Reviews

As a loyal follower of the Man from U. N. C. L. E. When first broadcast on NBC in the 1960's, I recently had the chance to revisit "To Trap A Spy" on a compendium DVD set of films from this series. Several people have referred to the notion of Pat Crowley as a weak link in the film. In the first year of this TV series, the weekly story usually revolved around an outside person being drawn into a spy caper either by accident or deliberately (as in this film). The lack of gadgetry in the film is a reflection of it being based on the earlier Bond films where Bond's skills were the focus rather than exotic gadgetry. As the Bond films moved into the gadgetry obsession, "The Man from U. N. C. L. E. Followed suit. As a result, the earlier 1st year episodes of this TV series tended to be more serious and believable than in the later years of the series. "To Trap A Spy" serves as a snapshot of a TV series that attempted to be appealing to both young and old during its outset. The music as one person mentioned was not jazzy and swinging. This was as Jerry Goldsmith envisioned. It was to be a hard hitting, serious TV theme that did not try to be cute or swinging. I imagine you "had to be there" to truly appreciate the intent of this show and the movies derived from the TV episodes. Just my thoughts!