Deadlier Than the Male is a 1967 British crime and mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Johnson and Elke Sommer. It is one of the many take-offs of James Bond produced during the 1960s, but is based on an already established detective fiction hero, Bulldog Drummond. under the title of Female of the Species. It was going to be part of an eight-film slate from Rank worth £4.5 million.

In July 1964 Sangster said he had raised £5 million to make three Bulldog Drummond films at a total cost of £2 million, plus a television series worth £3 million. Burl Ives was named as a possibility to play the villain. Sangster was unable to find a male star suitable for financiers. Names discussed included Stanley Baker, Peter O'Toole, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd and David Niven. "If we can't get a British actor we would like somebody from the Commonwealth," said Sangster. "The favourite would be [the Australian actor] Rod Taylor."

Sangster said "the new film Drummond, though a member of the Mayfair set, will have a job and will be much more sympathetic to women than the Drummond of the books. The new Drummond will be a Lloyds underwriter who travels the world. He mixes with high society not, like Bond, because of his job, but because he is a member of high society himself. The first film is set in London and the Middle East and involves murder and intrigue in big business." Filmink called it "one of several thrillers made by Rank that were co-productions partly shot in Europe using international 'names'." The movie was shot at Pinewood Studios in London and in Lerici and La Spezia, Liguria, Italy.

In an interview, the director Ralph Thomas stated that the film was intended as a pilot for a television series. Thomas admitted he did it for "greed. I had three months; they gave me a lot of money; I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed making it. It was a great location and the picture looked gorgeous. That's it."

Sommer was paid $170,000 for her role.

Johnson later said:

<blockquote>I consciously tried to use more of myself than in anything else I've done... It was an entirely new creation that was not in the Drummond books. I couldn't respect the man. He was bigoted and brutal. A Nazi character. I didn't attempt to make myself into that character. We started with a fresh page. I said, all right, if you want me, you'll get me, but this is a braver, more physical version of me.</blockquote>

The producers battled the British Board of Film Censors who strongly objected to the film's use of women assassins, torture and promiscuity, earning the film an X rating.

Music

"Deadlier Than the Male", the song featured in the film's opening credit sequence, was performed by the Walker Brothers.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Bulldog Drummond is here resurrected for the screen in a form to meet the demands of contemporary folklore, and comes off rather the worse for it. His adversaries have changed too: Carl Petersen duly makes his appearance towards the end in a preposterous game of chess with lifesize, electronically operated chessmen, but most of Drummond's attention is engaged by two sinisterly seductive females who deal out torture and time-bombs with sadistic glee. Worse, the film has been dolled up with a glossy veneer (exploding cigars, a luxury yacht) which succeeds only in giving it the look of a poor imitation. Richard Johnson performs adequately enough in the face of the script's parade of well-worn clichés, but Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina have little more to do than look voluptuously villainous. The original Drummond would have found the whole thing rather distasteful."

Filmink argued "the movie was stolen by its splendid female villains, Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina (the opening scene was copied for the 2000 Charlie's Angels)."

References

  • Review of film at Variety
  • Article on Chess Pieces at moon city garbage agency
  • Complete press book