ridiculous rating

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I think with a bit better script, this could have been a pretty good spy film. As it is, I can see why Vince Edwards never went on to be the next Bond!Edwards plays Charles Hood--an international man of adventure who is called upon to, what else, save the world from a baddie. The big difference is that Mr. Hammerhead is also a pervert with a taste for good old fashioned. The problem is exactly WHAT Hammerhead's plan is going to be is anyone's guess and through the course of the film, Hood puts the pieces together but almost gets killed in the process. Along the way, he's teamed up with one of the most annoying women in spy film history, a kooky idiot named Sue (Judy Geeson).So why wasn't I thrilled with this film? The biggest reason was Geeson's character who was just annoying and made little sense. Additionally, nothing about the movie otherwise is outstanding--not Edwards, the script or the direction. The only standout, really, is the nice Portuguese location for the shoot.

The other reviews are pretty spot-on in assessing this as utter drek, but oddly nobody has mentioned the ludicrous scene in which Judy Geeson - worst actress of 1968 without a doubt - suddenly bursts into song. After a good hour (which seems like a lifetime) of Geeson's high pitched, twelve year old schoolgirl voice, she appears in a nightclub 'singing', only her voice has been dubbed by a Madeline Bell soundalike (for those who aren't familiar with Miss Bell, she is a husky voiced jazz singer of the Shirley Bassey type). A more unsuitable voice double for Judy Geeson would be hard to imagine! The only plus in the entire film is the great Diana Dors, injecting interest and style into a project sadly lacking in both departments.

'Hammerhead' was a late addition to the seemingly endless cycle of James Bond imitations that swamped cinemas in the mid-'60's. Based on a novel by James Mayo, it stars Vince Edwards as American agent 'Charles Hood', who is assigned by Colonel Condor ( Patrick Cargill ) of British Intelligence to investigate the activities of evil millionaire Mr.Hammerhead ( Peter Vaughan ). Hood travels to Lisbon with a crate of pornography ( Hammerhead is fascinated by the stuff ) which he hopes to sell to the arch-villain. Getting in his way at all times is lovely model Sue Trenton ( Judy Geeson ). Hammerhead has a palatial villa and a yacht called 'Triton'. One of his staff, Andreas ( Michael Bates ) is training to impersonate Sir Richard Calvert ( also played by Bates ) with a view to infiltrating a meeting of NATO chiefs of staff and photographing a top secret report into Western defense.What distinguishes it from the Bond series - and indeed so many other similar films - are the squirts of hippie atmosphere that book-end the movie. 'Hood' is a colourless character, but Edwards makes a decent fist of it. Peter Vaughan enjoys himself hugely as the titular villain ( 'Espiritu Lobar' in the book ), a sort of cross between 'Auric Goldfinger' and Howard Hughes. Michael Bates is especially good, and Diana Dors and Beverly Adams add to the glamour. Strangely, despite all the beautiful girls around, Hood does not get to bed any of them ( though its hinted he and Sue will be heading for bed as the end credits roll ). William Mervyn, known mainly for comedy roles ( such as in 'All Gas & Gaiters' ), plays one of Hammerhead's men, and Dave 'Darth Vader' Prowse is a super-strong henchman. Irving Allen, the producer, was also responsible for the 'Matt Helm' series starring Dean Martin. While I liked this movie better than the last three Helm pictures, it did not quite come up to the standard of the first - 'The Silencers'.In the action stakes the movie is okay but not particularly outstanding. The Triton yacht is so impressive I was looking forward to seeing it blown up at the end, but it does not happen. Neither does Hood get to fight the Prowse character. The villains have a few gadgets, such a lipstick radio and a tape recorder in a matchbox, but Hood has none! Some good fights though, and a couple of exciting chases through the back alleys of Lisbon. There is one hilarious moment when Hood and Sue, trapped in a coffin, try to summon help from a passing motorcyclist ( Kenneth Cope ). As soon as he sees them, he keels over from shock!Hood made no further appearances on the big screen, which is kind of a pity as the next two books in the series - 'Let Sleeping Girls Lie' and 'Shamelady' - would have in my view made good movies.

Like the first commenter, I discovered "Hammerhead" via the score LP in the 1970s. CBS-TV in the US used to show a heavily-edited version regularly; later, an uncut print was seen locally. (It was also spotted on cable during the 1980s.) It's a neat movie, with some good chase scenes (one involving a large hearse). The "Chelsea Happening" music accompanies an interesting performance-art show that was typical of the era. Judy Geeson's character manages to be both kooky and sexy as she and Vince Edwards scoot all over Europe in search of Hammerhead.Note: the music on the LP is a different recording from that in the movie; the arrangements are, however, pretty much identical. The score rather predictably conforms to visual action: for example, those five rhythmic "hits" near the end of "Villa Fight" are cut to Charles Hood slamming a car door on someone's hand! This actually bolsters the charm of this picture.Any chance to see "Hammerhead" should be seized upon!!