DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS [1966] [101 Films] [Blu-ray] [1966 / 2015] [UK Release] The Cult Movie Collection! Meet The Girls With The Thermo-Nuclear Navels!
In this sequel to ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE,’ the scheming Dr. Goldfoot is back and determined to conquer the world yet again!
This time, Dr. Goldfoot intends to undermine America by unleashing an army of voluptuous, exploding female robots. Dr. Goldfoot sends these beautiful weapons of mass destruction out into the world, each one programmed to seduce high-ranking generals of NATO countries and then blow them up! The bad Dr. Goldfoot’s plan is nefarious: start a war between the USA and the USSR.
Fortunately for the citizens of the globe, suave secret agent Bill Dexter [Fabian] is out to foil Dr. Goldfoot’s plans, which involve kidnapping a prominent American general who bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Goldfoot.
FILM FACT: Fulvio Lucisano, the head of Italian International Film, wanted to make a sequel to the Franco and Ciccio film Two Mafiosi Against Goldginger. American International Pictures agreed to co-finance, provided it could be turned into a sequel to Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine. To satisfy the multinational financial backers, two versions of the film were eventually produced: the Italian version places greater emphasis on Franco and Ciccio, while the American film puts forward Vincent Price's Dr. Goldfoot. Mario Bava was signed to direct. He had no interest in the film but was hired because Fulvio Lucisano had him under contract, and he did not participate in the post-production phase of the American version. AIP's executive supervising the shoot was Louis M. Heyward who had worked with Mario Bava on Planet of the Vampires. Frankie Avalon was originally intended to reprise his role as Craig Gamble from the first film, but he pulled out due to the impending birth of his third child, and Fabian Forte was cast in his place. Fabian said Jim Nicholson of AIP came to him and said “Frankie's having another baby and wants to stay at home... and we have this picture shooting in Italy... [he] was so sweet about it,” At one stage, the film was titled Dr. Goldfoot and the Love Bomb (a reference to How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the strapline of Dr. Strangelove), and Dr. Goldfoot and the S Bomb (a tongue-in-cheek reference to the phrase “sex bomb”). Filming started in April 1966 and took place in Rome, mostly at Cinecitta Studios but also such locations as Parco di Principe, the Rome Cavalieri Hilton, and Luna Park. Two versions of the film were released, one in Italy which emphasized the Italian stars and relegated Price to a "guest star". The American version focused on Goldfoot/Price and was re-edited by Ronald Sinclair, re-scored, and re-written in the dubbing, all without Bava's input. Tim Lucas says the Italian version was “the far more entertaining” but “aside from some charmingly naive special effects” which Mario Bava supervised the movie “cannot really be considered a Mario Bava film.”
Cast: Vincent Price, Fabian, Franco Franchi, Ciccio Ingrassia, Francesco Mulè, Laura Antonelli, Ennio Antonelli (uncredited), Frankie Avalon (archive footage) (uncredited), Silvana Bacci (uncredited), Mario Bava (uncredited), Giulio Bottoni (uncredited), Augusto Brenna (uncredited), Rossana Canghiari (uncredited), Angelo Casadei (uncredited), Tony Casale (uncredited), Franz Colangeli (uncredited), Antonietta Fiorito (uncredited), Gianfranco Funari (uncredited), Veriano Ginesi (uncredited), Susan Hart (archive footage) (uncredited), Louis M. Heyward (uncredited), Dwayne Hickman (archive footage) (uncredited), Aron Kincaid (archive footage) (uncredited), Cho Cha Lung (uncredited), Giulio Massimini (uncredited), Romano Milani (uncredited), Jack Mullaney (archive footage) (uncredited), Romano Puppo (uncredited), Manlio Salvatori (uncredited), Amerigo Santarelli (uncredited), Moa Tahi (uncredited) and George Wang (uncredited)
Director: Mario Bava
Producers: Fulvio Lucisano, James H. Nicholson, Louis M. Heyward and Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenplay: Franco Castellano (screenplay), Giuseppe Moccia (screenplay), James H. Nicholson (story) (English version), Louis M. Heyward (screenplay) (English version), Robert Kaufman (screenplay by) (English version), Franco Dal Cer (dialogue collaboration) and Fulvio Lucisano (idea)
Composers: Coriolano Gori (Italian version) and Les Baxter (USA version)
Costume Design: Ugo Pericoli
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi (Director of Photography) and Mario Bava (uncredited)
Special Effects: Mario Bava (uncredited)
Image Resolution: 1080i / 1080p (Color by Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: None
Running Time: 82 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / American International Pictures / 101 Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With the film ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ [1966] we find NATO generals are being killed off one by one when they are kissed by pretty young women who blow up at the point of lips touching. Who’s behind this? But of course it’s Dr. Goldfoot at it again! CID agent Bill Dexter [Fabian] has been suspended because of his womanising, but, upon recognising Dr. Goldfoot [Vincent Price], so CID agent Bill Dexter decides to investigate what Dr. Goldfoot is up to, only to be mistaken for a Chinese spy by two bumbling doormen Franco [Franco Franchi] and Ciccio [Ciccio Ingrassia] and kidnapped by them. Dr. Goldfoot plans to impersonate the American General Willis [Vincent Price] who looks just like it at a NATO summit to aid him in starting a war between the USA and the USSR. When he messes around with a computer designed to pick the best secret agents to maintain security around the summit, Franco and Ciccio are accidentally made spies.
The 1960's produced a lot of silly movies. ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ is where it centres around girls in bikinis. It has its moments that are just plain silly and camp at the same time, and like its segment that resembles the silent movies. But I consider it a nice little piece of cheese to devour. This sequel went international! The first movie was such a big hit in Italy, so the producers set the sequel there and filmed it there too.
