Customer Reviews

Man From Uncle 6: Concrete Overcoat Affair [VHS]

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Actually 2 episodes from the now-classic Man From U.N.C.L.E. tv series. The jokes get a little stale after 30+ years, but the action is fast-moving, the scenery is great, and you get a beautiful Janet Leigh ("Psycho") with a penchant for torture. Add Jack Palance as a ladder-climbing THRUSH agent, and the result is a great tongue-firmly-in-cheek caper featuring '30s gangsters, Sicily, Italy, and a shotgun wedding for Napoleon Solo. A great romp!

MFU at its best , with tongue firmly in cheek . You have Janet Leigh as the formidable Miss Diketon, and Jack Palance as an unusual Thrush villian .Throw in old-time gangsters and a Thrush plot to divert the gulf stream and you have a great episode . Illya being tortured by Miss Diketon is a bonus.

"The Concrete Overcoat" is a two part episode made during "The Man from UNCLE"'s third season (1966-1967). The "Man from UNCLE" featured actors Robert Vauhn and David McCallum as spies for an international organization headed by Alexander Waverly played by veteran actor Leo G. Carrol. Robert Vaughn plays Napoleon Solo, the debonair and suave UNCLE spy. With plenty of charm and tongue-in-cheek wit, always expect him to 'get the girl' :). David McCallum is Russian agent Illya Kuryakin, the enigmatic and quiet partner of Napoleon Solo. Together, the two agents make quite a pair as they save the world from villains and evil bad guys from THRUSH.

Episodes #70 & #71, "The Concrete Overcoat Affair Pt. 1 & 2": Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuraykin travel to Italy to discover THRUSH's newest plan to conquer the world. They find out that THRUSH agent Louis Strago (Jack Palance) has allied with Nazi scientist Dr. Von Kronen (Ludwig Donath) to use heavy water to divert the Gulf Stream. But before the two agents can report back to New York, they are separated and Napoleon finds himself having to hide under the bed of Pia Monteri (Letitia Roman). But enough after escaping a shotgun wedding with Pia's Gradmama (Penny Santon) holding the gun, troubles don't stop there. While the UNCLE agents are trying to find Strago and stop his plans, Pia's family feels her honor has been compromised. Therefore, the girl's American uncles, retired Prohibition-era gangsters "Fingers" Stilleto (Eduardo Giannelli), Enzo "Pretty" Stilleto (Allen Jenkins), and Federico "Feet" Stilletto (Jack LaRue) are called to hunt down Napoleon. Can the agents stop THRUSH from ruling the world even with Napoleon's big problem? Also starring is Janet Leigh as Miss Diketon, Strago's sadistic and a bit crazy female assistant.

As with most of "The Man from UNCLE"'s third season episodes, "The Concret Overcoat" borders on the edge of silliness and implausibility. Mostly this comes from 'the three stooges' type of routines with Pia's uncle gangsters and their 'old' pals. Especially the warehouse scene where they are trying to capture Illya. But overall the episodes are quiet enjoyable. Letitia Roman gives a pretty good performance as the Italian girl who has a bit of an innocent personality. Jack Palance is excellent as a THRUSH who seems to be always so nervous he's always carrying a handkerchief. As for Janet Leigh, her characters is quite, how shall I say... 'interesting'. But somehow I felt that the plot made her quite uneven at times. Though she's supposed to be a highly-trained strong agent, she seems to fall unconscience a lot. And of course Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are terrific! Lots of banter between the two of them. A few of my favorite lines are:

Napoleon: Well how was I supposed to know you'd be smart enough to escape on your own?
Illya: I bring Lucrecia Borzia and you bring the Mafia. Huh! We're in great shape.

Napoleon: We'd better get out of here before those bombers get here.
Illya: Do we have to swim?

The action is pretty good for an UNCLE episode though at times it's pretty obvious their using stunt doubles for Vaughn and McCallum. Best part of the episodes is when they're on Strago's island.

Overall, not the best "The Man from UNCLE" has to offer but it's still pretty enjoyable to watch. If you've never seen any of the tv series episodes, I suggest you start out getting "The Man from UNCLE" volume 1 ("The Project Strigas Affair", "The Never Never Affair"), volume 3 ("The Deadly Toys Affair", "The Minus X Affair"), and volume 7 ("The Quadripartite Affair", "The Giucco Piano Affair"). These three tapes are one of my favorites!

This double-parter does nothing but insult Italians-actually stereotype-- those proud of ties to their version of Robin Hood. Whoever produced it deserves a dump in the river.