Operation Kid Brother: Bond junior saves the world

by Albert Ohayon

Operation Kid Brother (aka O.K. Connery; aka Operation Double 007) (1967 Italy, Alberto de Martino)

Synopsis: A criminal organization threatens the world so the secret services of Europe enlist the help of the younger brother of agent 00… (yes, THAT secret agent), to save the world.

OK, I admit it. I think this film is a total blast. The Italian producers went all out to make a James Bond film except that they didn’t have access to copyrighted elements like the name James Bond or 007 or Sean Connery for that matter. What to do? Simple. Hire Sean’s younger brother Neil and a gaggle of Bond film veterans and throw them together in this Eurospy adventure.

Neil Connery plays…Dr. Neil Connery (James Bond name under copyright, damn it), a plastic surgeon-lip reader-hypnotist-champion archer and pretty good martial artist. He is recruited by M…sorry, I meant Commander Cunningham (Bernard Lee) and his assistant Moneypenny…rats, I did it again! I meant Miss Maxwell (Lois Maxwell) to fight Thanatos. You see, big brother is too busy elsewhere so they need Neil’s help. Thanatos is basically SPECTRE light. Adolfo Celi (from Thunderball) is the main baddie Thayer working under Alpha (Anthony Dawson from Dr. No) and assisted by the beautiful Maya (Daniela Bianchi who dazzled us all in From Russia With Love).

What follows is a spy adventure shot all over Europe (Monte Carlo, Malaga, Germany) and in Morocco. There are fights, explosions, kidnappings, escapes and a finale that includes archers(!) attacking the villain’s lair.

Is this film any good? Absolutely. They spent a great deal of money to bring in all those Bond film veterans and did not skimp on the travel budget. The story is no better or worse than any spy film from the 1960s. Neil is a little stiff (he was a carpenter, not an actor) but he manages ok. The revelation in this film is Lois Maxwell who is actually a field agent and not just an assistant. She is quite badass throughout, not afraid to get her hands dirty. A nice change from the character she plays in the Bond series. Bianchi is also quite good. Of course, you know she will switch to the side of good before the film is over. Hey, Neil needs someone to romance as the credits roll. Some of the story is very stupid (the sequence where they steal the “Atomic nucleus” is mind-numbingly idiotic) but most of it is on par with what you saw in Bond films of the era. The film is certainly a thousand times better than the dreadful 1967 Casino Royale spoof and is livelier than the middle part of Thunderball (Zzzzz!).

My rating: 3 kid brothers out of 5. This is a lot of fun if you don’t think too much about it. Maxwell is great as are the locations. The theme song is…terrible (I guess Shirley Bassey wasn’t available).

(at the time this review was published, the film was available to stream on Youtube)