Some girls do (4 Stars)

I was recently speaking to a good friend of mine, a woman I've known for 16 years. After a long conversation about various things, I asked her if she reads my blog. That's a question I often ask my friends. Her answer was, "No, I don't like your blog. Your posts aren't informative. You just write 'Buy this film' or 'Don't buy that film'".

Her answer shocked me, but I'm glad she was so honest. Most people who answer No just say they haven't had time to read it.

In the following conversation it became obvious that she's a Netflix watcher. She doesn't buy any films, so my "Buy this" recommendations fall on deaf ears. Nevertheless, our conversation caused me some introspection.

In general, I'd say her criticism is false. My posts are erratic. Sometimes, and I'd say in the majority of cases, I write informative reviews. Either I describe the plot, or I give my opinion, or both. In some cases my reviews are shorter and less informative, especially if it's a film I've often watched. My web site isn't intended to be a film review site, it's a film diary that records every film I watch, in order. If I watch a film ten times, I write about it ten times, and I run out of things to say, so my reviews get shorter and shorter. That's unavoidable.

As for saying "Buy this", I usually only say it when it's a lesser known film that I find exceedingly good. I make no apologies for my recommendations. Maybe some of my readers, the ones who do more than just watch Netflix, have followed recommendations I've made. I hope so.

This is the second film about Hugh Drummond, usually known by his nickname Bulldog. In the films his background is unclear, suggesting he might be a spy. After watching "Deadlier than the Male" just over a year ago I read the first novel in the Bulldog Drummond series, where his background is described in more detail. He isn't a spy. He's an ex-soldier seeking adventure. His first mission began when he put an advertisement in the newspaper offering to kill anyone for money. (Can't you be arrested for ads like that?) That doesn't mean he's immoral. He screened the replies, and only accepted a job when he thought it was someone who deserved to die. Okay, it's just fiction. Let's assume his judgement was correct, as was definitely the case in the first novel. 

His first mission put him in conflict with the international criminal Carl Petersen. I've only read the first of the ten novels so far, but from the brief synopses I've read it seems that there's an ongoing personal vendetta between the two men that continues in every book. "Deadlier than the Male" is based on the fifth book in series, so the two men already knew one another. I don't know which novel, if any, forms the basis for "Some girls do".

In the books (the first novel, at least) Bulldog Drummond is described as being an ugly man, without going into much detail. That description doesn't apply to Richard Johnson, the actor who plays him in the two films. Bulldog Drummond is obviously being pushed as an alternative to James Bond, so he has to look smart and sophisticated, irresistible to women.

Carl Petersen's employees/agents are all beautiful women. He has taste! Baroness Helga is played by the Israeli singer Daliah Lavi.

In best James Bond fashion, she seduces Bulldog before she attempts to kill him by planting a bomb in his apartment. He survives more by luck than by skill.

There's also Pandora. The women always have the biggest guns.

Bulldog should never trust a beautiful woman who gives him a parachute. It's been sabotaged, as he finds out when he needs it.

Except in this case she isn't a woman. Carl Petersen has built an army of fembots to seduce and kill diplomats and scientists. Yutte Stensgaard plays Robot 1.

The fembots don't just look realistic, they can do everything a real woman can. They can kiss. They can make love. They can kill. Where can I buy myself one of those?

The Bulldog Drummond films are more camp than the James Bond films. They deserved to be more successful. It's tragic that only two films were made. Reboot, anyone? Ten books, so that's enough material for ten films.