We can be biased by what we did and experienced as little tiny children, and enjoy things that aren't that good. That may or may not be true of a lovely and daft old movie called 'Condorman'. I just showed this film to the Film Bin crew in an attempt to motivate a birthday commentary of daftness and was bemused as I always am by how different other people can be. Oh, such alternating cynicism and incredulity!
'Condorman' is a live action Disney movie from the early 80's, centred on the activities of comic book writer Woody Wilkins and his mission as a substitute CIA agent to first exchange secret papers in Budapest with a beautiful Soviet agent and then assist in the defection of said agent. And he does it with the help of all kinds of Condorman themed equipment, like cars (hidden in gypsy caravans), speedboats, and the obligatory flying wings. Cheesiness prevails, but at least it's all played seriously, with a degree of verisimilitude you won't find in many other films.
The deception of 'Condorman' is that you think it's all going to be the titular character flying about as his costumed alter-ego, whereas in fact it's an amateur spy caper and there are no alter-egos at all, only egos. The weakness of the movie - which also masquerades as its strength - is its cast. Michael Crawford is Woody, and is either playing the character as simple minded or play simple minded dialogue straight. Barbara Carrera is lovely if a bit blank as Natalia the defecting agent, James Hampton (constantly underrated performer) is Woody's CIA handler and Oliver Reed is the ruthless Krokov looking to get back one of his key agents and presumably his girlfriend. It's a bizarre mix and it works well, if a little goofily. Unfortunately Crawford is the weak link thanks to his annoying American accent and his weird energy which doesn't quite fit the film, and Reed is strongest despite being the weakest character in many ways.
The film is supported by an excellent Henry Mancini soundtrack, good special effects for 1981, and excellent production values. Everything looks excellent, except for the Condorman themed clothes, and Woody's orange skiing dungarees. We'll probably do a jumper count if we get to do the commentary; The jumpers are amazing! Blast, now I really need some more jumpers. Where are the good jumpers in these days and times?
'Condorman' is fun, silly and funny. It's also a highly ambitious film in many ways, and can easily be more credible than some of the Roger Moore 'James Bond' movies, which to be fair isn't hard. Or it's total rubbish, which I will freely admit is a possibility for the more cynical people out there, but why not dump the cynicism and join the cult following for 'Condorman'! It's got James Hampton in it!
O.
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