Goldfinger!

I write these Bond reviews with the expectation that everyone has seen all the movies, if not read the all the books. So, tread as carefully as it seems prudent. 

Goldfinger is a great movie, but only a so-so novel. The movie and the novel though both offer up a great villain, the titular "Goldfinger", but both alas share the terrible ending which requires hundreds if not thousands of people to pretend to die. It's somewhat ludicrous that this could be accomplished and seems frankly to be a writer trying to get out of a hole. The novel also has the peculiar lesbian myth that men like Bond can turn such women. It's pretty ludicrous.

In the novel Bond has just wrapped up taking down a heroin smuggling outfit and is headed home for America when a rich American who sat next to Bond at the Casino Royale asks him to help him to discover how a fellow Brit is cheating him at Canasta. With a few days on his hand and being offered a good paycheck for light work, Bond takes up the case.  He encounters Auric Goldfinger for the first time and ruins his scheme. It is of note that the infamous golden girl of the movie does exist, but we only hear about it second hand from her sister Tilly Masterson. Bond finds himself looking to scotch the schemes of Goldfinger and we meet the gruesome Oddjob, a terrifying Koran martial arts master. As in the movie there is a plot to rob the mint at Fort Knox and there is a woman named Pussy Galore. Tilly and Pussy supply the sexual tension in this novel. It's a wild ending for certain, if implausible. 

Goldfinger is often tagged as the gold standard of Bond movies, but for my tastes it falls short in many respects, though still quite diverting in many ways and so comes in as my fourth favorite Bond film. The notion of Bond taking on someone other than SPECTRE is fine and dandy, but the lack of that secret organization's shadow on this story hurts the motivations for me personally. If Goldfinger (portrayed by portly Gert Frobe) had been working for them all along and making monkeys out of the Chinese who seem to be his benefactors, then I'd have liked this one more.

The high points in this are the girls. Both Masterson girls end tragically in this tale, but both go out in memorable fashions. Jill (Shirley Eaton) gets painted gold and has become an icon for the Bond films and Tilly (Tania Mallet) out for revenge gets knocked in the noggin by Oddjob's deadly hat. But the star of the show is the insanely named Pussy Galore played by Honor Blackman, the first woman in the Bond series who can occupy the screen with Connery on equal footing.

The flaw in this one is the finale which is downright stupid. Somehow, we are to think that Bond after converting Pussy to his side with his awesome maleness uses her to undermine Goldfinger's scheme by having hundreds and hundreds of soldiers and others fall down (rather unconvincingly) as the supposed deadly gas passes through them. They all then stay still as legions of Red Chinese soldiers motor into Fort Knox. Then they all jump up and knock down the bad guys when the atomic bomb shows up. The battle between Bond and Oddjob is a classic but the tag ending with Goldfinger while perhaps fitting undercuts the potency of end.

This is the one in which a gleam gets in the eye of the producers, and they start to treat Bond with more humor than is really necessary. It's not readily noticeable in this installment, but the trend will continue until the whole shebang becomes open farce in the post-Connery years. Goldfinger has some dandy scenes, but its overall impact is diminished mightily by its impossible ending. But I do always like to see scenes of Kentucky in a movie of this scale.

James Bond Returns in For Your Eyes Only.

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Sarge Steel - File 106!

Sarge Steel #6 is dated November 1965. It features a cover Bill Montes and Rocke Mastroserio. This is the first issue of Sarge Steel to have the sub-title "Special Agent". The issue is written by Joe Gill and the art is again by the team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache.

