In Like Flint: James Coburn Returns as the Coolest Secret Agent

The 1966 spy spoof Our Man Flint was still playing in theaters when 20th Century-Fox gave the greenlight for a sequel once again starring James Coburn as super secret agent Derek Flint.

Actually, the title character is nowhere to be seen in the opening scenes of In Like Flint (1967). Instead, the plot focuses on a group of businesswomen who have set their sites on world domination. Their plans hinge on taking control of a space platform armed with nuclear weapons and replacing the U.S. president with a lookalike actor. 

The latter scheme is almost executed perfectly. While the president is playing golf, a gas is deployed that places him and his colleagues in a trance for three minutes. During that time, the real president is kidnapped and the fake one takes his place. The one hitch is that Lloyd Cramden (Lee J. Cobb), one of the president's closest advisors, was timing the commander-in-chief's golf swing. Cramden can't figure out how it took the president three minutes to hit a golf ball. When he suspects a conspiracy within the White House staff, Cramden turns to Derek Flint to find out what happened.

Flint infiltrates a top-secret government facility, eludes the KGB across the rooftops of Moscow, and confronts the villains at a Caribbean spa resort called Fabulous Face. He also finds time to dance with the Moscow Ballet, talk with dolphins, experiment with sound waves, and--of course--romance beautiful women. Yes, In Like Flint offers nothing new to the formula that made Our Man Flint a success. The differences this time around are that the premise isn't as fresh, the plot is sillier and even more sexist, and there seems to be less Flint. In the film's first half-hour, his screen time is limited to a single six-minute scene.

Coburn's charisma and Cobb's enthusiasm make up for a lot of the film's deficiencies. The typically serious Cobb seems to enjoy the chance to do some comedy, whether flirting with a younger woman or dressing in drag as a disguise. However, it's unfortunate that in a movie where gender plays a major role in the plot that the female cast members are mostly wasted. The exceptions are Jean Hale, who has an amusing scene with Cobb, and Yvonne Craig in a cameo as a Russian ballerina who banters playfully with Coburn's hero.

Composer Jerry Goldsmith recycles some of his marvelous score from Our Man Flint and adds a melodic, instantly hummable title theme. Later in the film, you can hear the unusual, playful lyrics written by the late Leslie Bricusse. The song, known as "Your Zowie Face" (a reference to Cramden's organization, the Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage) has been covered by Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra and jazz guitarist Russell Malone.

At its best, In Like Flint is light, frothy fun if you can ignore its 1960s celluloid view of the conflicts between men and woman. Perhaps, Our Man Flint deserved a better sequel, but I'm glad we have one. 20th Century-Fox wanted to make a third Flint film. There are conflicting stories as to why that didn't happen. In 1976, ABC broadcast a made-for-TV movie called Our Man Flint: Dead On Target, a pilot for a TV series that never materialized. It starred Ray Danton as Flint. That just ain't right--James Coburn is the only Flint!

The Blake Edwards Treatment

James Coburn--looking hip as always.

What can you say about a movie in which a director sued to have his name removed from the credits? Suffice to say that director Blake Edwards was mighty displeased with the version of The Carey Treatment (1972) that was released to theaters. However, before we discuss what happened behind the scenes, let's take a look at the finished product.

Jennifer O'Neill.

The Carey Treatment stars James Coburn as Dr. Peter Carey, a hip pathologist that accepts a job at a Boston hospital because he'll "make more bread" ($45,000 to be precise or $258,600 in today's economy). Carey never actually performs his hospital duties. Instead, he has an older colleague cover for him as he investigates a potential murder and makes out with an attractive dietitian named Georgia (Jennifer O'Neill in an awful performance).

The murder victim is 15-year-old Karen Randall, the hospital administrator's daughter, who died from what appeared to be a botched abortion. The police arrest Carey's friend Dr. David Tao, who admits to performing illegal abortions but not performing one on Karen. Carey clashes with everyone, including his boss and the police, as he aggressively seeks out what really happened to the dead teenager.

