Hammerhead

1968 "Nothing ever hit you like hammerhead"
5.1| 1h40m| en| More Info
Released: 11 September 1968 Released
Producted By: Irving Allen Productions
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

An American agent has tracked down the stronghold of an evil criminal mastermind, determined to take over the world (what, another one ?).

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Irving Allen Productions

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Reviews

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!
Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.
Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
bensonmum2 The governmental powers that be are concerned that a man known as Hammerhead (Peter Vaughn) will try to steal NATO secrets at an upcoming meeting. They also know that Hammerhead is an avid collector of pornography. To learn more about his plans and to get close to him, Agent Charles Hood (Vince Edwards) poses as a dealer with a large collection for sale. Complicating matters for Hood, he's picked up something of a hanger-on in the form of swinging Sue Trenton (Judy Geeson).Hammerhead is another of those movie that I really wanted to love. It's not that the whole movie is a complete waste, but it only comes close to fulfilling its promise in the final 30 minutes. The ending is really enjoyable, fast-paced, and exciting. The chase scenes through the crowded Lisbon (I'm assuming it was Lisbon) streets is nicely filmed. Had the whole thing been that entertaining, Hammerhead might have launched another spy series. Unfortunately, Hammerhead is a 90+ minute movie. You have to sit through 60 lifeless, boring minutes to get to the good stuff. There are a couple of problems I'll cite. First, the plot is unnecessarily muddy at the beginning of the film. I'm guessing the filmmakers wanted to save a surprise or two, but how about giving the viewer a clue as to what's going on? Second, Vince Edwards might have been a decent enough actor, but he's not my image of a secret agent. His Hood is just too dull to pull off the lead.Despite the flaws, overall, I enjoyed Hammerhead. Other than the exciting third act I've already written about, there are a couple of performances worth mentioning. Vaughn makes a wonderful villain. Like all good baddies, he's ruthless when he has a henchman or two around, but turns coward when he's alone. I also got a kick out of the white glove idiosyncrasy. Nice touch. Unlike some other comments I've read on Hammerhead, I really enjoyed Judy Geeson's performance. Yeah, she's annoying at times, but she's meant to be. Her character gives the film a nice 60s vibe that always appeals to me.
MartinHafer 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.
ShadeGrenade '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.
ekilbane007 "Hammerhead" fit very nicely into the 60's/70's explosion of spy flicks which were rushed into theaters following the success of James Bond. It was less humorous and over-the-top than either the Matt Helm or Derek Flint series, but less dark than the Harry Palmer films. It was a solid blend of humor and action and stands as one of the best productions of the era. Vince Edwards did quite a very respectable job as Charles Hood, handling himself exceptionally well in the action sequences, making a credible two-fisted action hero. Peter Vaughn was excellent as the eccentric title villain and I have a memory of a very well done chase sequence with Edwards and a motorcycle that sticks in my mind. Judy Geeson as Hood's romantic interest, while cute and 60's groovy, was incredibly weak and was the film's major drawback, much like a large number of the Bond Girls of the Roger Moore era. "Hammerhead" was based on the Charles Hood spy novel by Steven Coulter, writing as James Mayo. Coulter/Mayo was a friend and contemporary of Ian Fleming and even helped Fleming with the background material for CASINO ROYALE. Coulter finished five spy novels in the Hood series. They are actually quite good and it's a shame that Irving Allen only made one Charles Hood film. I recommend the novels as well if you can find any of them in print anymore.I saw "Hammerhead" in the theater when it was first released and then remember seeing an edited version on TV some time later. Although it's been a very long time since I've seen "Hammerhead", I have very fond memories of it and would love to see a DVD release of it in the future.I recommend "Hammerhead" as one of the better spy adventures of the 60's.