When you first hear the names Vincent Price and Mario Bava you likely imagine some kind of twisted horror tale that is amusing in some morbid way. At least that’s what I imagine. The fact that these two horror icons teamed up to do something that wasn’t horror at all greatly fascinates me. And because of that I am very happy to talk to you about ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS.’
Sometime ago I reviewed ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE’ and in no way is that film a horror movie, but I justified reviewing it because it stars the brilliant Vincent Price and because of that reason I think horror fans would have an interest in it. A year after that film was released this sequel was decided to be made called ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS.’ Much like that first film, this is in no way a horror film. It does, however still star Vincent Price and was directed by the great Mario Bava.
When you first hear the names Vincent Price and Mario Bava you likely imagine some kind of twisted horror tale that is amusing in some morbid way. At least that’s what I imagine. The fact that these two horror icons teamed up to do something that wasn’t horror at all greatly fascinates me. And because of that I am very happy to talk to you about Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs.
The movie starts off the same way all great sequels do – with a pretty detailed recap of the previous movie. The important thing to know is that Dr. Goldfoot is still alive and he’s still creating women to help him take over the world. The main difference this time around is that the women Dr. Goldfoot creates these days are actually bombs designed to seduce and then blow up important world leaders. Fortunately for Dr. Goldfoot a NATO war-games is scheduled bringing a lot of world leaders into one place.
Much like the first film, Security Intelligence Command, referred throughout most of the film as SIC, is still out to stop Dr. Goldfoot before he can put his fiendish plan into action. Frankie Avalon was unable to return to play the role of the SIC agent so he was replaced by Fabian. Makes sense right? Can’t get one teen idol; just call the next one in!
I enjoyed the first film quite a bit. It was a campy parody of James Bond mixed with AIP’s beach party movies. It was very silly but plenty enjoyable. The sequel takes the level of camp up a few levels and relies a lot more on the slapstick comedy elements, this being specifically done with the Italian comedy duo of Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia. This slapstick comedy works at times but a lot of it feels forced. The first film had the right balance of silliness whereas this one seems to go a tad bit too far.
Price still seems to be having fun, which is nice and especially noticeable when he breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience. There’s also some really nice set pieces and the vivid Technicolor images like one would expect with a Mario Bava film, although this isn’t really something one would call a Mario Bava film. I should imagine the budget for this was on the much smaller budget, but you wouldn’t know it. Also I think it’s safe to say we can always credit Mario Bava for that and he made a career out of turning nothing into something totally spectacular.
‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ was directed by Mario Bava when he was apparently having an off week. Certainly the only reasons to watch this are if you’re a Vincent Price massive completest fan like me, or even maybe a Mario Bava completest or if you’re a very undemanding seven year old, which of course that is not me anymore. 101 Films offers a pretty good-looking transfer for the Blu-ray in 1:85.1 aspect ratio. There are no extras and the film doesn’t really deserve any. But all in all, ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ is a wonderful over the top camp film to give you endless hours of enjoyment, so go ahead and enjoy folks!
DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS MUSIC TRACK LIST
BANG BANG KISSENE (Written by Ebe De Paulis, Franco Castellano and Giuseppe Moccia) [Sung by Franco Franchi]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, ORION American International Pictures and 101 Films presents us the film ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ with a wonderful colourful Technicolor image and shown in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The recap footage that plays while the opening credits work their way across the screen look soft and excessively grainy but once that gets out of the way, it looks pretty clean if a bit soft. Also the credits at the start of the film look very grainy, colours are a bit faded, and there's some black speckle, but then in the opening scene, the picture sharpens, and the colours improve with brighter hues. Blacks are inky and contrast is pleasing. The image offers fine details as displayed in a material pattern in Dr. Goldfoot's red smoking jacket. There's also great depth as seen when the girls bombs are exercise in Dr. Goldfoot's laboratory. The stock footage is filthy; with black marks appearing in the same places so there must have been an issue when originally inserted into the film. The image looks free from artefacts or edge enhancement.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, ORION American International Pictures and 101 Films brings us the film ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ with a 2.0 DTS- HD Master Audio experience and it sounds pretty solid. This is a solid, no-frills track with clean, clear dialogue free of any hiss or distortion. The music and effects sound decent and balance is fine throughout. The dialogue is clear, although obviously all of it has been dubbed so it sounds canned and flat. Les Baxter created a wonderful jazz score that comes through with adequate fidelity. The effects sound better than what is heard on DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE, and makes for a more balanced sound mix, leading to an improved dynamic range. The Bass is slightly limited.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: Sadly, there are not any special features featured on this Blu-ray release.
Finally, ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ [1966] is a bit of a mess and not great at the same time, but okay as such. This movie ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ will really only appeal to very diehard Vincent Price fans or Mario Bava aficionados and even then it can be a real tough sell, but if nothing, this is a slightly interesting curiosity item, for those who need it, especially the curious? Though to wholeheartedly recommend it, it is best served with a rental test viewing before you start plunking down some well-earned cash on this one. The 1960's produced a lot of very silly movies. This is one is of course a farce that centre’s around girls in bikinis. It has its moments that are just plain silly, like its segment that resembles the silent movies. The final chase scene takes place in an Italian amusement park and is reminiscent of an H.R. Pufnstuf episode, where there are lots of running around and unnecessary amusement park rides. Fans of Austin Powers or especially actor Vincent Price will be keen to see the ‘DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS’ film and for me it is a bit of a roller coaster camp film. Unfortunately, some of the special effects are extremely very crude! Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