The Carey Treatment was based on the 1968 novel A Case of Need, written by Michael Crichton under a pseudonym while he was a medical student. The film version, though, likely owes more to private eye films such as Harper (1966) and Marlowe (1969). Frankly, it's hard to imagine that Peter Carey is actually an M.D. In one scene, he tries to get Karen's roommate to dish on the murder victim by driving recklessly with the girl in the passenger seat (e.g., he even drives over a drawbridge while the spans are separating!).

James Coburn tries to salvage The Carey Treatment by the sheer force of his personality, glittering smile, and ultra-cool silver hair. However, he is undone by more plot holes than your average slice of Swiss cheese. Why does Karen or her mother implicate Dr. Tao? If Georgia has custody of her young son, why does she seem to spend all her nights with Carey? Someone hires a photographer to take a photo of Carey and Georgia making love, but for what reason?

The answers to these questions may be addressed in the many scenes excised from The Carey Treatment after Blake Edwards turned in his final cut. Frankly, I suspect that Edwards might have never directed The Carey Treatment if not for the fact that his career was at a low point. After enjoying boxoffice success in the 1960s with Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Days of Wine and Roses, and The Pink Panther, Edwards started the next decade with a series of flops. The most notable was Darling Lili (1970), a vanity project for his wife Julie Andrews, that boasted a $25 million budget and earned only $5 million at the theaters.

Blake Edwards subsequently signed a deal with MGM--and then unfortunately ran afoul of budget-minded studio president James Aubrey. The executive, who famously sold Dorothy's ruby slippers because they had "no intrinsic value," tampered with Blake Edwards' Western Wild Rovers (1971) as well as The Carey Treatment. Edwards revived his career in 1975 with The Return of the Pink Panther, but he never forgot his awful MGM experiences and gained his "revenge" with the biting Hollywood satire S.O.B. (1981).

Skye Aubrey.

Interestingly, the cast of The Carey Treatment includes James Aubrey's daughter Skye in a key role. Actually, it was quite a family affair with smaller parts being played by Blake Edwards' daughter Jennifer and Mel Torme's daughter Melissa Torme-March. Look quickly and you might also see Olive Dunbar as one of the doctors. She played the lead role in the disturbing short film The Lottery, which we reviewed earlier this year.

James Coburn is Our Man Flint

It's somewhat of a backhanded compliment to call Our Man Flint the "best James Bond spoof." It is that, but it's also a very clever secret agent film in its own right. Unlike the broadly comedic Austin Powers films or Get Smart, Our Man Flint replicates the elements of a 007 outing and exaggerates them ever so slightly. Let's be honest, the majority of the Bond movies are far from serious dramas. So, it's impressive that Flint can negotiate that tight gap between James Bond and Austin Powers.

The film opens with a series of natural disasters that aren't natural at all--they are being caused by a weather-control device. A peace-loving organization called GALAXY claims responsibility and threatens more disasters if its demands are not met. When world leaders converge, they universally agree that there is only one man for the job: Derek Flint (James Coburn). This comes as bad news to Cramden (Lee J. Cobb), the head of the Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage (Z.O.W.I.E.), who dislikes Flint for his refusal to follow orders.

Cramden on the Z.O.W.I.E. phone.

Thus, Cramden is initially relieved when Flint refuses to help. However, when a curvaceous enemy operative tries to assassinate Flint, the super secret agent accepts the mission. He has one stipulation, though: He works alone.

Much of the film's humor derives from Flint's mastery of...well... everything. He can fence with two opponents simultaneously. He practices martial arts one on five. He dances with the Russian ballet. He can trace bouillabaisse on scent alone to the only restaurant in the world with that unique recipe. And he lives with four women that attend to his every need (e.g., shaving him, picking out his clothes, managing his business affairs, etc.). At one point, a frustrated Cramden explains: "Damn it, man, is there anything you don't know?"

Based on his earlier performances in The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), and Charade (1963), I never would have cast James Coburn as a suave secret agent. That's one of the many reasons I'm not a casting agent. Although Coburn was fine in those aforementioned films, he didn't seem like star material. Yet, Our Man Flint capitalizes on the "Coburn cool" and the actor dominates the screen physically and with his laid-back personality. Coburn also looks impressive in the fight scenes and that's not surprising since he learned martial arts from Bruce Lee.

