Line #37 Film/DangerDeathRay


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fa6532b13c10596e3de30d66fd5e327a.jpg]]
2
3	Also known as ''Il Raggio Infernale'' and ''Nest of Spies'' (''Nido de Espias''), this Italo-Spanish spy {{film}} was one of the many to ride the wave of Film/JamesBond-style knock-off spy thrillers in the [[TheSixties '60s]] and [[TheSeventies '70s]].
4
5	The plot, such as it is, follows the adventures of American super spy Bart Fargo as he chases down the kidnapped professor Carmichael, creator of the eponymous death ray (which, the professor must stress, was only created to be used for "peaceful purposes..."), and save him from a [[NebulousEvilOrganization poorly-defined evil organization]] which doesn't share the professor's... unique world view. Following the trail (and bouncy soundtrack) from Italy to Spain, Fargo must contend with the usual assortment of spies, FemmeFatale and one really, ''really'' violent UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln (trust us on this one) in order to make the world safe for all peace-waging death ray-wanting countries everywhere.
6
7	For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' version, please go to the [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E20DangerDeathRay episode recap page]].
8
9	----
10	!!This film provides examples of:
11
12	* AwesomeButImpractical: The titular Death Ray. It's powerful and can blow up walls and ceilings like nobody's business, but it requires a huge attached power supply and is difficult to aim. (As the BigBad learns when he tries to use it against Bart.)
13	* BaldOfEvil: Inverted; the guys who kidnapped the professor are the only ones in the room with full heads of hair.
14	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Fargo has a clear shot at Al after a botched murder attempt but deliberately lets him escape; he then later helps Al after the latter barely survives a YouHaveFailedMe fate. These actions lead to Al's MookFaceTurn.
15	* BigBad: [[spoiler: Carver, the Creator/ChristopherPlummer / [[Series/GetSmart Edward Platt]]-esque guy overseeing the demonstration of the Death Ray at the beginning]]. Not one of the kidnappers, but there nonetheless.
16	* BondOneLiner: "That's too bad." Not exactly thrilling wordplay, there. Played straighter when the love interest asks what happened to the mook Bart threw off a cliff into the ocean: "He went for a swim."
17	* BottomlessMagazines: Averted so thoroughly that watching Bart Fargo reload every minute or so becomes quite annoying. The film seems not to understand that after seeing him reload once or twice, the audience will assume that he continues to do so even without seeing it happen.
18	* TheCasanova: The movie tries to paint Fargo as this. Doesn't really work, especially since he "keeps striking out".
19	* CreepyCrossdresser: While invading the villains' hideout, Bart Fargo punches out what appears to be a minor female henchman, but then quickly pulls off "her" wig and reveals that "he was no lady" as Bart says. It has nothing to do with the plot, though, and seems to only be there to excuse the main character from seemingly punching a woman.
20	* CuttingTheElectronicLeash: Bart throwing his spy watch out the hotel window at the end.
21	* DeathRay: Naturally. [[InsistentTerminology For peaceful purposes]]. (It makes sense -- barely -- when the doctor says it's meant to be used as a deterrent rather than as an offensive weapon, but that doesn't make it "peaceful". Though you could use it as an industrial-grade cutting tool.)
22	* DeathTrap: The villain's lair at the end has machine-gun cameras mounted on seemingly every surface throughout a ''very'' narrow hallway, yet Fargo somehow manages to take down every one without so much as a scratch. It probably has something to do with them all being identically hidden, with massive blind spots, and they can't be aimed.
23	* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The briefing about the peaceful Death Ray, and the lead-up to it.
24	* DiscOneFinalBoss: Scarface, who Fargo spends the first half of the movie looking for. As soon as he finds him, before he can question him, [[ShaggyDogStory Scarface accidentally hurls himself out a window]] and gets himself killed. Fargo only picks up the trail again because he recognizes Frank when an ambulance comes to take away Scarface's body.
25	* DisposableWoman: [[spoiler: Mrs. Carver]]. She doesn't even get a first name. Hell, it's arguable if we can even be certain she's [[spoiler: actually married to Carver at all]].
26	* DistractedByTheSexy: Lucille manages to foil Bart's pursuers by being completely naked while painting.
27	-->'''Mook:''' We're looking for a man.\
28	'''Lucille:''' My word, so am I. Let me know if you find an extra one.
29	* TheDragon: Frank, the Andre the Giant/Michael Caine-looking guy.
30	* {{Eagleland}}: At least, an Italian take on an American superspy. While the actor is actually American, the character is saddled with the most American 1960's name they could think of ("Bart") and the most Midwestern last name they could think of ("Fargo"). Result: AtrociousAlias. [[invoked]]
31	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Scarface is never given a real name. He's only "the man with the scar" (and even the scar is covered for most of the film by a terrible fake beard).
32	* ForgetsToEat: Lucille says that she forgets all about eating while she's busy painting, and she hasn't had a square meal in days.
33	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Apparently the guards/mooks at the main supervillain lair are aware of Al's identity as one of their own but not that he has been [[YouHaveFailedMe ousted for failing]] and has [[HeelFaceTurn switched sides]], as shown when they allow him into the compound. The 'crazy' part comes into play when Al chauffeurs Fargo (a.k.a. a '''complete stranger''') into the villa with him, past several groups of armed thugs, and not a single one of them raises an eyebrow.