Case #106 "Case of the King's Assassin" begins with an round of introductions to key characters. Specifically mentioned are King Abhim Fal-Rif a fabulously rich Arab who is the target of kidnappers. Also mentioned is Bibi Cane a blonde American actress. Finally, is Shiek Zara-Faid trained by both Moscow and Peking and the enemy of Abhim, the man who wants him dead. The story begins in the city where a beautiful woman named Renshaw appears and entices Sarge who summarily dumps his date to meet this new beauty who takes him outside to encounter Hassim a rich oil merchant who wants to retain Sarge to protect King Abhim. Immediately a car appears, and bullets fly but Hassim's car is bulletproof and when the attacking car gets in range Hassim uses some unseen device to blow up the attackers. Despite Sarge telling Hassim twice he has been asked by the U.S. government to watch out for King Abhim Hassim still insists on hiring him. Sarge goes to the airport and is soon set upon by more attackers who he dispatches quickly. He then meets Bibi Cane waiting for Abhim because she thinks he is cute. They head out to Abhim's plane and introductions are made. Abhim seems quite taken by Bibi. Sarge knows that agents are waiting to kidnap Abhim, so he has the King disguise himself with a beret and sunglasses and with Bibi on his arm he walks right past the thugs waiting for him. But Sarge is not so lucky.

"New Old Ideas In Warfare" talks about the development of projectile weapons from the earliest rocks thrown from a cliff to the sling to the modern cluster bomb.

"Chase West" is the title of the second part of the Sarge Steel story and Sarge finds himself battling thugs sent to kidnap King Abhim. He gets past them and joins up with Abhim and Bibi in his Jaguar and the trio drive away. Later at Sarge's apartment they two get very familiar while Sarge watches the two. A shadow appears at the window following a mysterious phone call from Hassim who seems under duress. Sarge uses his steel fist to dispatch the gunman and takes to the roof where a sniper lurks, but Sarge uses a detached TV antennae to knock the killer from the roof. When he returns to his apartment he finds Bibi and Abhim gone as well as his sports car. He alerts the police and a manhunt begins.

"$1,000,000,000 Ransom" is the title of the third installment and the story begins with a plane over the stolen Jaguar with Bibi and Abhim inside. Sarge gets cleaned up and heads out to intercept the duo after reports come in as to their location and he arrives just in time as the plane begins to dive and a gunman shoots at the escaping sports car. It wrecks but Bibi and Abhim seem unhurt as Sarge gets them to cover. He then pretends to be shot and the plane leaves. But as the trio try to leave the area they are stopped at a roadblock by Zara's men. Just as Zara prepares to shoot Sarge a jet appears and sets up a smoke screen which Sarge uses to dispatch Zara's men and kill Zara. With the police on the way, the situation in hand Bibi and Abhim ask how they can get married without all the pomp and circumstance a King demands. Sarge shows them the road to Tiajuana and as the story closes he heads to the White House where he is to make a full report as a special agent.

"What Is Karate?" is a three-page piece by Frank McLaughlin and features new Charlton hero Judomaster giving basic information about Karate techniques, gear, and a very detailed presentation of various hand positions.

I adore the cover of this issue, but I have to confess it's one of the weaker issues to date. The romance between Abhim and Bibi is fun and funny but lacks enough time to develop to be really believable. Again there are no real twists in this story and the storytelling by Montes & Bache is really deficient in the story's climax. It's frankly impossible to tell what's going on without the captions which seem at odds with the artwork. As a special agent, Sarge is more in the Bond school and maybe they were trying to add some humor. It doesn't work all that well I think.

More Sarge Steel to come.

 This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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Doctor No!

I write these Bond reviews with the expectation that everyone has seen all the movies, if not read the all the books. So, tread as carefully as it seems prudent. 

Dr. No is the Bond novel I'm most familiar with, having read it several times. I really like this adventure and enjoyed it a great deal this time, especially in the context of the other stories. Quarrel who alas meets his maker is a great helper for Bond, but his demise has much more weight knowing that he helped Bond in the earlier case against Mr. Big in the earlier novel Live and Let Die. 

