have seen in a while. I found this DVD at a thrift store. While I enjoyed Phyllis Diller and Jayne Mansfield, the film is so bad about the search for the fountain of the youth on a Florida island with a bunch of teenagers too. The story is silly and the quality is obviously poor. I wouldn't take it seriously overall. There was some original music in the film. Unlike the films of the sixties about beanies, this one is perhaps forgettable.