''Two Mafiosi Against Goldginger'' or ''Due mafiosi contro Goldginger'' is a 1965

Eurospy Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Cinema of Italy, Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Giorgio Simonelli Giorgio Simonelli (14 November 1901 Birth name: Giorgio Simonelli. – 3 October 1966), was an Italian film director, editor, screenwriter and journalist. Life and career Born in Rome, Simonelli got a high school diploma in business studies, ...

starring the comic duo

Franco and Ciccio Franco and Ciccio (, ) were a comic comedy duo formed by Italian actors Franco Franchi (1928–1992) and Ciccio Ingrassia (1922–2003), particularly popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Their collaboration began in 1954 in the theatre field, and ende ...

. It is a spoof of the 1964

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, '' Goldfinger''. It was picked up by

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

and dubbed into English to be shown on their AIP-TV movie package as ''The Amazing Dr. G'' or ''Two Crazy Secret Agents''.

Plot

After the British agent

is killed, the cruel entrepreneur Goldginger plans to conquer the world using surrogate robots to be included in the various embassies policies in the world. In

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, two photographers, bungling Franco and Ciccio, who discovered Goldginger's plan, are captured by him because they possess secret information picked up by James Bond before he died. Immediately, the comedy and the rift with the world of 007 become apparent to the viewer. In fact, while James Bond had his licence to kill, when the two Sicilian friends are captured, Ciccio presents himself: "Pleasure: I'm Ciccio Pecora. Primary school!" (''Piacere: sono Ciccio Pecora. Licenza elementare!''). Goldginger, as in the famous scene from the original film, tries to divide Franco and Ciccio into two with the laser beam, but the two try to dissuade him from his idea. In fact, for example, they say that dividing the two of them becomes four pieces and then for the burial Goldginger will have to spend a lot more money for the flowers and coffins. Ciccio had to leave to Goldginger the secret of James Bond, is released together with Franco and so, after a while, the two friends manage to escape with the help of Marlene. Disguised as African

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

s and after gaining experience in the army, Franco and Ciccio are ready to face new Goldginger in his secret lair: a factory of ginger soda soft drinks.

Cast

Franco Franchi Francesco Benenato (18 September 1928 – 9 December 1992), known as Franco Franchi, was an Italian actor, comedian and singer. He was born in Palermo, Sicily and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the ...

as Franco Pecora *

Ciccio Ingrassia Francesco "Ciccio" Ingrassia (5 October 1922 – 28 April 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian and film director. He was born in Palermo, Sicily, and began his career in the 1950s, although his career only really took off in the 1960s. He star ...

as Ciccio Pecora * Gloria Paul as Marlene *

Fernando Rey Fernando Casado Arambillet (20 September 1917 – 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, international actor best known for hi ...

as Goldginger / Dr. G / Dr. Goldginger *

Andrea Bosic Andrea Bosic (15 August 1919 – 8 January 2012) was an Italian film actor of Slovene origin. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1951 and 1985, mainly in films called Spaghetti Westerns. He has appeared in films alongside John Phill ...

as Colonel Herrman *

Rosalba Neri Rosalba Neri (born 19 June 1938) is a retired Italian actress. Early life Born in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Neri was regarded for her beauty even in youth, winning a beauty pageant when she was still young. Eventually pursuing an acting ...

as The Secretary (as Sara Bay) *

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

as Molok * George Hilton as Agent 007 *

Giampiero Littera Giampiero Littera (born 25 June 1938) is an Italian former film actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Littera, while still a teenager, made his film debut in Luciano Emmer's ''High School''. Four years later, after completing his high school stud ...

as Dupont * Barbara Nelli as Miss Dupont *

John Karlsen John Karlsen (20 October 1919 – 5 July 2017), sometimes credited as Charles John Karlsen or John Karlson, was a New Zealand actor who was active in cinema between 1958 and 2003. He is best known for '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' (19 ...

as White * Mario Pennisi as Istructor * Les Bluebell Girls as Dancing group * Luis Peña *

Alfredo Mayo Alfredo Fernández Martínez (17 May 1911 in Barcelona – 19 May 1985 in Palma de Mallorca) better known as Alfredo Mayo was a Spanish actor. Biography After studying medicine, in 1929 Mayo made his debut in the theatre with the company of ...

Reception

A retrospective Italian review states that Franco and Ciccio are here taking benefit of a somehow less fragmentary staging than those of the films they usually appear in. The same review also praises Fernando Rey's performance, recalling how the stark Buñuelian actor manages to portray interesting characters even in pure entertainment films.

References

External links

* 1965 films 1960s Italian-language films 1960s buddy comedy films Italian parody films 1960s spy comedy films Italian spy comedy films Mafia comedy films Films directed by Giorgio Simonelli Films about photographers Films scored by Piero Umiliani Italian buddy comedy films Parody films based on James Bond films 1960s parody films 1965 comedy films 1960s American films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-comedy-film-stub