One character who gets famously realized on the big screen is Ursula Andress in the star-making role of "Honey Ryder". In the novel her full name is "Honeychild Ryder", and the young lady is rather younger than the statuesque and robustly adult Andress. Honeychild is nearly a feral being, raised by a deceased native who took her on when her parents were killed. Honeychild is a creature of natural beauty who lives in nature, among animals in a den-like home. She is first seen by Bond from behind and is completely naked, and fully comfortable in that capacity. Fleming even refers to this ferocious young woman as a female Tarzan at one point. She even has a distinctive broken nose which reminded me of Tarzan's tell-tale scar, evidence of a deadly struggle in the character's past.

But what really suggestive to me that Fleming was doing an homage of the classic ERB hero is how Honeychild escapes the death-dealing clutches of Dr. No at the end of the novel. Spoilers for those who haven't read the book, since nothing like this happens in the movie. Honeychild escapes her doom by simply knowing nature and trusting in the creatures who are part of it. She is strapped down by the insidious Dr. No so that crabs can lustily nibble at her helpless body, but Honeychild is more familiar with the crabs, and so simply remains motionless as they crawl over her and away. She is never really all that much in danger because of her special understanding of the world hidden from the overly civilized Dr. No. It's interesting to note that Bond himself survived an earlier threat by centipede, though for him it was a supreme test of will and not merely being one with nature.

It's easy enough to see Dr. No as a variation on Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu, that's obvious. But Honeychild as a version of Tarzan is a slightly bit more obscured. Though clearly the designers of the cover to the first edition picked up on it rightly enough. So, what you have in this wonderful little pulp feast is James Bond battling Fu Manchu alongside the progeny of Tarzan. It's a right good yarn that.

My all-time favorite James Bond movie hands down is Dr. No. It's a great story well told with a rugged and virile Connery forging a role which had rarely been seen on the big screen. Bond in this movie is not a nice fellow, though often a charming one. He kills in cold blood, the killing of the henchman Professor Dent makes Bond different than other protagonists in movies, he's a killer through and through and his lack of any hesitation or remorse for his victim is stunning. Love the music in this one, the small bits of character, especially in regard to Quarrel, the cantankerous islander who helps Bond despite his superstitions. Felix Leiter never looked better as when he was portrayed by Jack Lord. 

This one has it all, a super-spy luster as Bond races across the world to a remote and exotic location to save world peace when the vile Dr. No is "toppling" U.S. rockets. (It's the same plot used in the Jonny Quest debut episode too, so maybe that's why I love it so.) Dr. No as portrayed by Joeseph Wiseman is a great super-villain, a weirdo with credible but bizarre artificial hands. The Bond of his movie is vulnerable, and Honey Wilder as portrayed by Ursula Andress. She's beautiful for certain and set the standard for future Bond girls.

This one holds up. The subsequent Bond movies only ever struggle to achieve the delightful balance of danger and high romance and frolic this one establishes so effectively. This is my favorite Bond movie starring any of the fine actors who have portrayed the character. It's a product of a time and moment when such conceits were not ironic in the least, just exceedingly cool. They got it right the first time and they never bettered it. 

James Bond Returns in Goldfinger. 

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Sarge Steel - File 105!

Sarge Steel #5 is dated September 1965. No writer is credited on the splash page but no doubt it's Joe Gill. The art this time is by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache taking the reigns from Dick Giordano. Giordano does supply the cover for this issue though. The splash page shows Sarge in a headlock held by a giant Asian warrior with Ivan Chung holding a sword and ordering a beautiful woman to shoot Sarge while a tweedy professor type looks on.

Part I of File 105 "The Case of the Caged Brain" begins on the beaches of Miami where Sarge is taking a small vacation. He is approached by a stunning raven-haired beauty who turns out to be Li-Li also known as "The Black Lily" a Chinese intelligence agent. She tells Sarge that she is attempting to get away from Ivan Chung, an old enemy of Sarge's, and the pair drive off together in Sarge's car. But they are followed and a trap ends up with Sarge trading bullets with unknown assailants. After the gunplay, Li-Li tells Sarge the truth, that she is there to get him to come with her in order that a scientist working for Chung will finish a project. He claims that only if Sarge is present will he feel safe enough to complete the assignment. While kissing Li-Li Sarge feels the prick of a needle and soon is asleep. An American agent reports from his car while Sarge is driven away and taken aboard a plane. The plane is tracked to a Cuban air field and we find out that this was part of a plan to get Sarge in touch with the scientist, a Dr.Crayne. Sarge awakes on the plane, attacks his kidnappers but finds his neck in the grip of some mighty hands.

