The talented character actor Theodore Marcuse is really terrific here and especially funny as the evil mastermind Zoltan Schubach who heads THEM.
Since Allen & Rossi are the stars of the movie I think it’s easy for viewers to get caught up in their rather lackluster delivery and overlook all the funny performances from their costars, which is a shame. I’m not sure if it’s the fault of the comedy team or the writers but it’s a shame that the script didn’t give them an opportunity to show off whatever made audiences enjoy their stand up act so much. They don’t seem to have much chemistry here and the jokes they deliver often fall flat. Last of the Secret Agents? also contains a musical number performed by Steve Rossi and it ends with an appearance of Allen & Rossi on the Ed Sullivan Show.Īllen & Rossi try hard to make the film work but they’re no Martin & Lewis and they end up being one of the film’s main problems.
Like any good spy film there are plenty of beautiful women that help and hinder the two stars. Naturally lots of chase scenes and fights take place in the process. They get recruited by the GGI (Good Guys Inc.) and help concoct a plan to put an end to the criminal activities of THEM. They soon discover that they’ve been unwillingly used as couriers for art thieves who are part of an evil organization known as THEM. The plot involves Marty Allen and Steve Rossi as two American ex-pats looking for work in Europe. If you enjoy Mel Brooks’ style of humor or the Austin Powers films you’ll probably find yourself laughing a few times while watching Last of the Secret Agents? and if you like funny spy flicks with good soundtracks and stylish wardrobes, then you might actually enjoy this silly film as much as I do. The movie doesn’t contain much comedic gold, but it’s also not the unwatchable mess that so many critics seem to think it is. A quick look at the film’s IMDb page shows that most viewers have given the film a 3 star rating out of a possible 10 and the comments are less then flattering, but I happen to think the movie is worth a look if you enjoy slapstick style humor and silly sight gags, as well as sixties spy spoofs. The years have not been kind to the film and as far as I know Last of the Secret Agents? has never been released on video, much less DVD.
They ended their partnership in 1969 and Last of the Secret Agents? was basically forgotten. Last of the Secret Agents? was butchered by critics on its initial release and Allen & Rossi never appeared in a film together again. Allen & Rossi were a comedic duo that became popular on the Ed Sullivan Show during The Beatles’ heyday and they were patterned after Martin & Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis), but their style of comedy was becoming rather dated as the sixties wore on. One of the silliest of these was Norman Abbott’s Last of the Secret Agents? (1966), which was the first and last film that attempted to make cinema stars out of the comedy team Allen & Rossi (Marty Allen & Steve Rossi). During the sixties there were literally hundreds of spy spoofs made following the popularity of the early James Bond films.