''Lucky, the Inscrutable'' (, , ) is a 1967

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a film genre, genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many Jame ...

directed by

Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013), also commonly known as Jess Franco, was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a highly prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. He worked in many different gen ...

and starring

Ray Danton Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was an American radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies ''The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamo ...

Cast

Production

During the 1960s, the Spanish film industry was regularly making co-production with Italy. For ''Lucky, the Inscrutable'', the film was primarily funded by Italy. Franco biographer

Stephen Thrower Stephen Thrower (born 9 December 1963) is an English musician and author. Musical career Early career In 1980, Thrower formed the group Possession with Victor Watkins and Anna Virginia War and they released the album ''The Thin White Arms, Obt ...

stated that between 1964, and 1967 film studios from Rome would release a cavalcade of James Bond parodies. ''Lucky, the Inscrutable'' was among them. It was also Italian actress

Rosalba Neri Rosalba Neri (born 19 June 1938) is a retired Italian actress. Early life Born in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Neri was regarded for her beauty even in youth, winning a beauty pageant when she was still young. Eventually pursuing an acting ...

's first Franco film. The film was shot on location in Rome and Spain, with studio filming done in Rome between October and November 1966.

Release

''Lucky, the Inscrutable'' was released in Italy on 23 June 1967 with a 92 minute running time as ''Agente Speciale L.K. (Operazione Re Mida)''. It was later released in West Germany on 1 September 1967 as ''Lucky M. fiillt alle Sarge'' () at 88 minutes. It was later shown in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

in Spain on 18 December 1967 as ''Lucky el intrépido'' with a 91 minute running time.

Reception

Spanish newspaper '' ABC Andalucia'' wrote that the humorous and serious scenes lacked proper coordination, but that "In the absence of more singular technical and artistic values, perhaps the best aspects of the film are the splendid photography and the catchy background music by Bruno Nicolai"

Legacy

The film was the first collaboration between

and film composer

Bruno Nicolai Bruno Nicolai (20 May 1926 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film music composer, orchestra director, conductor, pianist and musical editor, most active in the 1960s through the 1980s. While studying piano and composition at the Santa Cecilia ...

. They would collaborate on several of Franco's films in the future, such as ''

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

'' (1970), ''Nightmares Come at Night'' (1973), and ''

A Virgin Among the Living Dead ''A Virgin Among the Living Dead'' is a film directed by Jesús Franco. Franco shot the film in Portugal in 1971 with the film it was only being released to the public in 1973. While credited as a production of Liechtenstein, it was submitted the ...

'' (1973) among several others. This film was Franco's first Spanish-Italian-German co-production, and was also his first film for German producer

Artur Brauner Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946. Life and career He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...

Franco would continue work with Brauner and German company CCC Filmkunst, creating six films a two year-period.

References

Sources

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External links

* 1967 films Italian spy comedy films Spanish spy comedy films West German films 1960s Italian-language films Films directed by Jesús Franco Films scored by Bruno Nicolai 1960s spy comedy films Films set in Italy Italian superhero films Films set in Albania 1967 comedy films Parody films based on James Bond films 1960s Italian films 1960s Spanish films {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub