''For Y'ur Height Only'' (also known as ''For Your Height Only'') is a 1981 Philippine

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a film genre, genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many Jame ...

starring

Weng Weng Ernesto de Guzman de la Cruz (September 7, 1957 – August 29, 1992), known by the stage name Weng Weng, was a Filipino actor, stunt performer, and martial artist. He was a short person at tall. Born in what is now Baclaran in Parañaque, de ...

. Its title is a play on words on '' For Your Eyes Only'', the title of the ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

'' film released that same year. A sequel was produced in 1982, titled '' The Impossible Kid''. Weng Weng is known as the shortest man to ever be a lead in a feature film, standing at . In the film, a

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

has to stop the

world domination World domination (also called global domination, world conquest, global conquest, or cosmocracy) is a hypothetical power structure, either achieved or aspired to, in which a single political authority holds power over all or virtually all the i ...

plans of a

warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

Plot

The diminutive Agent 00, the number 1 agent from the Secret Agency, is provided with a number of new hi-tech gadgets from his boss, and then sent to stop the mysterious

Mr. Giant, who has just kidnapped Dr. Kohler, a foreign scientist visiting

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

to offer his latest invention, the N-Bomb, to the government. Mr. Giant intends to use the lethal weapon to take over the world, but Agent 00 is ready to stop him. He can count on the help of Irma, a fellow agent who has infiltrated Mr. Giant's criminal organization, working for the drug traffickers that are headed by a gangster named Cobra. This leads to many battles between Agent 00 and the villain's henchmen. Once Irma's cover is blown, she is taken prisoner as a bait and sent to Mr. Kaiser, Mr. Giant's second-in-command, who keeps her in his lair. In order to find Kaiser, Agent 00 enlists the help of other

Bond girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest, female companion or (occasionally) an adversary of James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or sexual puns, such as Plenty O' ...

types, such as night club enthusiast Anna and criminal reporter Marilyn, romancing his way to their allegiance. After flushing out and killing criminal bosses of increasing importance, and all of their henchmen, Agent 00 reaches Kaiser, but by then Irma has been shipped to Hidden Island, Mr. Giant's super-secret lair. After finding the secret location of the island, Agent 00 uses a prototype size-compatible

jet pack A jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack or flight pack is a device worn as a backpack which uses jets to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and the first working experimental d ...

to get there, and calls for reinforcements. He confronts and kills Mr. Giant himself (who is revealed to be a

dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...

himself, although taller than Agent 00), then along with the squad of agents from the Secret Agency, Agent 00 and Irma clean the island of all remaining henchmen. However, right after a freed Dr. Kohler has finally reached safety, Irma is shot and killed. In the final scene, Agent 00 is seen paying respect on her tomb.

Cast

– Agent 00 * Beth Sandoval – Irma *

Anna Marie Gutierrez Anna Marie Gutierrez is a former Filipino actress. Career Gutierrez was a fashion model before entering the show industry. In 1979, she was recruited as one of the cast in the movie ''Dolphy's Angels''. However, she achieved full stardom whe ...

– Anna *

Carmi Martin Carmita Martin (born August 9, 1963) is a Filipina actress, model, and comedian. Martin has acted in many film and TV projects over the years. She reached new audiences in the 2010s and 2020s with roles in the films '' In the Name of Love'', '' ...

– Marilyn * Yehlen Catral – Lola * Rodolfo Garcia – Mr. Kaiser * Mike Cohen – Professor Kohler

Gadgets

Agent 00 has gadgets that are especially made for him and his size. Among these: * Anti-Poison Ring – a ring that changes color when placed in proximity of poison. * Remote-Control Hat – a hat used as a flying, bladed boomerang. * Quick-Assembly, Small-Scale Machine Gun – a special machine gun, made to scale, to use in battle. * Tiny Jetpack – used by 00 to get to Mr. Giant's island in the finale.

Release and success

''For Y'ur Height Only'' was released on September 2, 1981, in the Philippines. That same year First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

organized the first Manila International Film Festival. The objective of the festival was to promote Filipino films for them to be distributed worldwide. A lavish event took place, major entertainment figures were present including

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner, formerly Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American businesswoman and actress. She is the ex-wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as the cofounder and former chairperson of Elvis Presley Enterpris ...

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), which made him a pop cul ...

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...

, etc. Local filmmakers saw it as a real opportunity to showcase their talents, however it was Weng Weng who became the mediatic center of attention, by making daily appearances demonstrating stunts, martial arts, and exercises. ''For Y'ur Height Only'' outsold every other film for international distribution. Film distributor Tony Maharaj who bought the film for the West Indies said the film opened at number one on the same day as

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

'' and remained there for two weeks.

Reception and legacy

Imee Marcos Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios "Imee" Romualdez Marcos-Manotoc (; born November 12, 1955) is a Filipino politician and film producer serving as a Senate of the Philippines, senator since 2019. She previously served as governor of Ilocos Norte ...

said its success at the festival shocked and shattered everyone's artistic aspirations. Filipino film historians Teddy Co and Ed Lejano said that in the film industry the Weng Weng image was uncomfortable since at the time they had no other international figures. In the

cinema of the Philippines The cinema of the Philippines began with the introduction of the first moving pictures to the country on August 31, 1897, at the ''Salón de Pertierra'' in Manila. The following year, local scenes were shot on film for the first time by a Spaniar ...

, ''For Y'ur Height Only'' is the highest exported film. Weng Weng became the Philippines' first actor with an international status. The original

Tagalog language Tagalog ( ,According to the ''OED'' anMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary ; ''Baybayin'': ) is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the population of the Philippines, and as ...

audio track is lost.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0200642 1981 action comedy films 1980s exploitation films 1980s lost films 1980s parody films 1980s spy comedy films 1981 martial arts films 1980s martial arts comedy films Films set in Manila Films set on fictional islands Parody films based on James Bond films Philippine comedy films Films about warlords