HOT ENOUGH FOR JUNE aka AGENT OO8 3/4(1964) Directed by Ralph Thomas,Starring Dirk Bogarde,Sylva Koscina, Robert Morley, Leo McKern, Roger Delgado, Richard Pasco,John Standing, John LeMesurier,Unrated,90 minutes Release by Network Home Video
When the third Bond film GOLDFINGER(1964) was released in theaters,it started an virtual avalanche of spy and espionage oriented films that persisted until the end of the 1960's. One of the first of these films to come out after GOLDFINGER was the thriller comedy HOT ENOUGH FOR JUNE(1964) released here in America under the title of AGENT OO8 3/4,produced by Betty E.Box and directed by Ralph Thomas who both were responsable for the very popular DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE movie series of the 1950's & 60's starring Dirk Bogarde and later for the "Bulldog" Drummond spy films DEADLIER THAN THE MALE (1967) & SOME GIRLS DO(1969). HOT ENOUGH FOR JUNE uses the format of the reluctant spy format popular in the spy movie genre in which unemployed British writer Nicholas Whistler played by Dirk Bogarde is enlisted by British Intelligence head spy played by Robert Morley to go to Communist Yugoslavia to supposedly look at factories there but in reality unbeknownst to Whistler himself,his real mission is to retrieve a secret formula obtained by British spies there. Whistler falls in love with his female Communist tourist guide Vlasta Simoneva played by the always sexy and attractive Sylva Koscina(DEADLIER THAN THE MALE & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL) who is also the daughter of the head Communist spy master played by the excellent British character actor Leo McKern(RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY). When Whistler tries to evade capture by the Communist police after obtaining the formula, his lover Vlasta Simoneva does everything possible to help him escape and get to the British Embassy in time to obtain sanctuary from his Communist pursuers.
The film is full of wit and tongue in cheek together with suspensefully realistic sequences compared with the early Bond films of the sixties thanks to the film's script by Lukas Heller who also wrote the scripts for THE DIRTY DOZEN(1967) & THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX(1965) and the apt direction by Thomas which even pokes fun at Bond himself since the dead spy that Whistler replaces in this film is none other than 007 himself! Both Bogarde and Koscina makes a very appealing and sexy screen couple and both Morley and McKern are very effectively amusing as the rival spy masters.Ironically the critical and popular success of this film had producer Betty Box and director Ralph Thomas offer the role of Bulldog Drummond in DEADLIER THAN THE MALE to Bogarde but he refused to play the villain Gabriel in the spy spoof MODESTY BLAISE(1966) directed by Bogarde's favorite film director Joseph Losey. HOT ENOUGH FOR JUNE,which by the way refers to Whistler's contact code word,is unfortunately still available here on home video. But it has recently been just released in a Special Edition Region 2 DVD release on both DVD and BluRay by Network Home Video in an anamorphic widescreen format with special features such as trailers, photo galleries , behind the scenes featurettes and is very recommended for spy film fans.
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