Hot Enough for June

Released in the wake of 'From Russia With Love', 'Hot Enough For June' was one of the earliest 007 spoofs. 007 is referred to ( reportedly killed in action! ) in the opening scene. Nicholas Whistler ( Dirk Bogarde ) is dragged out of the dole queue, and sent to Prague by what believes to be a glass-manufacturing company. In actual fact, he is being used as an unwitting secret agent by M15, to recover a stolen Communist formula. Once Whistler realises the awful truth, the film turns into 'The 39 Steps' revisited! Bogarde plays Whistler much like Dr.Simon Sparrow, the best performances come from the irreplaceable Robert Morley as the delightfully droll Colonel Cunliffe, and gruff Leo McKern as his Russian opposite number. Sylva Koscina provides glamour as McKern's daughter, with whom Whistler falls in love. Ralph Thomas expertly mixes the comedy and suspense, the audience is cheering Whistler on as he makes a desperate attempt to enter the British Embassy in Prague at the climax. Good fun.

"Hot Enough for June" started as a funny sendup of the Bond movies of its day, but by the end had metamorphosed to a nice combination of suspense adventure and romantic comedy. I wish it was available to see again.

A better-than-average spy thriller, the film is sort of like a combination between James Bond and 'North by Northwest'. It has an awful number of lame jokes in the mix, but in compensation, there are many amusing moments to be had along the way. Set and made during the time of the Cold War, there are almost unavoidably overly silly, mocking portrayals of the Communist characters, however in such a light-hearted film as this one is, silly supporting do not pose much of a problem. Generally, this is just enjoyable stuff, nothing heavy but still entertaining, and at times quite sexed up too, without overdoing it.

I did enjoy this film, but the reason for saying above 'if you don't think too hard' is that after watching it, the thing that stuck in my mind was that Nicholas (Dirk Bogarde) seemed to adapt to the situations he found himself as a spy rather too easily for someone who is supposed to be an unemployed writer. That aside the film is a little difficult to categorise, IMDb call this a comedy, and it starts out in the same vein as the "Doctor" films that Dirk Bogarde made, but it changes to what I would classify as 'Light Drama', and that makes it much more interesting.

Overall the acting was good but not outstanding, and I would recommend it for an evenings entertainment, provided your idea of an evenings entertainment is something you don't have to think about too much, and you have had enough of sex, violence and obscenity.

Despite occasionally amusing passages this engaging spoof of the nascent spy genre is, however, perhaps not memorable enough to be more than an agreeable time passer.

Still, the cast is willing: for most of the film's second half, Dirk Bogarde - playing an unwilling British spy - is forced to sport several ingenious impersonations (waiter, milkman, a typically Bavarian villager, etc.) to evade the pursuing Russian agent Leo McKern. Robert Morley is McKern's British counterpart (but posing as a diplomat) and John Le Mesurier (playing one of Her Majesties' top secret agents) appears in the film's very first (and arguably best) sequence: stopping at what seems to be a reception desk, he proceeds to place on it every kind of gadget one could think of before proclaiming that one of their best agents had been killed and, soon enough, a card showing "007 Deceased" appears on the screen!

Sylva Koscina, playing McKern's Ninotchka-like daughter (who also poses as Bogarde's chauffeur) adds the requisite element of sex appeal to the mix when she becomes enamored with her "boss". Another funny sequence takes place when Bogarde is asked to try out an indestructible glass fabric (the work of a German inventor) by throwing a large rock at it; sure enough, the rock bounces onto the floor when it hits, but as they start walking away, the sound of shattering glass is heard on the soundtrack which prompts the Russian factory owner to hiss "You Nazi swine" to the dumb-founded inventor!