Our Man Flint
A lighthearted 1966 parody of James Bond movies, starring James Coburn as super-mega-omnicool (ex-)Z.O.W.I.E. agent Derek Flint, along with Lee J. Cobb as his his harried former boss, Lloyd Cramden. Flint is forced out of retirement to battle Galaxy, an organization led by a trio of Utopian Mad Scientists out to take over the world via their weather-control machine. His investigation leads him across Europe to Galaxy agents Gila and Rodney, and eventually Galaxy's secret headquarters. You can guess what happens then.
Easily one of the best of the slew of 1960s Bond imitations. A year later a sequel came out, In Like Flint, which was a fairly lackluster rehash, and put an end to any thought of an ongoing franchise.
A major influence on the Austin Powers movies, to the point the sequel was explicitly referred to as being the title character's favorite movie.
Our Man Flint contains examples of:
- The Ace/Parody Sue: Flint, of course.
- Affectionate Parody
- Bar Brawl: A faked version between Flint and 0008 (Triple O 8).
- Big Badass Bird of Prey: Galaxy has an Anti-American Eagle.
- Big Electric Switch: Flint throws several of these in the Galaxy communications room.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Flint's live-in playmates.
- Brainwashed: Galaxy's Pleasure Units.
- The Can Kicked Him: The unlamented Hans Gruber.
- Chekhov's Gun: Flint's watch and its alarm feature.
- Check, Please!: Flint's comment when he realizes that he's at the wrong restaurant.
- Collapsing Lair
- Disney Villain Death: Two Galaxy security guards, while fighting Flint on a catwalk.
- Do Not Adjust Your Set: Galaxy's broadcast to the world of their plans and demands.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Flint does it twice while infiltrating Galaxy island.
- Drive-In Theater: A fake one, used for sex-fantasy play.
- Face, Nod, Action: The main Galaxy agents do this twice.
- Fun with Acronyms: The Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage. Atypically, "Galaxy" is not an example of this.
- Gadget Watches: Flint has one which combines a sleep alarm and microscope. His lighter acts as a bomb detector and radio (with 80+ other functions).
- Go-Go Enslavement: Gila is dressed in a bikini, then put in the brainwashing machine.
- Groin Attack: Flint does it to Rodney in Galaxy headquarters.
- Hand Signals: Both Rodney and Gila use them to command their Galaxy minions.
- Harmless Electrocution
- Heel Face Turn
- High Heel Face Turn/Sex Face Turn: Gila, of course.
- Hey, It's That Guy!: One Galaxy Mook went on to be Mr. Whipple.
- Holding the Floor
- Hypnotize the Princess: Galaxy does this to Gila to turn her into a pleasure slave.
- Instrument of Murder: Gila and her commandeered harp.
- Island Base: Galaxy's headquarters.
- Letting Her Hair Down: Gila does this to signal to Flint that she's in the mood for love.
- Mandatory Unretirement
- Mind Control Device
- Name's the Same: Minor villain "Hans Gruber" was later re-used in Die Hard; appears to be a coincidence.
- Poisoned Weapons: Gila's harp-propelled needle and Flint's curare-tipped fly-killing blowgun dart.
- Pressure Point: Flint, to several Galaxy personnel.
- Railing Kill: Subverted at least twice.
- Safecracking: When Flint opens the Exotica Beauty company safe.
- Shoe Phone: Flint's lighter.
- Shout Out: "All I have to do is take a bite of your apple?"
- Sleight of Tongue
- Spy-Versus-Spy
- Superpower Lottery: Did we mention that Flint is super-mega-omnicool?
- Swiss Army Weapon
- Tempting Fate: Lloyd Cramden is sure they have the enemy cornered...
- Weather Control Machine
- What Could Have Been: Raquel Welch was considered for the role of Gila.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Galaxy leadership.
- Villainous Breakdown: Rodney, for about ten seconds before the roof caves in on him.
In Like Flint features:
- Ashes to Crashes: Flint escapes after falling into a document incinerator during a fight scene. It helps that the villains thought they had finished him off. In a possibly deliberate homage to this scene, Diamonds Are Forever has James Bond being left for dead in an incinerator only to escape a fiery end.
- Conveyor Belt O' Doom
- CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: After shocking a guard's heart back into beating, Flint does some mild chest compression on him.
- Face, Nod, Action
- Follow the Bouncing Ball
- Harmless Freezing: Flint's girlfriends and the cryogenic freezers.
- He's Dead, Jim: Flint can tell whether a man is dead just by holding and looking at his face briefly.
- Improbable Taxonomy Skills
- Insane Troll Logic: At one point Flint breaks into Z.O.W.I.E's headquarters to investigate two people. The only information he manages to find on them is their heart rate measures, and he then declares the following:
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Flint: 80 heartbeats per minute. Must be Russian cosmonauts! |
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- Female Russian cosmonauts.
- Kiss of Distraction: "Operation Smooch" at the end.
- Magical Defibrillator
- Only Mostly Dead: The guard that Flint brings back to life.
- Parental Bonus: The title
- Real Men Wear Pink: Flint teaches ballet.
- Reflective Eyes
- Stand in Portrait
- Styrofoam Rocks: In the climax, one of Flint's fleeing girlfriends is hit by a styrofoam "boulder" and it bounces right off.