kingsgo4th After reading IMDb reviews and finally getting to see this entertaining (theatrical version) pilot for the Man from UNCLE series for myself, I have to concur that this was worth the ride. Grittier and less peppered with humor than TV episodes, this story enlisting a civilian to bring down a villain was an interesting plot element that Hitchcock often employed. Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo is pretty much on his own, with David McCallum's Kuryakin part barely more than a cameo. Pat Crowley is the attractive US widow working with Solo. Seductive Luciana Paluzzi is the bad girl Angela, who baits Solo. A scene that would never be approved back then for TV has stunning Angela wearing a form-fitting sleeveless dress standing in front of Solo who frisks her with his automatic with a silencer, passing it slowly from her armpit down to her ankles and up the inner thigh, after which the camera changes position as he continues the frisk. Angela never bats an eye. A spy for all sides.

gridoon2018 I won't go into the production details of this film, others have covered all that extensively. For the most part, "To Trap A Spy" is regular, though competently made, spy fare. But two female performances give it a boost: Luciana Paluzzi, despite being second-billed, only appears in two sequences, one brief, one extended. Still, those two are enough to further prove that she was one of the most classic bad girls of the 1960s - her performance here is basically a dry run for her unforgettable Fiona Volpe in "Thunderball", the following year. And Pat Crowley creates an unusually, for this genre, sympathetic and three-dimensional character as the "ordinary housewife" who gets a taste of glamour and espionage - while also being quite game for the more physical stuff. I was surprised at how tiny David McCallum's part is here, considering he is the main co-star in the TV show where this film comes from. **1/2 out of 4.

jamesraeburn2003 Top UNCLE agent Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) is assigned to prevent THRUSH hit-man Andrew Vulcan (Fritz Weaver) from assassinating Premier Ashumen (William Marshall), the leader of a primitive African nation who is visiting the States on a tour of Vulcan's factory. Solo enlists the help of Vulcan's former girlfriend Elaine May Donaldson (Patricia Crowley) and plants her as a rich widow in order to get close to Vulcan and prove to her that he is the evil doer that Solo says he is.The Man From UNCLE was such a cult success in the UK that eight feature length films (made up of previously unaired episodes) were released in cinemas with virtually the British box office in mind. TO TRAP A SPY was the first film in the series and it is actually an extended version of the pilot episode, THE VULCAN AFFAIR (First aired: 22/09/1964), with extra footage that was considered too "adult" for television. Other changes were made such as in the TV version, THRUSH were the enemy organisation, but in the film they were renamed WASP. Also in the film, actor Will Kuluva plays UNCLE chief Mr Allison, whereas in the TV episode, Leo G Carroll played Mr Waverley and would do so for the remainder of the series.To Trap A Spy stands as one of the best feature length outings from the TV series even though David McCallam fans will be disappointed as Illya Kuriyakin only appears in two scenes early on. Robert Vaughn is outstanding as Napoleon Solo portraying him as a super suave playboy and interestingly Luciana Paluzzi turns up as a beautiful THRUSH villain who attempts to seduce Solo to his death would later play much the same role in the Bond spectacular Thunderball. The plot may be thin but it is the nostalgia value that holds this film up after nearly forty years since it was first released.Followed by: The Spy With My Face*, One Spy Too Many*, One Of Our Spies Is Missing, The Spy In The Green Hat (all 1966), The Karate Killers*, The Helicopter Spies* (both 1967) and How To Steal The World* (1968). The titles marked with an asterisk have now been released on DVD in the UK as a box set.

Auric2003 At the height of "spy mania" in the mid- 1960's, MGM sought to exploit their phenomenally successful "Man From UNCLE" TV series with low-budget, big screen adaptations of episodes that had been edited together. The admittedly cheap tactic was nevertheless effective. "To Trap A Spy" was released in the US in early 1966 as part of a double feature with "The Spy With My Face". Unlike the other adapted films that followed, this one wasn't based on a two-part TV epidode. It was derived from the pilot episode "The Vulcan Affair", that was broadcast in b&w, though shot in color for possible theatrical release. As with several of the UNCLE films that followed, certain sequences were shot especially for the theatrical version, most relating to sexual references that were deemed to hot for TV. The film is more effective than one would think, and illustrates the origins of what was to be the weekly basis for UNCLE episodes: an innocent citizen (a la Hitchcock) is drawn into a caper of international intrigue involving UNCLE. In this case, Patricia Crowley is an everyday housewife who is recruited to thwart her old high school flame (Fritz Weaver), of late a millionaire megalomaniac. This formula of utilizing everday citizens was quickly abandoned. Purists will note the limited presence of David McCallum's Illya Kuryakin. As this was the pilot show, no one had forseen his eventual popularity with audiences, thus the lion's share of footage goes to Robert Vaughn's dapper and suave Napoleon Solo. Wil Kuluva appears as the UNCLE boss Mr. Allison, but in the actual series the character was replaced by Leo G. Carroll as the wonderfully eccentric Alexander Waverly. James Bond's "Thunderball" femme fatale, Luciana Paluzzi has some extended screen time as another bad girl, and keep an eye out for a blink-or-you'll-miss-him appearance by future Bond villain Richard ("Jaws") Kiel in the climax. All in all, a very enjoyable and nostalgic experience. Available only in the UK on Region 2 DVD.