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Matt Blake

Eurospy Guide Paperback – October 24, 2008

by Matt Blake (Contributor)

4.5 40 ratings

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For a brief period in the mid-1960s, the whole world went spy crazy. From Sri Lanka to Poland, from the US to India, cinemas were filled with the exploits of suave secret agents, glamorous femmes fatales and increasingly demented villains. The symbols and images of the genre permeated advertisements, pulp novels and television series as well. No suburban dinner party was complete without a discussion of the latest escapades of a Bond, a Bulldog Drummond or a Harry Palmer. The intention of this book is to examine the more obscure cinematic manifestations of sixties spy mania. Though these films may be almost entirely forgotten today, they were literally everywhere at the time. With the sorry state of the world, what better time than today to delve into the life of a super-slick secret agent? Someone who understands the games that nations are playing, someone who can process incoming information and control—rather than be controlled by—situations. Someone who is backed up by the might of military hardware and brainpower. Someone who can charm the chicks and beat up the bad guys. This is the import of the secret agent: In a world of profound flux, we need the anchor of a hero who is able to do something about the things that we, frankly, have no power over. That, of course, and the fact that the films are bloody good fun.

Print length

308 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Midnight Marquee Press
Publication date

October 24, 2008
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6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1887664521
ISBN-13

978-1887664523
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Midnight Marquee Press; First Edition (October 24, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1887664521
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1887664523
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,570,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #749 in Movie Guides & Reviews
- #3,457 in Movie History & Criticism
- #15,728 in Performing Arts (Books)

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4.5 40 ratings

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Matt Blake

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Matt Blake has been writing about cult European cinema since the heyday of the fanzine in the 1990s. After editing a few issues of the short-lived, much lamented The Cheeseplant he released his first book, The EuroSpy Guide, co-written with David Deal, in 2004. More books have followed: Fantastikal Diabolikal Supermen, Giorgio Ardisson: The Italian James Bond, In the Name of the Law and Science Fiction, Italian Style. When not distracted an otherwise long-forgotten film he can usually be found wandering around the countryside near his home in Lewes or listening to discordant electronic music.

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Henry Chmielefski

Are you a Spy Film Fan? You NEED this Valuable Reference!

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2006

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I have always been a spy movie fan. It's pretty hard growing up in the United States in the 1960's and NOT be one. I have always been been a fan of James Bond, The Saint, The Prisoner, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and especially The Avengers! But growing up in small town America, I had no idea there was a whole different spy genre going on... this one in Europe! I had hints of it over the years... I would pick up a 16mm film here of a French film called "OSS-117" here, a VHS of a Italian film "Danger: Diabolik" there, but that was it.

Then I was recently introduced to the world of the "Eurospy". It turns out each European Country had at least one major secret agent film series of their own, whether it was the French "OSS 117", the German "Kommasar X", the Italian's "Dick Malloy, C.I.A. Agent 077" just to name three. I suddenly found myself in a world of new Spy Film to watch and many Graymarket and Public Domain DVD titles to choose from. What to pick?

Here is a great answer! Matt Blake's and David Deal's "Eurospy Guide" is a wonderful reference book that lists and reviews these films. Even Limiting itself to the 1960's (When the whole Bond fad hit it's peak with the film "Thunderball") you'll find this book lists hundreds of films, sorted by their English-language titles (and how quick you'll discover how these of these films had multiple titles!). You'll also find Appendices listing Film Series, Biographies of Lead Actors and lots more! I keep my copy next to my computer at home, so when I find myself sorting through Ebay or even Amazon listings, I have a immediate reference to give me a sense of whether I should pursue that bid or not.

I've discovered I've been missing out on some great, (though low-budget),imaginative fun and with this book, I find I don't have to choose films blindly! Thank, guys!

10 people found this helpful

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Richard J. Oravitz

SUPER SECRET AGENTS!!!

