With a title that alludes to the short-lived 1965 Burl Ives sitcom O.K. CRACKERBY, I wasn't sure what to expect from O.K. CONNERY. It turned out to be a very good Eurospy flick that stands as deuterocanonical Bond. And OK CONNERY is not a spoof, as many like to dismiss it. It is played straight first frame to virtually last, closing on a lighthearted note similar to those in most of the official series films.Neil Connery was a good actor--not great--but capable of holding his own alongside screen veterans. Yeah, he wasn't polished and smooth like Sean, but for what little acting experience he had I thought he did a fine job. I will admit that if the Bond connection depended solely on him it would have been tenuous. But the producers scored a coup in landing both Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell. Besides lending credibility, they each were able to spread their wings more than in the official films, especially trigger-happy Miss Moneypenney! Their appearances throughout the film alone made it worth watching, then add to the mix Bond film veterans like Danielle Bianchi, Adolfo Celli, and Anthony Dawson and the movie becomes a treat for any Bond film fan.The plot is from the old school super-spy playbook--world domination, secret organizations with a stylized skull as its symbol, death to those who fail, bizarre plot points (like having blind Arabs weaving radioactive rugs!)and clever gadgets (such as the machine guns descending from the ceiling). A cute line that made me smile was Bianchi's telling Connery he reads too many Fleming novels after he tells her of Celli's plot. I also liked Cunningham/M's references to the Connery's brother and how he was at work on another component of this same case.I also liked the all-girl crew on the yacht--cute without ever crossing over into luridly sexy. The sex is cranked down low in OK CONNERY, leading me to think it was targeted to kids. And on that subject, as beautiful as Danielle Bianchi is, I was most wowed by Agata Flori as Mildred. I fell in love with her during the opening titles and even found her irresistibly enchanting while wearing Phyllis Diller's chapeau at the Malaga airport."I'm a surgeon, not a spy!" cries Connery in a parallel to Bones McCoy's impotent protestations in another venue. It's interesting to note that Neil Connery the actor and the character were both recruited into a position outside their usual area of expertise, and both did O.K., as M himself declares at the end. And in what appears prescient now, the rousing title song is sung by Khristy over a shot of a ship at sea, foreshadowing by seven years Lulu singing a rousing title song over a similar shot at the close of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. That Khristy song--composed by Morricone?!--was catchy and reminded me of the theme to another great Eurospy flick--MODESTY BLAISE.For this Bond fan, O.K. CONNERY is a welcome addition to the second-tier canon which boasts the 1967 CASINO ROYALE, Roger Moore's proto-Bond movie CROSSPLOT, and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. O.K. CONNERY is O.K. by me!

This colorful, sub-Bond thriller offers several points of interest, not the least of which are the very stylish costumes, modeled here by some very attractive fillies indeed! But we are also treated to lavishly appointed sets and delightfully exotic locations, both presented in most attractive color photography. In addition, the film has a toe- tapping music theme obviously also derived from you-know-where. It's almost needless to say that the performances themselves also rely on our familiarity with Bond. And in addition to these familiar faces and the toe-tapping musical theme, are constant screenplay reference to Connery's brother. Now this does get a bit tedious. But on the whole, acting and dubbing are generally more than okay. And the direction is spot on. Remember, folks, always specify "Lois" when you say "Maxwell"!

When a secret agent returning with vital information is killed the younger brother of James Bond, who goes by the name of "Dr. Neil Connery" (Neil Connery) is recruited to help the British Secret Service find out what is going on. During the course of his investigation he meets a beautiful assassin named "Maya Rafis" (Daniela Bianchi) who essentially leads him to a criminal organization led by two men named "Alpha" (Anthony Dawson) and "Beta" (Adolfo Celi) with plans to blackmail the richest and most powerful governments in the world. Now as far as this film is concerned I must confess that I had never heard of this particular James Bond clone until recently when I discovered it under the title of "The New Spy vs. Divided Evil". I was also delightfully surprised to find that it had a couple of characters who regularly appeared in previous James Bond films (specifically Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee) and who essentially reprised their roles but under different names. Likewise, both Daniela Bianchi and Adolfo Celi have also appeared in certain James Bond films as well. Unfortunately, this movie lacked the depth and sophistication normally expected of a James Bond movie and as a result it proved to be greatly inferior to them. As a matter of fact, the only thing of any interest was the performance of Daniela Bianchi who clearly dominated every scene she was in. Even so, she couldn't save this movie from its cheap and shallow format and as a result I have to rate this film accordingly. Slightly below average.

It's cheesy good fun in this blissfully goofy Italian romp 'starring' the amazingly untalented younger brother of Sean Connery, Neil. I love the fact that in this spy film they refer to his brother as the greatest agent of Britain, but they're referring to Sean Connery, not James Bond! That's because they couldn't get the rights to use the Bond name in the film, although Sean seems to have been amenable to his own name used. Probably thought it was a good joke.Neil's a plastic surgeon, of all things, who gets drawn into a spy caper because of his work with hypnosis. One of his patients apparently knows too much, and so is kidnapped by the (almost exclusively female) agents of an organization called THANATOS. Also starring in this amusing pastiche is the fleshy guy who played in Diabolik as the crime lord who utters the memorable words:"Is that Stud, coming?" while on his boat. he plays another fleshy crime lord in this one, and the most unappealing part of this film is watching the beautiful young women who surround him on his yacht(a yacht again? What's with this guy!) massage him and wait in him hand and foot.The theme song is a hoot, proving once again that Morricone is the King of Corny. The addled plot line never quite comes up to scratch, but that's o.k. The real reason for the movie is displayed about three quarters of the way through, when the stunning boat babes get into a wrestling match/fight with the male sailors on board the yacht. The movie just goes to show you that a movie is all about the details-which this one manages to get all wrong, but in such a way as to leave you gasping with laughter. Thank God for cheap Italian films, which have provided us with so much mirth over the years. Oh, and Clint Eastwood, of course.