An impressive Coburn kick!

Gila Golan.

The only other actors with significant roles are Lee J. Cobb as Cramden and Gila Golan as a GALAXY agent. Cobb, a very fine actor, gives an exaggerated performance as Cramden and, for the most  part, it's an effective contrast to Coburn. Golan, an attractive actress with an inexplicably short resume, creates a worthy adversary for Flint. (Of course, it's inevitable that she will succumb to his charm.)

The homages to the James Bond films are both obvious and subtle. There's a quick reference to SPECTRE and the availability of 0008. In lieu of Bond's attache case or gimmicky Aston Martin, Flint only has a lighter--however, it has "82 different functions--83 if you wish to light a cigar." Composer Jerry Goldsmith contributes an excellent title theme which is cleverly employed throughout the film.

Flint with two of his ladies.

I suppose there are some viewers who may bristle at the film's sexist attitude. Yes, Flint essentially has a harem and refers its occupants as his "girls." Also, some of the women on Galaxy Island--especially the feisty ones--are reprogrammed as "pleasure units." However, these elements are exaggerated to the extent that Our Man Flint film becomes a satire of the more offending sexist films of the 1960s (to include the Bond pictures).

One can also gripe that Flint loses steam in the last half-hour after the hero reaches Galaxy Island and the villains are revealed as misguided peace lovers. It's interesting to note the similarities in the climaxes between Our Man Flint and the later 007 entry You Only Live Twice (1967).

Our Man Flint was a resounding success with moviegoers and critics. A sequel, In Like Flint, followed in 1967 with Coburn and Cobb reprising their roles. It's sillier, but still very entertaining with another memorable Goldsmith theme. According to some sources, there were discussions about a third film to be called F for Flint (which became an alternate title for In Like Flint). I suspect that Coburn had no interest in being typecast and that nixed future theatrical installments. In 1976, ABC tried to a launch a TV series with the telefilm Our Man Flint: Dead on Target. It transformed Derek Flint into a private eye and featured a miscast Ray Danton in the title role.

Lastly, here are two famous bits of Our Man Flint trivia--you know, in case these topics pop up during a trivia tournament. The names of Flint's female companions are: Sakito, Gina, Anna, and Leslie. Flint's personal code book is based on a mathematical progression of 40-26-36.

Seven Things to Know About "The Magnificent Seven"

1. The Magnificent Seven (1960) is a pretty faithful adapatation of Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai (1954)--except that the American Western is 79 minutes shorter! It does have a scene not in the original: the one where Chris (Yul Brynner) and Vin (Steve McQueen) drive the hearse to boot hill.

2. Yul Brynner was the only one of the original cast to appear in a sequel. He reprised the role of Chris for Return of the Seven (1966), which featured Robert Fuller (Laramie) as Vin. In subsequent movies, Chris was played by George Kennedy (Guns of the Magnificent Seven) and Lee Van Cleef (The Magnificent Seven Ride!).

3. Steve McQueen fidgets with his hat frequently during the film--allegedly in an attempt to draw attention to himself. He wasn't a star yet and, in fact, was still headlining the TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive.

4. Brynner was already a star, of course, but four other Seven actors went on to achieve film or television fame: McQueen, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Charles Bronson. In fact, McQueen, Coburn, and Bronson reteamed for the 1963 classic The Great Escape. As for the rest of the Seven, Horst Buchholz was already considered a promising newcomer and subsequently appeared in Billy Wilder's One Two Three. That leaves Brad Dexter--who played Harry--as the odd man out. Dexter never came close to stardom, but had a long career as a supporting player; he appeared in several films with best pal Frank Sinatra.

5. In his autobiography, Eli Wallach wrote: “The one regret I had in making The Magnificent Seven was that I never heard Elmer Bernstein’s musical score while making the film. If I had heard that score, I think I would have ridden my horse differently.” Wallach originally wanted to play the Buchholz role--until he read the script and realized that the villainous Calvera was the juiciest part.

