Agent 505 - Death Trap Beirut (1966)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I'll keep this short – if I had to use two words to describe Agent 505: Death Trap Beirut it would be instantly forgettable. Nothing really stands out – the plot is a jumbled mess, the villain's motives are uninspired, the hero is rather bland, a lack of "good" gadgets, and a female lead that, while perky, brings little else to the film. But the main problem is that it's just not as much fun as other 60s Eurospy efforts like the Joe Walker or Dick Malloy movies. I realize that this is an awfully broad generalization, but I usually find West German films of this era lacking in the "fun" department.The highlight of the movie for me has to be the shots of swinging Beirut in the 60s. What an incredible looking city it was!

Frederick Stafford's main contribution to the spy genre is his leading role in Alfred Hitchcock's "Topaz". A few years earlier, he played the French James Bond, OSS 117, twice. In between those two films, he also made the more obscure "Agent 505 - The Trap Door Falls In Beirut" - so is this film a buried treasure? Not quite. It's rather unremarkable on the whole. But there are some moments that stand out: the customary nightclub number does not involve singing or dancing, but a blindfolded woman shooting light bulbs! A man hangs from the bottom of a flying helicopter - almost 30 years before Jackie Chan did something similar in "Police Story III". And the villain's demise is pretty bloody. Stafford is a capable lead and Geneviève Cluny is cute. But the film is still only average. ** out of 4.

A dastardly villain known as The Sheikh threatens to wipe out the city of Beirut (and all 650,000 of its citizens) in this reasonably entertaining West German thriller from director Manfred Kohler, perhaps best known today for co-writing Harry Kumel's erotic vampire epic Daughters of Darkness. Frederick Stafford plays suave secret agent Richard Blake, on the trail of The Sheikh with the assistance of gorgeous reporter Denise DuPree (Genevieve Cluny). A philanthropist named Omar Abdullah (Willy Birgel), whose cause is rehabilitating criminals, attracts the attention of Blake, and we're off to the races. Babes, bullets, and gadgets--they're all here and shot on location in mod, mod Beirut, at the time an 'international city' and a popular spot for European co-productions. Music lovers should note that Ennio Morricone's score echoes his spaghetti western work but fits nicely into the proceedings, whilst anticipating Theodorakis' percussive Z score by a full year. The English language print misspells his name 'Morricono', though!