The Helicopter Spies (1968)

An African village is nearly exterminated by a deadly weapon - The Thermal Prism. Napoleon and Ilya must find it first before it can be used again for the conquest of the world.

Director:

Boris Sagal

Writers:

Dean Hargrove, Sam Rolfe (developer: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.)

Stars:

Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Carol Lynley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Vaughn	...	Napoleon Solo (archive footage)
David McCallum	...	Illya Kuryakin (archive footage)
Carol Lynley	...	Annie (archive footage)
Bradford Dillman	...	Luther Sebastian (archive footage)
Lola Albright	...	Azalea (archive footage)
Leo G. Carroll	...	Alexander Waverly (archive footage)
John Dehner	...	Dr. Parviz Kharmusi (archive footage)
John Carradine	...	Third-Way Priest (archive footage)
Julie London	...	Laurie Sebastian (archive footage)
H.M. Wynant	...	The Aksoy Brothers (archive footage)
Roy Jenson	...	Carl (archive footage)
Arthur Malet	...	White Hunter (archive footage)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Mom (archive footage)
Robert Karnes	...	Ship's Captain (archive footage)
Barbara Moore	...	Lisa Rogers (archive footage)

Storyline

U.N.C.L.E. agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are sent to retrieve Dr. Kharmusi's latest invention, a death-ray called the thermal prism. In order to break into Dr. Kharmusi's secure vault, U.N.C.L.E. seeks out notorious safe cracker Luther Sebastian who is a fugitive from justice hiding in a country without extradition treaties. In exchange for an international pardon, Luther Sebastian agrees to help U.N.C.L.E. retrieve the thermal prism. Secretly, Luther Sebastian has ambitions of his own regarding the new weapon. He's part of a mystical and religious group called the Third Way, that seeks world-domination and whose members and disciples wear platinum white hair. Solo makes his way to Dr. Kharmusi's fortress, Illya Kuryakin and Luther Sebastian are dropped by parachute into the area and sneak into the fortified compound at night. After a series of unforeseen incidents, crosses, double-crosses and unexpected revelations, the U.N.C.L.E. team leaves with the thermal prism while ...

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | psychotronic film | camp | campy | undercover agent | 

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Taglines:

New excitement ! Newest U.N.C.L.E. thriller !

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | Crime | Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite the movie's title, helicopters, all two of them, appear onscreen for less than four minutes.

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Goofs

There is an airport shot titled on screen as being Tehran, Iran, however dominating the shot is a Lockheed Electra aircraft of TEAL (Tasman Empire Airways Limited), a New Zealand airline and forerunner to Air NZ. That airline never flew further west from NZ than Australia and would never have tried flying thousands of miles to the Middle East using such a relatively short range turboprop aircraft.

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'U' rating. All cuts were waived in 2003 when the film was granted a 'PG' certificate for home video.

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Connections

Followed by How to Steal the World (1968)

User Reviews

What are the best U.N.C.L.E. Movies?

I completely agree that this is the best of the U.N.C.L.E. movies. I especially like the sequence when Napoleon Solo descends a rope ladder dangling from a helicopter onto a moving train to disconnect the freight car holding a rocket. It's actually two segments--Robert Vaughn hanging from a mock-up at the MGM studios and a stuntman (whose face is never seen) doing the actual stunts on a moving train in the Sierras. The sequence is so well photographed and edited that it's nigh-well impossible to tell that it was actually filmed in two different locations with two different actors. But my question is: how do U.N.C.L.E. fans rank the U.N.C.L.E. films? From best to worst?

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 January 1968 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Los espías del helicóptero

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arena Productions, MGM Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1