6. Elmer Bernstein's music score didn't gain fame until part of it was used in Marlboro cigarette commericials. The Philip Morris Tobacco Company licensed Bernstein's music in 1963 for a Western-themed ad campaign and the rest is history. In fact, it became widely known as the "Marlboro theme." A 1967 album was released called The Music from Marlboro Country, which included musical tracks from The Magnificent Seven and Return of the Seven.

7. Robert Vaughn appeared in two other versions of The Magnificent Seven. He played a mercenary in Battle Beyond the Stars (1977), a low-budget remake that transplanted the premise to an outer space colony harassed by John Saxon's villain. Vaughn's character was "adopted" by the colonists' children (as Bronson's character was by the peasant children in the original). Then, for the 1998-2000 CBS TV series The Magnificent Seven, Vaughn guest-starred as a judge on six episodes.

Into the West: "Bite the Bullet" Races Toward the Finish

Richard Brooks produced, wrote, and directed Bite the Bullet in 1975. A prolific screenwriter and later director, Brooks earned Oscar nominations for penning the screenplays for Blackboard Jungle (1955), The Professionals (1966), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and In Cold Blood (1967). He won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay Adaptation for Elmer Gantry in 1960. He married Jean Simmons, who was his leading lady in that movie.

Brooks loosely based Bite the Bullet on a 700-mile cross country horse race that took place in 1906. The film opens with a newspaper sponsoring such a race with the winner receiving $2,000. The race’s participants are followed by a train that stops at various checkpoints along a course loaded with supplies and even prostitutes for the men. When a horse and rider check in at these stops, they are allowed to rest, eat, and sleep and leave in the order they arrived. A newspaper reporter follows some of the racers with his motorcycle. He writes about the race and helps out any riders who might get into trouble.

The race’s contestants are a mixed group of people. Sam Clayton (Gene Hackman) and Luke Matthews (James Coburn) are former Rough Riders who went separate ways in life, but still remain good friends. Their friendship is the most interesting part of the movie. The race’s only female rider, a former prostitute named Miss Jones (Candice Bergen), has an ulterior motive for wanting to be in the race. A Mexican rider (Mario Arteaga), who is battling a painful toothache, wants to win the money to make a better life for his family. An old sick cowboy, Mister (Ben Johnson), is risking his life to participate in the grueling race. Carbo (Jan-Michael Vincent) is a young immature man who is cruel to animals. Jack Parker (Dabney Coleman) is the wealthy owner of a thoroughbred champion horse and desperately wants his horse to beat the quarter horses adapted to the Western territory. He has even hired an experienced rider to ride his horse. The last man is Sir Henry Norfolk (Ian Bannen), who traveled all the way from England to ride in a Western race just for the sport of it. He even rides an English saddle instead of the widely-used western saddle suited for a race like this one. The way these characters interact during the race reveals much about each of them and also how they deal with the changing times (a theme explored again by Brooks in The Professionals). The cowboy’s way of life is coming to an end with the new transportation of the twentieth century.

At the beginning Bite the Bullet, Sam in en route to deliver a champion thoroughbred horse to Jack Parker, who is waiting on the train. Sam is riding his own horse and leading the thoroughbred. He finds a wild mare that has been captured and tortured by wranglers. She is dead and Sam stops to remove a piece of metal stuck through her nose. He sees a foal belonging to the mare and hears coyotes approaching to kill the young horse. Sam loves horses and has a kind heart. He puts the foal across his saddle. He rides and sees a farm with a young boy milking a cow. Sam asks the boy if he would like a horse of his own. The boy says yes, but he can’t pay for the foal. Sam gives him the foal, telling him he doesn’t have to pay for it but just treat it well. Sam arrives late at the train stop and is promptly fired by Parker, who claims Sam made his champion thoroughbred walk too far.

In town, Sam meets his old friend Luke, who is a gambler and has bet his own money on himself to win the race. He asks Sam why he hasn’t entered the race. Sam says he has been fired by Parker and, since he’s out of a job, he adds his name to the race’s roster. Later, the two men encounter the young punk Carbo hitting a donkey and quickly put a stop to it. This scene and the rescue of the foal show Sam and Luke will not tolerate animal cruelty and truly love horses, which plays a key role in the film’s climax.