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2011

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Absolutely the the most complete book of it's type available, and a definate must have for fans of 1960's Euro-spy flicks. The authors have tracked down and reviewed countless examples of the genre. You'll get reviews of such classics as FROM ISTANBUL, ORDERS TO KILL; FX 18 SUPERSPY; KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE; LSD, HELL FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE; LUCKY THE INSCRUTABLE; MARK DONEN AGENT Z7; MISSION BLOODY MARY; THE SECOND BEST SECRET AGENT IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORD; and YPOTRON aka MISSION SECRETE POUR LEMMY LOGAN, among many others. You'll meet all the top agents of their time; Jerry Cotton, OSS 117, Lemmy Caution, Joe Walker, Francis Coplan, Charles Vine, The Monocle, Agent 3S3, 077, The Tiger and James Tont. The plots are over the top, the soundtracks groovey and the scantily-clad Euro-spy babes beautiful and deadly. This is entertainment value at it's highest "cheese" factor. And speaking of cheese, if you were one of the lucky few to have read author Matt Blake's outstanding Eurotrash fanzine CHEESEPLANT then you know what a great time you're in for.
Both Blake and co-author David Deal take turns reviewing the 150+ mostly low (to no) budget spy films presented here, offering tons of info and personal observations. Their writing style is intiment, down to earth, as though a friend were telling you of some must-see movie, or warning you of bad trash. You also get a listing of the series films, a spy biography, an actors, directors, composers cross reference and top ten listings of spies, films, villains etc. And it's all well illustrated with many poster and lobby card photos.
This is one of the best film books I own, and if you (like me) can't get your fill of Euro-spy/police/horror/giallo/trash then you're definately in need of this book too!

2 people found this helpful

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curtis martin

Interesting Fan-Written Reference

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2009

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The Eurospy Guide is a very interesting book, written with great enthusiasm by a couple of fans of the genre. And, though you're not going to find a better book on this limited subject out there today, you should be warned that the Eurospy Guide, as good as it is, is written by a couple of obsessive film fans and not film scholars or historians. The duo who wrote the book did an amazing job for amateurs, but would have benefitted from a strong editor and a professional fact-checking research team. But you don't get those kinds of resources for books on subjects as deliciously obscure as the one for this one. As amateurs, their research is almost solely based upon versions of the films available in the USA--usually bootleg tapes and dvds (as most of these films are not officially available in the USA at all). So that's the perspective you get. And within those confines, the authors do a great job.

And, though the book is commendably text-heavy, the illustrations--of movie posters and the like--are almost uniformly horrible. The majority of the pics look as though they just lifted jpgs from Ebay--and thus the illustrations are very low-resolution and broken up. They should have held out for better pictures or just done without.
BUT the strength of the book is not pictures, so it's really not a big deal.

All in all, however, this book is still indispensible for anyone interested in the subject. And I have to say that it is much better written and more accurate than the majority of film books from McFarland. Now we just need to get a similar book on the Sword and Sandal "peplum" movies!

5 people found this helpful

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Starchild

Unknown Genre

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2022

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I love eurospy films of the sixties and now I have some reference material to add to my knowledge of these forgotten films.

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Alberto7

Terrific, comprehensive guide to the 1960s Eurospy films

Reviewed in Canada on May 4, 2023

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The authors have done a terrific job of compiling this guide to Eurospy films of the 1960s. Each film includes a comprehensive credit list as well as a full synopsis and review of the film. A must for all film buffs interested in the films of the 1960s.

