''High Season for Spies'' (german: Sechs Pistolen jagen Professor Z, translation=''Six Pistols to Hunt Professor Z'') is a 1966

Eurospy film Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James Bo ...

directed by

Julio Coll Julio Coll (7 April 1919 – 17 January 1993) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 30 films between 1947 and 1971. In 1972, he was a member of the jury at the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival. Selected ...

and starring

Antonio Vilar Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

Letícia Román Letícia Román (''née'' Novarese; born 12 August 1941) is an Italian film actress. Early years Román was born Letizia Novarese in Rome in 1941. She was the daughter of stage actress Giuliana Gianni and screenwriter/costume designer Nino Nova ...

and Peter van Eyck. It was made as a co-production between Portugal, Spain and West Germany. The film's action takes place around

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, and concerns attempts by various secret agents to steal a formula.Cowie & Elley p.154

Plot

In Lisbon, Professor Zandor developed a groundbreaking formula on behalf of the industrialist Bardot: He succeeded in producing a steel mixture that is completely bulletproof and, as a result, makes conventional weapons ineffective. In doing so, he gets all kinds of agents from different countries on their toes, but also crooks who are not only after the formula for the fantastic alloy, but also after Professor Z himself. One day, the brilliant scientist is kidnapped straight from his laboratory, and those present, Ellen Green, Zandor's assistant, and Mr. Bardot himself, are witnesses. Zandors client now fears that the groundbreaking formula could be leaked to a foreign power. The most important nations then send their best people to the Portuguese capital, including Jack Haskins from the USA and Pierre Genet from France. Both men have known each other for some time and sometimes cooperate, but have also appeared as competitors. The events have led to the fact that now Lisbon is not only a fairground for spies, but also various dark figures arrive on site, including a certain Johannsson, the head of a gang, as well as the opaque Jenny Renoir and the unscrupulous killer Peterson. Local Commissioner Oliveira has his hands full to ensure that his Lisbon does not turn into a battlefield anytime soon. France's agent Genet finds out how dangerous Johannsson is when, on arrival, he barely escapes an attack by Johannsson's men and is saved thanks to Haskins' mission. Haskin receives the first trace of Zander through a letter he discovers in Ellen's handbag. He is in danger himself, but cannot track down the professor. A splendid party that Bardot is hosting one evening brings everyone involved together for the first time: Haskins, Genet, Johannsson, Ellen Green, Jenny Renoir, Commissioner Oliveira and Mike Danham, a Bardot employee. In the course of the evening, Bardot becomes the victim of a sophisticated assassination attempt. Haskins and Genet discover clues that suggest a connection between the murder and knowledge of the formula of the invention. They also find out that an affair is simmering between Bardot's wife and Danham. Haskins confronts the two and coaxes them to admit that Mike is Bardot's killer. Before Haskins can find out more about the crime, the couple is shot by Johannsson. The gang boss flees headlong, and a wild chase ensues, in which Haskins takes Johannsson. Haskins and his French colleague use a ruse to determine the true role of Ellen Green: She is her British colleague, the agent from London, and was smuggled into Zander's environment as his assistant. She is behind the "kidnapping" of Zander in order to actually protect him from the villains. Johannsson manages to free himself and, with the help of his people, to determine Zandors whereabouts. However, Ellen Green escapes in a car with her protégé, the professor. However, Johannsson's people deposited a time bomb there. Johannsson's men pursue the refugees. Professor Zandor is fatally shot in the chase. For their part, Haskins and Genet chase after Johannsson. They manage to save Ellen just in time from the car exploding. However, they cannot find the formula. Apparently the professor destroyed them beforehand. And so the military balance of terror is preserved.

Cast

as Pierre Genet / Dick *

as Ethel / Ellen Green * Peter van Eyck as Kramer / Jack Haskins * Américo Coimbra as Mike Danham / João * Mikaela as Anne Bardot *

Artur Semedo Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning "bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). Ot ...

as Mr. Bardot *

Klausjürgen Wussow Klausjürgen Wussow (30 April 1929 – 19 June 2007) was a German stage, film and television actor. Early life Wussow was born in Cammin, Province of Pomerania, Weimar Germany (modern Kamień Pomorski, Poland). His father was a teacher and ca ...

as Johansson / Bonnard *

Corny Collins Corny Collins (born 1933) is a former German stage, film and television actress.Bergfelder p.259 She was married to the actor Christian Wolff. Selected filmography * ''Voyage to Italy, Complete with Love'' (1958) * ''Father, Mother and Nine Ch ...

as Jenny Renoir * Ricardo Rubinstein as Kommissar Oliveira *

José Cardoso José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

as Professor Zandor *

Ricardo Valle Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugue ...

as Agent Andrade *

Frank Braña Frank Braña (born Francisco Braña Pérez; 24 February 1934 – 13 February 2012) was a Spanish character actor. Biography He was born Francisco Braña Pérez in Pola de Allande, Asturias, Spain on 24 February 1934. Also credited as Frank Bla ...

Antonio Pica Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Pica Serrano (21 March 1933 — 26 April 2014) was a Spanish actor. Pica died on 26 April 2014 at a hospital in El Puerto de Santa María, Spain. Filmography * ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) - Rojo Gang Membe ...

Mario Barros is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

as Bob *

Hermann Greegh Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

as Peterson *

Richard Wall Richard Wall (born in Ballybunion, County Kerry) is an Irish film, television and theatre actor. He is known for roles such as Robert Power in TV series ''The House'' and also Sgt. Thornton in the IFTA nominated ''Anton'' After completing his ...

as Antonio

References

Bibliography

* Peter Cowie & Derek Elley. ''World Filmography: 1967''. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1977.

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0060250 1966 films West German films Portuguese thriller films Spanish spy thriller films 1960s spy thriller films German spy thriller films 1960s German-language films Films set in Lisbon Constantin Film films 1960s German films