Hammerhead (1968)

This late-1960s spy adventure marked the only screen appearance for James Mayo’s literary creation Charles Hood, a British art connoisseur with a taste for high living, sex and violence.

As played by American Vince Edwards, he’s a mostly bland hero, with a greatly reduced libido, little aptitude for espionage and a regrettable taste for instant coffee and casual, short-sleeved shirts.

The story takes him from London to Portugal, where he investigates the activities of the mysterious Flemish villain Mr Hammerhead (Peter Vaughn, who went on to play Grouty in TV’s Porridge), a collector of pornography.

But what possible interest an avid porn collector would have with the location of secret missile sites is anyone’s guess.

It’s left to Judy Geeson to inject some pep into proceedings as Sue Trenton, a kooky party girl from the Chelsea set. Her outrageous double-entendre exchange with Charles, while the pair are tied up in a coffin and being transported in a hearse to their execution, is the bawdy highlight of an otherwise mediocre 007 cash-in.

Diana Dors appears briefly as the proprietress of a nightspot called Kit’s Klub. Michael Bates is excellent as a man of many faces, and Patrick Cargill makes an admirable British secret service man. David “Darth Vader” Prowse must be seen to be believed as Hammerhead’s muscle.

Charles Hood
Vince Edwards
Sue Trenton
Judy Geeson
Hammerhead
Peter Vaughan
Kit
Diana Dors
Andreas/Sir Richard
Michael Bates
Ivory
Beverly Adams
Condor
Patrick Cargill
Huntzinger
Patrick Holt
Walter Perrin
William Mervyn 
Pietro Vendriani
Douglas Wilmer 
Miss Hull
Tracy Reed
Lady Calvert
Kathleen Byron 
Tookey Tate
Jack Woolgar 
Count Ortega
Joseph Fürst 
George
David Prowse
Brian
Earl Younger
Marcel
Romo Gorrara
Roselle
Maggie Wright
Ulla
Veronica Carlson 
Frieda
Penny Brahms
Kiki
Sarah Hardenburg
Joa
Otto Diamant 
Police Sergeant
Windsor Davies
Motorcyclist
Kenneth Cope

Director
David Miller