Giuseppe Lippi

The Sons, Cousins and Affiliates of James Bond

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2010

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There was a time, in the Fifties and Sixties, when you could make good money in the movies by simply replicating another producer's formula. Say you had invented the sword and sandal epic, the spaghetti western, the "giallo" thriller: well, somebody else could profit of that, with minor audacity perhaps but not inferior inventiveness (if any), by following your path and exploiting the genre. Exploitation movies were relatively few in the postwar decade, but after so many American moviemakers came to the Tiber to base their productions in Rome, the ground for the sword and sandal genre was laid once and for all. On this seminal experience were founded the fortunes of Hercules and Goliath, Samson and Ursus, i.e. the Italian "kolossals" of the time, made for a fraction of the Hollywood budgets and coproduced for twin markets such as the French, Spanish and German. It was in the Sixties, however, that exploitation became big game. Audiences around the Mediterranean and beyond - say, from Israel and Italy to Germany and Britain - were excited at the prospect of viewing more of Maciste, more of Zorro and the pirates, and obvuously, more of the secret agent 007 who had thrilled the world of B-movies since 1962. Because we should not forget that "Dr. No", and, to a certain extent, "From Russia with Love" (1962 and 1963, respectively), were marketed for the B-movie sector of the audience and made with comparatively small budgets. "From Russia with Love", in particular, was a B-movie producer dream come true: international cast, exotic locations, a train which travels Europe and a nest of superspies, all seemed to evoke and trascend shadows of Eddie Constantine's B-French thrillers, of German Edgar Wallace productions and even some of Hammer films, whose Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was a Victorian caper set against the curse of the Moor.
After the success of 007 worldwide, several producers from the ranks of the European B-industry decided it was well-worth giving the new fad a try. And so, from the fertile fantasy of Italian, Spanish and German filmmakers, new and more improbable agents were born: the double or trine incarnation of 077 (also known as S. 077), the daredevil apparition of Dick Smart 2.007, the exotic missions of 3S3 and much more. Some agents even changed their number for the different markets, and so it became that French spy Francis Coplan, code name X-28,became agent 777 in Italy and other countries. To venture in such a pulp jungle you obviously need a guide. And while in Italy it has just been published a specialty dictionary called "Segretissimi" ("Top Secrets") by Daniele Magni (Edizioni Bloodbuster, Milan 2009), for those that cannot read Italian the seminal "Eurospy Guide" by American authors Matt Blake and David Deal (2004, reprinted in 2008) remains THE reference book on this difficult subject. Why difficult? Because the films themselves (in excess of 200, according to the most informed filmographies) are almost invariably out of the market: 35 mm copies are scarce or lost, VHS editions are a problematic find and even on DVD you can find a little here, a little there and no more than that. It often happens that to see a rare Italian film you have to get its Norwegian or Danish edition, NOT always with English subtitles! But "The Eurospy Guide" greatly helps you in filling these gaps by telling you the films as if they were actual spy-stories, and by orienting you in their VHS-DVD editions.
The book takes the form of a dictionary with entries in alphabetical order, which is quite good to me except that I miss an introductory essay which recounts the history of these productions and their development in time. This way, you lack the chronological perpective and an overview of the phenomenon. However satisfied by the "Guide", I'm still waiting for a David Pirie-type of book, say, "A Heritage of Spies" which goes into a detailed summary of the genre, describes its principal charachters (and moviemakers) and THEN provides an alphabetical listing of the films themselves, giving a capsule review for each of them. Here, the reviews are much more than capsule and it's obvious that the two authors actually saw the films they're talking about, but as to a history of the Euro-espionage thriller, you'll have to build it for yourself putting together scaps of information from this or that entry.
Another important point is that "The Eurospy Guide" does not feature colour photographs, not even for posters: everything is b/w, although the quantity and, sometimes, quality of illustrations is reassuring. All in all, this is a most useful book and the best effort you can hope to get your hands on, at least for the moment. And if you think that James Tont's car is a FIAT Punto (which was not in production in 1965) and not a much more primitive 500, well, it simply means you didn't live in Europe at the time -- which is not a problem after all. You'll be able to make amend in the next edition, dedicating it to all true fans "From America -- with love".

2 people found this helpful

A. W. Wilson

THE EUROSPY GUIDE from MIDNITE MARQUEE

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2019

Verified Purchase

If you are into European Spy films of the 60's this is an absolute must. The layout is easier to follow than some MM books. All films are listed alphabetically with a helpful introduction and separate chapters on Series films, Spy biographies, author's lists, Actor/Director list, and Composer lists. Plus Cross reference and Original Title index. The research that must have gone on to produce this tome is mind boggling - Plot descriptions, comments, and full cast and credits (where available). The authors don't hold back with their opinions which is fun. I should confess I haven't read from A-Z ( but browsed (quite thoroughly), and I am very impressed. I must make one comment though. The authors admit that nearly all these films in the book are hard if not impossible to find, and if you can the condition could be terrible. The same thing can be said of the films in "HEROES NEVER DIE" but to a lesser extent (also a Midnite Marquee publication). So reading, and finding a film you fancy could end up rather frustrating. Plus, again, I would have loved an index. Alphabetical is OK, but a page number is quicker, and if you wanted to check all George Nader's films you do get a list, but again a page number would be helpful. 5 stars tho - an excellent book.

wishwell

thriller subgenre outside of hollywood

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

A good introduction to european spy films produced from 1960-69.I look forward to a more comprehensive guide in the future.Up till now there have been general guides to those films coming out of hollywood--while not enough with reference to those type of movies produced elsewhere.

Martin Lane

Like another reviewer has mentioned

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2015

Verified Purchase

Rapidly becoming my essential reference book. Lots of reviews to read through, helps sort the wheat from the chaff. Like another reviewer has mentioned, I keep my copy handy when searching on-line.

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