The Million Eyes of Sumuru

No matter which particular "Bond" is your favorite, a good villain is essential.  Ernst Blofeld and Auric Goldfinger are just as responsible for making their respective films memorable as 007...while duds like Hugo Drax and Eliot Carver don't even merit a mention.  So, producer Harry Alan Towers was on the right track when he elevated Sumuru to leading lady status in a pair of Bond rip-offs based instead on the writing of Sax Rohmer, better known for creating the now-politically incorrect master criminal Fu Manchu.

 A classic case of feminism run wild, Sumuru (played by Shirley Eaton, Goldfinger's first painted victim) has assembled an army of sexy sleeper agents at her command.  This commando unit of femme fatales commit acts of terrorism with the goal of conquering the known world in the name of women everywhere!  Rohmer crafted five books in the Sumuru series; Towers managed to eke out two films - The Million Eyes of Sumuru and The Girl From Rio - which will appeal to drastically different audiences, although both are now available on 4K from Blue Underground.

 

1967's The Million Eyes of Sumuru is an eager, playful companion piece to Ian Fleming's superspy series, casting Robot Monster's George Nader in the lead role as the suavely sarcastic CIA spook Nick West and none other than Frankie Avalon(!) as his playboy partner.  Their mission, foisted upon them by British Intelligence, is to protect a clueless dictator (Klaus Kinski) from the evil attention of Sumuru who plans to influence world leaders by putting their wives and mistresses high up in the chain of command.

 

Sumuru is an unapologetic bit of sexist escapism that should offend nearly everyone's sensibilities.  But like Fox's spoof In Like Flint, the film beats critics to the punch by mocking the spy genre and all its then-expected chauvinist trademarks.  In that respect, Tower's film is a slam-dunk with Sumuru cuddling up to seduce our hero who comes back with the rejoinder, "Honey, I had better in high school."  At times the film even reaches Airplane levels of meta-comedy, especially with the casting of Avalon who at one point turns to the camera and asks, "Is there where I'm supposed to start singing?"

 

BU’s new 4K Ultra HD presentation is the perfect upgrade to their previous double-feature Blu-ray.  Not only do you get all the Dolby Vision HDR eye candy you can handle, but an additional 10 extra minutes in this extended edition (It’s been a while since I saw the old version so I can’t say exactly what’s added). And the upgrades don’t stop there: you get two new commentary tracks, a feature-length documentary on director Lindsay Shonteff (who specialized in Bond knock-offs), a RiffTrax version of the film (love this!) along with trailers, stills and a slip cover.  It’s a ton of fun even after you’re done with the main feature!

 

 

 

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