Bang! Bang! You're Dead!

Tony Randall has been a favorite of mine since his recurring appearances on David Letterman's late-night talk shows. The guy was such a good sport about putting over any gag the writers came up with, deploying equal parts debonnair charm and lack of self-seriousness. He shows the same sensibility here - his character knows he's in a spot of bother, works hard to work his way out of it in the same charming way Cary Grant does in North by Northwest, mixes in a fair amount of sly humour, yet somehow manages to avoid any campiness or ham. Director Don Sharpe helmed The Avengers TV show with a similar touch. The whole ''money for votes at the UN" plot is basicaly a McGuffin. It just helps move things along, layers of the onion peeling away in a pleasant fashion. The location shooting was a pleasant surprise, too, given the reportedly small budget. This was a fun way to spend time in front of the tube re-visiting the work of an old ''friend."

This was much to my surprise quite entertaining.Maybe its the cast.As usual a real mix of nationalities,to satisfy the distributors in each country.Much of the film shot on location including echoing hotel bedrooms.

Our Man in Marrakesh is a comedy spy adventure. It is less a spoof of Bond and more of a homage to Hitchcock.

It is the wrong man adventure. American Andrew Jessel (Tony Randall) arrives in Marrakech for business purposes and finds a dead body in his wardrobe. Luckily mysterious femme fatale spy Kyra Stanovy (Senta Berger) is on hand to help him hide the body. She also helps Andrew get away from henchman Jonquil (Klaus Kinski) sent by well connected criminal kingpin Casimir (Herbert Lom.)

Casimir thinks Andrew could be one of the travellers who has arrived to Marrakech on the bus carrying a suitcase full of money to fix a UN vote.

Despite the location shooting in Morocco. This is a low budget film with a mundane script and a lack of thrills.

It does have plenty of back projection. Kinski and Casimir are effective villains. There are a couple of beautiful ladies, several familiar British character actors. Randall gamely does his best but he is no Cary Grant.

In the 1940s, Bob Hope did some films where he was the innocent guy caught up in a spy mystery, along with a beautiful woman. Those films combined a spy theme with humor. This film offers a similar role for Tony Randall, who is perfect in the part. His great comic timing and abundant energy are a huge plus here. And the script is very good--lots of sharp lines and good byplay between Tony and Senta Berger. For people who gave this movie a low rating, I totally disagree.

In this kind of film, the trick is to combine some good action and suspense with humor. This feat is very, very hard to pull off well, but this film does it--hence I rate it a "10." The outstanding cast gives A-1 support. Also, the many interesting Morocco locations add interest. If you want to see a very well-done 1960s lighthearted spy film with good romance, humor and action, you can't go wrong with this film. I recommend it highly. And--Senta Berger never looked better, or Margaret Lee, too!

BANG BANG YOU'RE DEAD aka Our Man In Marrakesh seems a low budget homage to the talents of director Alfred Hitchcock and actor Cary Grant. Imagine, if you will, a blending of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH and NORTH BY NORTHWEST, and you might have BANG BANG.

Tony Randall is very appealing as the much harried, put upon innocent who is caught up in a series of misadventures (his character Jessel actually says something like "We're suspected of being murderers, and we're being chased by murderers"). Randall is certainly not someone you would cast as the romantic lead, but you can readily accept that he and Senta Berger will become lovers.

Ms Berger's characters is very fond and adept at telling lies, and shaping the truth as she sees fit. She does it well, and is charming, and everyone likes her, not least the wily Arab truck driver Achmed (Gregoire Aslan), who twice saves the couple.

I had mistaken Margaret Lee for another Italian starlet but apparently she was born in Wolverhampton, England in 1943. She plays the sex kitten very well, and again, has some good lines.

The script is actually very good, the dialogue especially, with more memorable lines than I expected. The line-up of character actors is also fine, though Klaus Kinski's thug is nowhere as effective as the one he displayed in GRAND SLAM.

Locations are well chosen, the action good for its day, and the music by Malcolm Lockyer (someone who doesn't seem to have worked much in film) catches the flavour of Marrakesh, Morocco.

All in all, highly recommended (If you can find it!)