"Special Services 3X" is a one-page text piece that talks about psychological warfare and the branch of the government which uses it. Then a story about using toy mechanical snakes to trick superstitious Vietnamese soldiers is related as an example.

Part II of the Sarge Steel story is titled "Fatal Beauty" and begins with Sarge in the arms of Li-Li but under the eye of others, specifically a giant Asian warrior. Li-Li kisses Sarge only to trick him and taking his luger away. A long flight and eventually Sarge lands Northwest China and is taken to the headquarters of Ivan Chung where Dr.Crayne is working. Chung threatens both Sarge and Crayne as well as Li-Li and Sarge punches him. Then the giant warrior named Nhu gets involved and quickly gets Sarge in a barred cell. But Sarge uses his steel fist to break out and a battle begins.

Part III is titled "Pick a Way to Die" and begins with Sarge and Nhu battling hand to hand. Eventually Sarge is able to get his very strong and agile opponent angry using his steel fist and is at a last able to knock him out. Chung attacks but Sarge using his fist yet again breaks his sword. Li-Li aims Sarge's luger at him, but she can't bring herself to kill him and so Sarge knocks out Chung and the trio of Sarge, Crayne, and Li-Li run to an airplane. Li-Li covers Sarge's and Crayne's escape in the plane and we see her presumably dead on the airstrip as they fly away to safety. Sarge fights back tears though he won't admit it.

"Sport of Judo" is a three-page piece by Frank McLaughlin narrated and starring Sarge in which he talks about judo not as sport but as an effective self-defense approach and demonstrates techniques used to fend off a knife attack.

I find the artwork of Montes & Bache very appealing, but I have to confess the storytelling is weak in places. Without captions, I'd have a very hard time following the action in a few places. This story features some good characters, but there are few twists. This is the last issue of Sarge Steel to have the "Private Detective" sub-title on the cover.

More Sarge Steel to come.

This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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From Russia With Love!

I write these Bond reviews with the expectation that everyone has seen all the movies, if not read the all the books. So, tread as carefully as it seems prudent. 

From Russia with Love from 1957 is easily the best of the Bond novels, despite the fact Bond himself doesn't show up until the last half. Red Grant is a worthy opponent and in fact in this head-to-head with SMERSH, Bond is battling his main foe and not quibbling with mere hoods. Money ain't the motivation in this one, humiliating Britain's hero spy is the goal, and the plan is a whopper. Kerim Bey is a fantastic helper for Bond, a character worthy of a few stories all his own. The ending is an absolute hoot, and it caught me looking.

This is one in which the book and the movie align quite closely, with mostly cosmetic changes made for the film. The book's great strength is its structure. We get two parts, titled the "The Plan" and "The Execution". The former focuses exclusively on the enemies of Bond, devoting whole chapters to their backstories. This scheme is a deft one, with actual levels of subtlety. Fleming's powers of description are top-notch again, as the setting for this one is the exotic Istanbul and later the equally romantic Orient Express. 

As has become a regular thing in these novels, Bond's strongest relationship in book is again with a man, specifically Kerin Bey, a sly pirate who runs the British operations with wit and savvy. There is a strong sexual attraction to Titiana for certain, but once again it's a sexual one almost exclusively with a dash of parental concern. Bond saves his feelings for his few male friends as is evidenced in the beginning of the second section when we learn that his relationship with Tiffany Case has broken up and he seems rather unconcerned. And the previous novels had featured a game of some kind at the core of the story or at least strongly featured in the background. In this outing the entire adventure is a chess match, embedding the motif into the plot. 

