Lightning Bolt (film)
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''Lightning Bolt'' ( it, Operazione Goldman) is a 1966 spy-fi film shot in Techniscope in 1965 that was directed by
Anthony Dawson Anthony Douglas Gillon Dawson (18 October 1916 – 8 January 1992) was a Scottish actor, best known for his supporting roles as villains in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's ''Dial M for Murder'' (1954) and ''Midnight Lace'' (1960), and playin ...
in his first entry into the
Eurospy 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 B ...
genre. The film was co-financed and released in the US by the Woolner Brothers who re-titled it ''Lightning Bolt'' with the
tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...
" strikes like a ball of thunder". It was released as a
double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...
with '' Red Dragon'' in 1967 two years after the film had been shot. The film's star,
Anthony Eisley Anthony Eisley (January 19, 1925 – January 29, 2003) was an American actor best known as one of the detective leads, Tracy Steele, in the ABC/Warner Brothers television series '' Hawaiian Eye''. Early in his career, he was credited as Fred Eis ...
, commented that the film was released too late to take advantage of the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...
craze.


Plot

Department "S" of the Federal Security Investigation Commission sends Harry Sennitt, an international
secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
nicknamed "Goldman" due to his unlimited expense account, to investigate suspected sabotage of
US space program The space policy of the United States includes both the making of space policy through the legislative process, and the implementation of that policy in the United States' civilian and military space programs through regulatory agencies. The early ...
rocket launches. Sennitt, who carries a chequebook instead of a weapon, and his superior, Captain Flanagan, discover an
Auric Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's 1959 seventh ''James Bond'' novel, '' Goldfinger'', and the 1964 film it inspired (the third in the ''James Bond'' series). His first name, Auric, is an adjectiv ...
-type beer baron named Rehte is destroying the rockets with
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...
beams fired from Rehte's beer trucks parked outside the installation. Rehte's lair is a '' Dr No''-type underwater city off the coast of Cape Canaveral, where he plans to launch a rocket to the Moon carrying a laser cannon that will be targeted at cities on Earth.


Cast

*
Anthony Eisley Anthony Eisley (January 19, 1925 – January 29, 2003) was an American actor best known as one of the detective leads, Tracy Steele, in the ABC/Warner Brothers television series '' Hawaiian Eye''. Early in his career, he was credited as Fred Eis ...
as Lt. Harry Sennitt *
Wandisa Guida Wandisa Guida (born 21 April 1935) is an Italian former film, stage and television actress. She was sometimes credited as Wandisa Leigh. Born in Trani, Guida took part in the Miss Italia beauty contest in 1954, winning the title of Miss Cinema. ...
as Kary * Folco Lulli as Rehte * Diana Lorys as Capt. Patricia Flanagan * Francisco Sanz as Prof. Rooney (as Paco Sanz) * Luisa Rivelli as Ursula Parker *
Barta Barri Barta Barri (16 August 1911 – 7 December 2003) was a Hungarian-born Spanish film actor.Pitts p. 121 Selected filmography * ''The Vila Family'' (1950) * '' Criminal Brigade'' (1950) - Mario * ''Verónica'' (1950) * '' Spanish Serenade'' (1952) ...
as Senator Woolner * Renato Montalbano as Mills


Production

Sent to Italy by the Woolner Brothers, former '' Hawaiian Eye'' actor
Anthony Eisley Anthony Eisley (January 19, 1925 – January 29, 2003) was an American actor best known as one of the detective leads, Tracy Steele, in the ABC/Warner Brothers television series '' Hawaiian Eye''. Early in his career, he was credited as Fred Eis ...
was told by director
Antonio Margheriti Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different genres in the I ...
that he looked "too Italian". Margheriti insisted Eisley's dark hair be dyed blonde; it came out red. Eisley recalled that working on the film in Rome and in
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, where the
production design In film industry, film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions an ...
er recreated Florida, was one of the most fun experiences he ever had. To make the film seem as if it had been made in the United States, the director, Margheriti, was billed as "Anthony Dawson" and Wandisa Guida was billed as "Wandisa Leigh". Eisley recalled that the original negative of the film was lost and for its American release it had to be reassembled from various prints, which gave it a varying but low picture quality.


Release

''Lightning Bolt'' was released in Rome in April 1966 as ''Operazione Goldman'' with a 96-minute running time and in Spain in 1966 as ''Operación Goldman'' with a 100-minute running time.


Reception

The ''
Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...
'' described the dubbed dialogue as "taut, witty, even idiomatic" and added that it camouflages "what were obviously rather wooden performances". The review went on to note that the sets of underwater city are "particularly attractive".''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' stated that the film's plot unfolded in a "professional and rapid" manner, but it was still "standard spy fare". The review also noted that Margheriti's direction was "adequate" while Riz Ortolani's score was an unusual departure for him, and closer to Morricone's music for the
Dollars Trilogy ''Dollars Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia del dollaro), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia dell'Uomo senza nome) or the ''Blood Money Trilogy'', is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Weste ...
. in 1986,
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's '' Dracula'' ...
wrote about the film in the ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' while covering the "Eurospy" trend. Newman described the film as "fast, witty and absurd enough to pass muster." In Phil Hardy's book ''Science Fiction'' (1984), ''Lightning Bolt'' is described as "one of the better pieces of Italian hokum that have their origin in the operatic technology of the James Bond series of films". Hardy praises the sets, particularly the underwater city, and the "apocalyptic conflagration at the end", as "wittily engineered".


Notes


References

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External links

* {{Antonio Margheriti 1960s spy thriller films 1960s Italian-language films Italian spy thriller films Films set in Florida Films scored by Riz Ortolani Films directed by Antonio Margheriti 1960s science fiction films Parody films based on James Bond films 1960s Italian films