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Surely this was one of Mike Myers' favourite movies from his childhood? 'Salt & Pepper' was produced by its stars Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford. 'Charles Salt' and 'Christopher Pepper' are owners of a seedy Soho nightclub who get into trouble when a beautiful Chinese agent dies in Salt's dressing room. Then, one by one, V.I.P.'s start dropping like flies. Despite continual interference from the law, Salt and Pepper manage to uncover a diabolical plot by extremists to take over the country using a stolen nuclear submarine, H.M.S. Hercules. Its like watching a 'Matt Helm' picture without Dino. The opening scenes are atrocious, but as soon as Salt and Pepper are kidnapped by fake policeman, it perks up. Some of the action is surprisingly violent for a lightweight comedy, particularly the finale in a military academy in which an M.P. dies when Pepper removes the pin from one of the grenades hanging from his belt. The excellent British cast are a big help - Michael Bates as the incompetent 'Inspector Crabbe', Ernest Clark as 'Colonel Balsam', and John LeMesurier as the eye patch-wearing villain 'Colonel Woodstock'. Johnny Dankworth's swinging music catches the mood of the film perfectly. Michael Pertwee went on to write for 'The Persuaders!' starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore. Financially successful though the film was, it didn't lead to Sammy and Peter becoming 'the new Hope & Crosby'. A sequel, 'One More Time' ( directed by Jerry Lewis ) was an unmitigated disaster. Richard Donner went on to make 'The Omen', 'Superman' and 'Lethal Weapon'.
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