From Russia With Love the movie is to my thinking the absolute best of the Bonds as a pure spy thriller. It doesn't have the super-spy vibe in any serious way but rather gives us a relatively low-key (by Bond standards) Cold War yarn which puts our hero within reach of the clutches of those vile Russkies and more deadly yet, his enemies in SPECTRE.

Pedro Armendariz as Ali Kerim Bey supplies the movie with a ton of old-fashioned charm and his demise toward the climax of the movie is genuinely sad. The back and forth of the spies in the ancient streets of Istanbul are fun to watch as the exotic locales add lovely character to scenes which are mostly mundane.  Daniela Bianchi is gorgeous and a proper lure for the always randy Bond, though his dismissive treatment of this girl who truly loves him is sometimes difficult to understand.

At heart of this one though are the delightful villains. Kleb and Kronsteen are a duo from hell, a Russian man-hating crone and a cold-fish chess master are the ideal opponents for the virile Bond even though he never meets the latter personally. At the top of the heap though is Grant played by Robert Shaw. Grant doesn't speak through nearly the entire movie, but with his shocking white hair and deadly demeanor offers up a strange counter-image of Bond himself. As Bond stumbles through the story, Grant always seems in control. When they do finally face off, it's simple greed which proves the villains undoing.

James Bond Returns in Dr. No. 

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Sarge Steel - File 104!

Sarge Steel #4 is dated July 1965. Created by Pat Masulli and scripted by Joe Gill, this issue features artwork by Dick Giordano with Jon D'Agostino on the lettering. The cover is another choice one by Giordano.

The story "Case of the Kiss of the Cat" begins with a splash featuring Sarge facing off against a beautiful black-haired woman and her black panther. The story begins in a night club where Sarge is confronted by a thug named Moo who is a bodyguard for Lynx, but Sarge makes way with him and spends the evening dancing with the beautiful and rich thrill-seeker. The papers the next several days feature Lynx making a splash everywhere she went creating quite a distraction, which Steel thinks might be linked to certain robberies. He is employed by Harker Bliss to safeguard some jewels which are being displayed during a party which Lynx will attend. She arrives with an ocelot on a leash which Sarge charms with some scent he brought for that very situation. He spies Lynx on the balcony distracted and then he himself sees a burglar climbing down a wall which Sarge confronts and sends splashing into the pool a few stories below. But there's a big explosion and the vault was robbed while all this happened. Lynx makes her exit as Part I finishes.

"P is for Parachute" is a one-page text piece about the history of parachutes.

Part II is titled "The Strolling Statue" and begins with Lynx and her henchmen Moo and Felix planning her next heist. Steel has been engaged to supply some security advice for the World's Fair and goes to fulfill that obligation when he encounters Lynx. He checks out the statue "The Dreamer" just before it is stolen with the use of sleeping gas and some disguise work. The life-size statue is dressed and driven off the Fair grounds in one of the distinctive taxis the Fair uses. Steel recognizes the thieves, attempts to intercept them but is knocked out himself when Lynx unleashes her panther on him. He wakes up in time to see a hydrofoil disappear across the horizon.

Part III is titled "Death on Cat Cay" and begins with Sarge rising out of the water onto the beach of Cat Cay, the ideal location for Lynx's hideout he suspects. He makes his way past the guards using various hand-to-hand and judo techniques. He leaps the fence using high-tech jump-jets and then scales the wall of the central hideout taking out various guards before at long last finding location of stolen statue. He then is again confronted by Lynx and her panther, but this time he uses his Luger to dispatch the attacking animal. Lynx is furious but then abruptly seemingly succumbs to Sarge's charms calling her "Man of Steel". But he is not fooled as she reaches for his gun. Suddenly British policemen show up and arrest Lynx and her men. It seems Cat Cay is under British mandate and they take the Lynx into custody. But as Sarge relates to Bessie and Harker Bliss later when he returns the jewels, she escaped the British police boat and seemingly drowned. Bliss and Steel lament the loss of such a beautiful woman, but Bessie is less impressed. The story ends with a final panel announcing the next adventure featuring arch-villain Ivan Chung.

