Kommissar X - Jagd auf Unbekannt

This is the first Jo Walker (also called 'Kommissar X') film from Germany--a land that seemed to adore adventure series books and films in the 1960s. First they started with the Jerry Cotton films- -about an FBI agent from had fists like steel and always seemed to triumph against the forces of evil in America. Then, short after, they made seven of the Jo Walker flicks.

In this first picture, Jo and his friend, the Captain, investigate some murders that point to a weirdo named Oberon. Oberon is basically a knockoff of Goldfinger, as his ultimate plan is to irradiate gold...and he has a formula to remove the radiation as well...making him a very rich man. He has an army of women who sport purple or yellow hair and Jo seems more than over-matched by these Amazons. But of course, he has his secret weapon...his astounding sex appeal!!

In some ways this film is like "Goldfinger" and an Austin Powers or Matt Helm film merged together. It obviously doesn't take itself all too seriously...and in that sense it's much different than the Jerry Cotton movies. It also features a larger budget and settings...making it look more like a Bond film. As for me, I actually prefer the Cotton films as they valued realism...and this Jo Walker certainly did not! Very much like a second-rate Bond parody...but a decent Bond parody.

This movie essentially begins with a private detective by the name of "Joe Walker" (Tony Kendall) who is on vacation but finds himself being recruited by a woman named "Nancy Wright" (Liliane Dulovic) to locate a certain nuclear physicist who has gone missing. Also interested in his investigation is a woman named "Joan Smith" (Maria Perschy) who works for a man named "Mr. Oberon" (Nikola Popovic) and appears to have an alternate agenda as well. Assisting Joe with his investigation is a police officer by the name of "Captain Tom Roland" (Brad Harris) who seems to have an uncanny knack for interfering more than he helps. In any case, this was an interesting "Eurospy" film which is definitely enhanced by the serious plot and several attractive female actresses which include Christa Linder (as "Pamela Watson") along with the aforementioned Maria Perschy and Liliane Dulovic. In any case, while not on the same level as most of the "James Bond" films, this was still an entertaining spy movie in its own right and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

MASTER PLAN: corner the gold market. Probably the most successful of the cheap European James Bond copies, with quite a few sequels. The hero (played by Kendall), detective Walker, resembles Sean Connery, especially when in a suit and hat, recalling the "Dr.No" days, and is more-or-less partnered with a police captain (muscular Brad Harris). The two buddies have a very healthy competition and the captain is more inclined to arrest Walker than fight alongside him at times. The plot involves the mystery of a couple of crime lords getting blown up; there are four top gangsters in all and it becomes obvious that one of them has decided to dissolve their partnership. The tone of the movie is quite cheerful throughout, almost carefree, with Walker very sure of himself and his way with the ladies, though he doesn't have all that much success, either in love or the chasing/gun battles. The film even spells out what franchise it's copying, with references to author Ian Fleming in the dialog. The first half of the film drags a little.

The copycat approach becomes very blatant in the 2nd half, when it switches to the master villain's secret base and becomes, essentially, a remake of Dr.No's 2nd half and "Goldfinger." As with many such action spy thrillers, the 1st half is a standard detective story and the 2nd becomes a sci-fi adventure. As in "Goldfinger," there's a private army of female soldiers, as well as the villain's preoccupation with, you guessed it - gold. One scene is a direct rip-off of James Bond's confrontation/seduction scene with Pussy Galore, followed by a sudden rebellion by all the females - I guess Walker does have a certain charm, after all. The production values aren't too bad in this climactic section and there's actually a minor sense of grandeur by this point, recalling Dr.No's finale, though the villain's demise is a bit lame. The next Kommissar adventure was "So Darling,So Deadly." Heroes:6 Villain:5 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:5 Fights:5 Stunts/Chases:5 Gadgets:3 Auto:3 Locations:6 Pace:6 overall:5

My first Kommissar X experience was the fourth film in the series, Kill Me Gently, which was something of a mess. Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill, the first in the series, is much more fun, a cheesy Bond-style espionage caper with not one, but two heroes trying to thwart a power-hungry villain out to own the world's largest gold reserve.

Private detective Jo Walker (Tony Kendall) and police captain Tom Rowland (Brad Harris) investigate the disappearance of a nuclear physicist and the murder of several shady businessmen. The trail eventually leads to O'Brien (Nikola Popovic), who has been killing off his business partners in order to gain complete control of the gold that they have amassed on their island fortress.

With suave protagonists, sexy women (including an army of curvaceous mind-controlled blondes), and a ruthless megalomaniac, plus lots of fisticuffs, shootouts, and an explosive finale in the baddie's lair, this is entertaining nonsense for fans of '60s spy flicks - the type of films so mercilessly spoofed by Austin Powers.

The first in a series of German imitation-Bond films made in the mid-60's, "Kiss Kiss Kill Kill" (now there's a catchy and descriptive title for you!) is rather confusing and meandering in its first half, and at least on the first viewing some plot details are not clear at all. It improves in the second half, when most of the action gets confined inside the villain's underground headquarters located on a remote island, and on the whole it ranks as one of the most enjoyable Bond knockoffs of its time. The basic model here is clearly "Goldfinger", from the playfight between the hero (Tony Kendall, looking a bit like Connery) and a Pussy Galore-type tough "bad" girl who knows judo and leads a female army (though here they are brainwashed via injections), but can't resist him and turns "good", to the more serious fight between the hero and the No. 1 henchman while the clock to an explosion is ticking. "Kiss Kiss Kill Kill" obviously does not have the budget of the James Bond films, but it does have its own charm, and there is a spectacular shot near the end when the camera stays focused on an explosion until the "cloud" completely dissolves. Maria Perschy is beautiful. The English dubbing is excellent. (**1/2)