The Karate Killers (1967)

U.N.C.L.E. agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin battle T.H.R.U.S.H. spies to seize Dr. True's secret chemical formula used in extracting gold from sea water.

Director:

Barry Shear

Writers:

Norman Hudis (screenplay), Boris Ingster (story)

Stars:

Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Joan Crawford

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Vaughn	...	Napoleon Solo (archive footage)
David McCallum	...	Illya Kuryakin (archive footage)
Joan Crawford	...	Amanda True (archive footage)
Curd Jürgens	...	Carl Von Kesser (archive footage) (as Curt Jurgens)
Herbert Lom	...	Randolph (archive footage)
Telly Savalas	...	Count Valeriano De Fanzini (archive footage)
Terry-Thomas	...	Constable (archive footage)
Leo G. Carroll	...	Alexander Waverly (archive footage)
Kim Darby	...	Sandy True (archive footage)
Diane McBain	...	Contessa Margo De Fanzini (archive footage)
Jill Ireland	...	Imogen Smythe (archive footage)
Danielle De Metz	...	Yvonne (archive footage)
Irene Tsu	...	Reikko (archive footage)
Jim Boles	...	Dr. Simon True (archive footage)
Philip Ahn	...	Sazami Kyushu (archive footage)

Storyline

U.N.C.L.E. agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin travel around the globe in an effort to track down a secret formula that was divided into four parts and left by a dying scientist with his four daughters, all of whom live in different countries. Evil THRUSH agent Randolph also wants the formula, and is aided by his karate-chopping henchmen.

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | psychotronic film | hitman | judo throw | judo | 

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Taglines:

A new U.N.C.L.E. thriller !

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller | Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Five Daughters Affair

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arena Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was previously seen on NBC@10:00 p.m. (EST), Friday, March 31 and Friday, April 7, 1966 as the 87th & 88th episodes of "Man from U.N.C.L.E., The" (1964), "The Five Daughters Affair" (Parts 1 and 2).

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Goofs

Due to the difference in lighting and film stock, during the fight in the snow (shot on a soundstage) the shadows on the "snow" are a slightly reddish grey/black. In shots taken outside in normal daylight, they are blue/black.

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Connections

Follows One Spy Too Many (1966)

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Soundtracks

Come On Down To My Boat
Written by Wes Farrell and Jerry Goldstein (uncredited)
Performed by Every Mother's Son
[Played by the band in the bar]

User Reviews

Bland From UNCLE

As the administrator of the Facebook UNCLE page, and having seen all of S1 and S2 of Man From UNCLE via DVD, I consider myself a fan of the series. But even as a fan, I cannot say this is a good film in any way. Too bad, a number of good actors such as Herbert Lom, Joan Crawford, Kim Darby, Telly Savalas and the smoking hot Jill Ireland appear in this film, a spliced-together 2 part MFU adventure.

Also a shame, seeing as there is a fun opening sequence with a squadron of Wallis WA-116 type autogyros that attack Our Heroes as they drive the Pirhanna UNCLE car...as an autogyro aficionado, this sequence was released two months before the 007 'Little Nellie' autogyro sequence in 'You Only Live Twice.' There should be more autogyros in cinema, but they still don't save this picture.

It's mostly a bunch of short, uninteresting vignettes, and very silly fight scenes featuring a bunch of goons in matching outfits, similar to the goons you'd see on the Batman show, working for Penguin or the Riddler.

The most silly fight takes place in a night club, where the mostly forgotten bubble-gum band 'Every Mother's Son' performs...apparently MGM owned this group and used this film for cross-promotional purposes. Which pretty much sums up this film...just cashing in before the gravy train dried up. Vaughn and McCallum, who usually had a good chemistry together and had high individual appeal, seem to be phoning in their appearances...it might have been my imagination, but I swear it looked as if they were each wondering if their respective agents had been getting calls lately, or whether he should invest in a restaurant.

If you are not familiar with the MFU series, you should know that Seasons 1 & 2 of that show were generally good (and a few excellent) but from Season 3 onward there were serious problems. This movie is from two Season 3 episodes, and Season 3 was the nadir of this series.

The good episodes of MFU have cleverness, fun and some kind of a point to them....but this doesn't, and worse, it's a double-length waste of time, as opposed to just one misfire of an episode.

I DVR'd this last time it was on the TCM cable network, it having been a while since I'd seen an MFU episode. Frankly, I would have been better off going the library or video rental store and watching another episode.

This film is only of interest for die-hard UNCLE fans, or for college students drinking cheap beer to watch on a Saturday afternoon so they can jeer at it. If you've never seen MFU, this is not a good introduction to the series. This is sad, seeing as MFU is almost never shown even on cable TV.