34	* HeroicBystander: Lucille. Most people might have an issue with random guys dropping through their skylights and being chased by guys with guns. Not her.
35	* IdiotBall:
36	** Fargo has a perfect shot at the escaping Al at one point in the film. For some reason, he doesn't take it. Though it does come back to [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe help him out later]].
37	** Played straight at the end with the bad guys though; [[MoreDakka bless 'em for trying.]]
38	* InconsistentSpelling: No two sources can agree whether the kidnapped scientist's name is spelled "John Carmichael" or "Jean Karl Michael".
39	* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: [[TheChewToy Al]]. To the point where even the ''hero'' takes pity on the poor bastard.
40	* LeaveTheCameraRunning:
41	** First when the scientists are meeting in the beginning. After they are cleared through the checkpoint, the film spends over ten seconds just looking at the feed of a security camera with ''nothing of interest happening at all''. Later, the camera tracks all the members of the conference just walking through a hallway and taking an elevator downstairs. No music, no dialogue, nothing important happening.
42	--->'''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Mike]]:''' They really have captured the grandeur of white guys walking in herds.
43	** The ''Mystery Science Theater'' cut actually removed or cut down many of the longer scenes with nothing happening. You can imagine what the original cut looked like.
44	* {{Leitmotif}}: Bart Fargo's is the catchy "buppa-duppa da-da..." alternating with the so-called "Watermelon Man" theme (which actually sounds almost exactly like The Jazz Crusader's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weoVHTxOr5s Tough Talk]]'').
45	* {{Mooks}}: By the caseload; on both sides, to boot.
46	* MookFaceTurn: Al.
47	* MoreDakka: Disguised as antique wall fixtures, for that extra bit of class.
48	* PoliceAreUseless: The barricades by the police are more like revolving doors, and their "shoot to kill" policy means that even when they catch one of the villains, they can't question them.
49	* PunchClockVillain: Poor Al really seems to hate being on the low rung of his organization's hierarchy and seems really keen on taking up Fargo's offer to get him out of it. [[spoiler: Poor, poor Al.]]
50	* RayGun: The Death Ray, which was built for [[SarcasmMode cough peaceful purposes cough]]. (It's intended as a deterrent to prevent war, but it's unclear how it can act that way)
51	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Poor, poor Al]].
52	* SatelliteLoveInterest: Aside from briefly hiding Fargo in her apartment, Lucille has absolutely no impact on the plot until she is [[DamselInDistress kidnapped]] during the climax.
53	* TheSixties: Depressingly so, in Italy. The film just screams ''Casanova '70''. Which is odd, since it was filmed in Barcelona.
54	* SoundtrackDissonance: This movie has some of the bounciest damn chase scenes you're ever likely to find.
55	* SpyFiction: Though the spy organization in question appears to be private rather than government-run.
56	* SuspectIsHatless:
57	** When the lead scientist is kidnapped and lifted out on a helicopter, the helicopter is described as "painted white and red with a blue tail."
58	** Sharply averted a few scenes earlier, where the police dispatcher reads out the full license number of the car the villains are escaping in, even though nobody actually told them that number.
59	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: One of the recurring riffs in the film sounds exactly like The Jazz Crusaders' ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weoVHTxOr5s Tough Talk]]'' to the point of plagiarism.
60	* TorosYFlamenco / SpaghettiAndGondolas: It's hard to figure out where exactly some of the locations are supposed to be, except for the scenes obviously set in Barcelona.
61	* TooDumbToLive: Al. He charges out from behind cover during a running gun battle for no apparently sensible reason. Per a conversation was edited out of the ''[=MST3K=]'' cut, he's trying to get to the car so he and Bart can escape, but that's no reason to not wait until there's a clear path.
62	* TuxedoAndMartini: Well, more like "Business Casual," but it fits the mold closer than Stale Beer (Bart seems to prefer Cointreau, incidentally), what with all the explosions and gunfire and the titular death ray.
63	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Mainly if you've only seen the ''[=MST3K=]'' version, which leaves out the deaths of several important characters.
64	** Whatever happened to Frank? Fargo's fighting him in a room, then it just cuts away for some reason. The fight goes on for another full minute in the full film, where Bart chokes Frank (to death?) with a sniper rifle. The subsequent scene of Bart using the sniper rifle to thin out the guards is also cut.
65	** Gary, the mustachio'd henchman helping Frank kidnap Dr. Carmichael, who just vanishes in the ''[=MST3K=]'' cut. He gets stuck in the security doors while escaping with Professor Carmichael, and so Frank kills him.
66	** One might even wonder this about the Death Ray itself -- the one used at the demonstration is destroyed by Gary in the full cut of the film, which is why he gets caught in the security doors.
67	* WouldHitAGirl: When Bart and Al are invading the villains' lair at the end of the movie, they're confronted by a random female henchman, who Bart immediately punches in the nose. Subverted, though as he then quickly pulls off "her" wig revealing that, in Bart's words, "he was no lady!"

Context Film / DangerDeathRay