"Sport of Judo" is a three-page instructional piece by Frank McLaughlin featuring Sarge Steel giving tips on two judo throws, specifically Osoto Gari-Major Outer Reaping Throw and Osoto Makikomi Major Outer Winding Throw. The former was specifically used in the main Steel story this issue.

This issue has a sprawling set, but does live up to the noir private eye quality more than the previous two which had a greater spy feel. This one deals with mere thefts, though the thief is very well connected and highly organized. This is a solid issue by Giordano, who will be taking a break from the series with the next few issues.

More Sarge Steel to come.

This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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Diamonds Are Forever!

I write these Bond reviews with the expectation that everyone has seen all the movies, if not read the all the books. So, tread as carefully as it seems prudent. 

Diamonds are Forever takes James Bond out of his usual environment of espionage and pits him against U.S. gangsters. It's a bit of a stretch and frankly Bond doesn't seem natural in this one. Tiffany Case is the usual damaged Bond femme fatale, but she does remain strong through most of this one. The gangsters aren't especially brilliant despite being dubbed "The Spangled Gang". They come off almost like baddies from Chester Gould's Dick Tracy. But Bond perhaps underestimates them. 

The story takes Bond from London to NYC and then upstate New York for some horse racing and then veers to Las Vegas. It begins with diamond smuggling and then veers into all sort of crime the mobs were engaged with. When this novel was written in 1956 the mobs were dominant in the United States in places like Las Vegas and other gambling centers. In Las Vegas, Bond finds the strange world which the mob created to attract gamblers and he finds great danger as well. Bond is tracking down a smuggling ring which specializes in diamonds, and he finds danger and allies both new and old at every step. 

It's against that backdrop that Bond takes up the case which gives a wonderful glimpse of what it was like to fly overseas. We get a cruise of sorts aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Listening to these guys argue over "millions" seems so quaint, a like a reverse Dr. Evil. Felix Leiter returns, a bit worse for wear and now a Pinkerton Man. Scotland Yarder Vallance returns as well, as Fleming seems to be building up a cadre of recognizable mates for our hero. Fleming is building a world around his indomitable hero. 

Of the original Sean Connery Bond movies, Diamonds are Forever is easily the least of them. Connery returned to the role that defined his career after a brief hiatus and in this somewhat bleak adventure follows the trail of stolen diamonds as they wander across the globe from the mines of South Africa to Holland and eventually to Las Vegas. Along the way he encounters two gay killers named Kidd and Wint who offer up a satirical look at hit men to say the least. Also, along for the ride is Jill St. John as Tiffany Case, and if not for her presence this Bond flick would be a total bore. St. John is extremely hot in this movie, among the most delectable of the Bond girls but sadly it's a somewhat remote Bond she interacts with.

Missing from this humdrum yarn is the usual Bond tropes like an armoring by Q, though the delightful Q does make a showing. The interaction between Bond and Moneypenny is pretty minimal in this one. M does get in some funny lines as Bond demonstrates a limited knowledge of diamond lore. All in all, it's an exceedingly atypical Bond adventure and it's one which lacks the high-tech romance which had come to define the series when Connery left it the first time.

The plot, as far as I can make it out, is that Blofeld is scheming (apparently sans SPECTRE) to gather diamonds while posing as reclusive tycoon Wilbur Whyte and use them to make a satellite which will power a laser which will destroy nuclear weapons across the world. His scheme barely gets underway when it's cut short by Bond and Case working in tandem. The finale battle atop a highly-specialized oil rig falls well below the spectacle which had been entertained on earlier movies. There's a lot of location shooting in this Bond movie and sadly that give the whole affair a more realistic and mildly grubby look. Connery looks disinterested most of the time and also just a little old as the gray in his hair is evident.

