When James Bond continued to be a box office smash with the release of Goldfinger, the third installment, producers around the world took notice. There was a massive audience for spy movies. But not just any espionage thriller. The crowds at least wanted debonair heroes, high tech spy gadgets, a colorful archvillain. numerous women in tight wardrobe (it was still an era before the R rated film) and exotic locations. The biggest catch a producer could land for their Bond clone movie was to cast an actual Bond film actor (although Sean Connery wasn’t available). Nothing made international sales hotter than a spy film with a recognizable Bond face on the poster. The Million Eyes of Saumuru completely understood how to make a Bond clone. Everything necessary ended up on the screen.
Shirley Eaton became a sensation when Goldfinger arrived at the end of 1964. She played Jill Masterson at the start of the film. She was Goldfinger’s secret weapon for card cheating who James Bond seduces. What made Eaton iconic was that Goldfinger killed her by covering her entire body in gold paint. Even after all these decades, the image of her dazzling corpse on the bed has an impact. Why wouldn’t audience want to see her once more dealing with a superspy? Although to show that she’s got range, Shirley Eaton’s hair is dyed black to play Saumuru. They give her an all-girl assassination crew sort of like Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus in Goldfinger. One of her more vicious girls is played by Patti Chandler who was a regular in the Beach Party films that also starred Frankie Avalon. They were in Bikini Beach, Pajama Party, Beach Blanket Bingo, Ski Party, How To Stuff A Wild Bikini, Sargeant Deadhead, Fireball 500 and most importantly Dr. Goldfoot and The Bikini Machine. This movie was AIP’s Beach Party Bond comedy that featured Frankie Avalon as a CIA agent attempting to save the world from a diabolical villain. The movie nailed down an exotic location when producer Harry Alan Towers brought the production to Hong Kong to shoot at The Shaw Brothers’ Movietown Studio. This was at a time when Shaw Brothers wasn’t cranking out the martial arts films that packed grindhouses around the world. Many of the sets used for Saumuru might look familiar since they’d be later reused for wuxia and martial arts epics in the coming years.
Agents Tommy Carter (Grease‘s Frankie Avalon) and Nick West (Robot Monster‘s George Nader) are sent off to Hong Kong by Colonel Sir Anthony Baisbrook (Xanadu‘s Wilfrid Hyde-White) to investigate Saumuru (Shirley Eaton). They fear she’s plotting to take over the world from her private island in Hong Kong. She has already engineered the murder of the richest man in the world. What is her next target? After being framed for murder, Nick West gets brought into Saumuru’s organization in order to work for her. She also seems turned on by the agent. She needs a man for her next plot that involves her secret weapon. He’s gets hired to work for President Boong (Aguirre The Warth of God‘s Klaus Kinski) with his job to hook up the leader of Sino-Asia with the deadly Helga Martin (Venus in Furs‘ Maria Rohm). Will he let Saumuru’s conquer his heart and the world?
You don’t have too much of a worry about Kinski playing the president of an Asian country. He doesn’t go the full Fu Manchu like when Christopher Lee played the Asian character in Harry Alan Towers’ movie series. Kinski wears make up that turns his face a touch grey-green. This is not one of those problem films of the ’60s. You can just focus on the spy goofiness on the screen. And you get even more of the goofiness as the 4K UHD has the 89:28 cut. This is about 10 minutes longer than the version previously available and it still makes the movie a reasonable length. Who doesn’t want to see more of Saumuru and her all-girl crew in tight fashions. The Million Eyes of Saumuru (Extended Edition) is a fine example of the Bond clone flicks that arrived post Goldfinger and you get to see more of the golden girl.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD transfer brings out the swinging ’60s vibe in the Hong Kong locations. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 1.0 mono. They cleaned the track magnificently. You’ll hear the screams in Saumuru’s dungeon. The movie is subtitled in English, French and Spanish.
Blu-ray Disc also has the movie and most of the bonus features.
Audio Commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and Dan Marino is full of great background. They point out how George Nader is famous as being the actor Universal allowed The Confidential magazine out as gay in order to protect Rock Hudson. They know a lot of backstories about the actors including Wilfrid Hyde-White had married a woman in her 20s when he was in his late ’50s. There’s a lot of talk about producer Harry Alan Towers. These are two guys you’d want to watch this film with.
Audio Commentary with Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth get in quite a few details. The production shot in Hong Kong for close to two months. It was supposed to be shorter, but there was a typhoon. They explain that the film was shot in Techniscope instead of Cinemascope on the camera negative. We learn that Klaus Kinski didn’t dub his own voice.
England’s Unknown Exploitation Film Eccentric: The Schlock-Cinema Legacy of Lindsay Shonteff (100:40) is a new documentary about the director of The Million Eyes of Saumuru. Shonteff was extremely active during the ’60s and ’70s. You’ve seen his movie Devil Doll on Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is a joyful tribute to a man who seems to have embraced the lessons of Roger Corman in England. There’s quite a bit on Million Eyes and how it ended up being made at Shaw Brothers Movietown Studios in Hong Kong. Lindsay speaks from a vintage audio interview (he passed away in 2006 at 70 years old). This makes a great double feature. The documentary was directed by Naomi Holwill.
Theatrical Trailer (2:34) gives us a sense of all the ladies in this espionage film.
Poster & Still Gallery includes over 50 of international posters, press books, lobby cards, press photos, the Blu-ray and the paperback.
RiffTrax Edition – THE MILLION EYES OF SUMURU (71:26) features Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy riffing on the film on the audio track. They have quite a bit of fun waiting for the funeral precession in the opening. You might remember them from Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Blue Underground presents The Million Eyes of Saumuru (Extended Edition). Directed by Lindsay Shonteff. Screenplay by Kevin Kavanagh. Starring Frankie Avalon, George Nader, Shirley Eaton, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Klaus Kinski & Maria Rohm. Running Time: 90 minutes. Rated: Unrated. Release Date: September 24, 2024.