Sam and Luke also will not tolerate prejudice. When a stranger makes fun of the Mexican rider, Sam lies and says his grandfather was a Mexican. Luke follows suit and says he is part Cherokee Indian. The racist man is afraid to fight both of them and leaves. Later, the young Carbo calls Miss Jones a whore and doesn’t treat her with respect. Sam takes up for her and puts the kid in his place.

In one scene, Parker has his hired rider provide essentially handicap the race by telling him who has the best chance of winning. The rider replies that: the punk kid is too inexperienced; the Mexican is tough and so is his horse; Luke doesn’t have the best horse, but he takes chances and is lucky; the woman can ride as well as any man; and the Englishman’s horse can keep up with the thoroughbred. However, he says the one to watch is Sam. He has the experience, knows the territory, and his horse has the heart.

During the course of the story, you see these characters take care of each other. They help one another, support each other when bad things happen, grow to respect each other and even learn from one another--especially Carbo who races his horse so hard he kills him and Parker, who wants his champion horse to win wants a fair race.

Bite the Bullet is a well-acted Western with good themes, plenty of action, and interesting characters. Many things happen to the riders and their horses along the way. However, it is the story of Sam and Luke’s friendship that makes this movie an excellent Western. The surprise ending is one you will not forget.

Charles Bronson was offered the leading role of Sam Clayton, but turned it down. He would have been a good choice for the role, but Hackman does an outstanding job. The movie was shot on location in New Mexico and Nevada—the desert scenes will make you thirsty. My favorite quote is Miss Jones explaining to the young Carbo how a cowboy dresses and undresses. That description always makes me laugh.

Bite the Bullet was nominated for two Oscars: Best Sound Mixing and Best Music and Original Score by Alex North. North received an astounding 14 nominations for Best Original Score—and never won an Oscar (though he did receive an honorary one in 1986). The two leading men both later won Oscars for acting: Gene Hackman for The French Connection (1971) and Unforgiven (1992) and James Coburn won for Affliction (1997).

Steve Ihnat -- Man without a Star

I'm going to delay my next post on Route 66 because I got the sudden urge to write about an actor I greatly admired. His name was Steve Ihnat and though he never became a major star, he was one of the most sought after guest stars on television in the late 60s and early 70s. He made more than 70 appearances in various television series, including Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Bonanza, etc. Although he favored westerns two of his most memorable roles were in Star Trek and the Outer Limits. His performance as Garth, a maniacal, shape shifting warlord, devoured all the scenery and left very little for Shatner and Nimoy to chew on. But it was his performance as Lt. Mims, a sensitive and compassionate alien in "The Inheritors", a two-part episode on the Outer Limits, that led to his career as an A-list guest star. You probably saw him many times if you watched the classic television series of the 60s and 70s, but didn't know his name. He appeared in several motion pictures most notably as the man who killed Robert Redford in The Chase and murdered Richard Widmark in Madigan. But I knew who he was and I was a fan.

Reader, I met him. While I was trying out for a Hollywood trivia game show I met Jo Heims, who wrote the screenplay for Play Misty for Me. She knew Steve Ihnat and I had the chutzpa to ask her to set up a meeting for me with Steve. I received a phone call from Steve and we set up a meeting at his home in the Hollywood Hills. I had written a synopsis for a TV series in which he would be the lead and I wanted to give it to him. I had actually spoken with his agent who told me,"He's not a star". To say the least I was appalled by this statement. Anyway on the appointed day I jumped into my rented Mustang convertible and drove up into the Hollywood Hills. He was editing the film that he had directed Do Not Throw Pillows into the Ring and allowed me to watch him run the film through the editing machine. I gave him a copy of my synopsis and he said he would read it. What I found interesting was that he had a large port wine stain around one of his eyes; the makeup artists really did a good job of concealing that.

He went on to direct the rodeo film Honkers starring James Coburn. He was at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972 trying to get a distributor for his film Do Not Throw Pillows into the Ring, when he died of a heart attack at the age of 37. I attended his funeral where they christened his six-week-old son.

I always checked the TV Guide to see if he was guest starring in any TV shows and usually he appeared at least once a week. To me he was a star giving many excellent performances in a wide variety of genres. He was a damned good actor!