As Bond movies go, it's a bit of a snooze with a few nice moments. The least of Connery's original Bonds for certain.

James Bond Returns in From Russia with Love. 

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Sarge Steel - File 103!

Sarge Steel #3 is dated April-May 1967. Created by Pat Masulli with script by Joe Gill, Illustrations by Dick Giordano and Letters by Jon D'Agostino, the issue features a cover by Giordano. The title still has the "Private Detective" label attached.

Case #103 "The Heritage of Hate" begins with a splash page featuring Sarge fencing with a man wearing a swastika on his fencing mask with the Smiling Skull shooting a bullet between them while a beautiful redhead lingers on the floor. The story starts in Sarge's office with Sarge late for an appointment charging across town avoiding parking tickets and speeding to make a date with Rocky. Rocky it turns out is an ex-light-heavyweight boxing champ with whom Sarge spars twice a week. After the bout Sarge shows off his steel fist to an interested party by smashing a bathroom wall, then goes to his locker to find a man stealing his signature steel luger. He breaks his wrist and sends him packing. Later at his office he listens to Bessie's recorded notes about the clients of the day, but is interrupted by three thugs. Sarge battles them and defeats all three but then is slugged from behind by an unknown party. He awakes in the arms of a beautiful redhead named Inga Ross. Then police appear and tell Sarge that while they don't suspect him, they need him to come with them to answer questions since bullets matching his gun have turned up in regard to two homicides. He discovers that his luger has a silver twin with the same serial number and almost identical and ballistics patterns. That silver Luger reportedly owned by Rudolf Wolk. Then after leaving the police office Inga pulls a gun and forces Sarge onto a plane headed south.

Part II is titled "The Smiling Skull" and opens as Rudolf Wolk, the Smiling Skull approaches Sarge's plane in a military style jet. Both planes land on a field in a "banana republic". After a few words, Wolk uses his signature silver luger to demonstrate his shooting skill by shooting at Sarge who is unimpressed. After trading a few bon mots Sarge and Wolk come into conflict with Sarge deflecting Wolk's shot with his steel fist and then knocking out the Nazi. Taking Wolk's gun and running out the window, he finds Inga hanging out another window and re-enters the building. She says her father is being held captive and then thugs appear with guns. Sarge shoots them as they head to the dungeons in the network of tunnels under the base. Sarge and Inga encounter a fencer wearing a swastika on his fencing mask just as Sarge realizes his silver Luger is empty.

"C.I." is a two-page text piece about the training and expertise needed to do the job of Criminal Investigator in the military. The essay is narrated by Major John William Henry.

"Doomsday" is a one-page story by artist Bill Molno about the threat of nuclear war and speaks of bombers, submarine missiles and the future threat of missiles launched from the ocean floor.

Part III is titled "The Silver Luger" and begins as Sarge defeats the fencer, blocking his sword with his fist then he and Inga head into the dungeon as Wolk appears with another gun. They find bars blocking the way, but Sarge is able to use his fist to bust through them. The pair run into a staging area filled with jet planes and other equipment which Inga explains is the secret weapons cache of the Smiling Skull and includes nuclear weapons. Sarge reloads the silver luger and then releasing fuel sets fire to the weapons cache. Fleeing the raging fire they find Inga's father just as they come under fire from a machine gun, but Sarge dispatches the gunner. He then gets Inga's dad and other released prisoners to use the machine gun to hold the Nazis at bay while and Rudolph Wolk the Smiling Skull face off. Again, Sarge deflects the bullet with his fist and fires at Wolk seemingly killing him. But a caption says Wolk will be held for trial as the battle is won and the wannabe Nazis are defeated. Sarge gets a kiss from Inga, but the final panel shows him returning to his office where Bessie waits. He brings the silver Luger with him.

Finally, there is "The Sport of Judo" a three-page feature written and drawn by Frank McLaughlin featuring Sarge Steel telling the reader all about the basics of judo and how it should be seen more as a sport requiring specific discipline rather than just a deadly secret science.

This is a solid issue of Sarge Steel. The format of the story has more of the spy flavor from the second issue and less of the noir feel of the first. The Smiling Skull is a memorable baddie and it's always good when the good guys are cleaning out a nest of Nazis. Back in the 60's there were plenty of these unrepentant types to subdue it seems. Sarge really depended on his steel fist in this one using it many times to deflect bullets a now common trick, and as a shield of sorts in the fencing bout. It's a great all-purpose weapon in these stories and as a mace is perfect. Sarge's strength seems a bit amplified this time, but I guess we can write some things off to metal fatigue.

More Sarge Steel to come.

This is a Revised Classic Charlton Post! 

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Moonraker!

I write these Bond reviews with the expectation that everyone has seen all the movies, if not read the all the books. So, tread as carefully as it seems prudent. 

The 1955 James Bond entry Moonraker pits Bond against a hidden colony of Nazis who have infiltrated British society and are plotting to blow up the heart of London in the name of their new world order. The finale of this one is a bit hard to fathom in places and Bond surviving is pretty far-fetched actually. It's got a dandy villain in Sir Hugo Drax, a baddie worthy of the serial movies of old.

Hearkening back to Casino Royale we are treated to a multi-chapter card game between Bond and Drax. It seems M has become aware that the mysterious industrialist Hugo Drax might be cheating at cards. And if a gentleman would do that, then what might that desperado do with the rocket he's built called Moonraker. Bond is called in to see if Drax is just lucky at cards and finds out he does cheat. Then we are treated to a contest between playing Bridge in which Bond sets Drax up for a major fall. Drax declares revenge. 

And then it's the next day. Bond is sent to Drax's factory when a security man is murdered in a strange fashion in a pub. The government fears something will happen to the Moonraker project. He finds that in this setting he can even admire Drax, the leader of men. His men consist of fifty Germans who all sport very short hair and prominent mustaches. There is an attack on the life of Bond and Gala Brand, a policewoman who has been inside the Drax operation for months. She discovers the real target of the test flight of Moonraker is London and that Drax and his German scientists are agents of a foreign power. It's up to Bond to save her and London when she is discovered as a spy by Drax. 

A few times when Bond is described in the novels, he is compared to Hoagy Carmichael, but with a somber streak of cruelty. This is not the Bond many of us see in our mind's eye after so many films. Timothy Dalton is probably the closest match in my estimation.  

The movie Moonraker changes the plot up quite a bit. Sir Hugo Drax this time is an uber-rich baddie who plots to winnow the planet Earth of misfits and those who don't fit his profile of ideal human being. (Where have heard this one before?) Drax shuttles for the United States and has been making a few extras to reach a space station he also has kept under wraps. Then he's going to drop a deadly toxin on the planet to kill only people but all of them save those he's preselected for rescue. (They are all pretty much runway models and the like.)

The movie is arguably the silliest Bond movie ever made. The franchise was taking on water and looked to the new trend in science fiction, which was sweeping the cinemas, to raise attendance. This is Roger Moore's fourth outing as Ian Fleming's spy, right in the middle of his run. And it has to be said that he like Connery before him is starting to show his years at over fifty. But with a deft director that can be glossed over. 

The single biggest demerit towards taking this movie even remotely seriously, even within the expansive confines of a Bond movie is the presence of Jaws, a returning villain from the last movie. The part played by Richard Kiel is just too broad a character for the Bond universe. He's nigh indestructible. We do get a particularly savage killing when Drax puts his dogs on an employee he suspects of being too friendly with Bond. And we get perhaps the biggest groaner Bond-Girl name of all time in "Holly Goodhead" played by Lois Chiles. (They will never top "Pussy Galore".)

The movie has an ending which might appeal to video game fans of the time, but is not all that tense. There are echoes of Thunderball in the climactic space battle. In the final analysis this is a silly, silly movie with a dumb plot. But it's still got a bangin' title. 

James Bond Returns in Diamonds are Forever. 

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