RED DRAGON is a truly international co-production: it's an Italian spy flick with a Hong Kong setting, co-financed by and produced by German filmmakers who bring a flavour of the German crime film, or krimi, to it. The resultant film is a fun mix of the best of genre staples, with a running time that flies past and an interesting story.The narrative sees top American spy Stewart Granger (doing his best Cary Grant impression) sent to Hong Kong to investigate a smuggling ring and a couple of murders of fellow agents. While there has time to romance a pretty girl who happens to be a fellow agent (the alluring Rosanna Schiaffino) and has various run-ins with a murderous assassin (Horst Frank at his slimy best).The Hong Kong setting is a decent one that provides a welcome backdrop for much of the story. The usual fish-out-of-water situations work well here, and the intrigue surrounding the identity of a master villain is fun, if over-obvious. There's not quite as much physical action as I'd expect from a James Bond imitator, but this is nevertheless a colourful and entertaining thriller that brings the 1960s to life. Riz Orlatani provided the upbeat score.

Unlike another spy film starring Stewart Granger that was made around the same period, "Requiem For A Secret Agent", "Red Dragon" aka "Code Name Alpha" has no serious ambitions beyond providing a time-filler - and that's what it does: nothing more, nothing less. Granger is one of the better actors to star in this type of movie, and he gives the project some authority. Rosanna Schiaffino is a competent female lead, not just the love interest but an almost equal spy partner as well. However, there is little in either the script or the direction of this movie to make it stand out from the crowd; the identity of the No. 1 villain is not much of a surprise when it is revealed. My print is pretty washed-out so it probably doesn't do justice to the film's location shooting around Hong Kong. ** out of 4.

A West German-Italian spy knockoff in the wake of James Bond, 1965's "Red Dragon" (a Woolner Brothers release in America) imports British star Stewart Granger as an FBI agent from San Francisco who journeys to Hong Kong to infiltrate an international smuggling ring, aided by the ravishing Rosanna Schiaffino as Carol, who replaces a recently murdered agent working with coded messages by teletype. The by-the-numbers plot starts out slow and offers few surprises but patient viewers will manage after the first half hour. The 51-year-old Granger seems just a bit too old to be convincing as the two-fisted hero, but the Italian beauty Rosanna proves she would have made an excellent Bond girl had she been given the opportunity. Shot on location in Hong Kong by a mostly German crew, including actors Horst Frank (as the chief assassin) and Suzanne Roquette, who would also appear together in another Hong Kong-lensed German feature in 1967, "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu," starring Christopher Lee. "Red Dragon" would air only once on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, Feb 7 1970, followed by second feature 1960's "Atom Age Vampire." Rosanna Schiaffino also appeared in 1966's "The Witch," opposite another British star, Richard Johnson, as well as Edgar G. Ulmer's last film, "The Cavern." Other foreign spies that were shown on Chiller Theater include "Shadow of Evil" (1964, Kerwin Matthews), "OSS 117 Mission for a Killer" (1965, Frederick Stafford), "OSS 117 Double Agent" (1968, John Gavin), "M. M. M. 83" (1965, Fred Beir), "Spy in Your Eye" (1965, Dana Andrews), and "Lightning Bolt" (1965, Anthony Eisley).

Here's a rather bland spy thriller that will pass before your eyes without making much of an impact. One would think that Stewart Granger would make a fine secret agent but he comes across as more of a jerk than anything else. The first time we see him, he's on vacation, sitting on his living room floor playing with his model train set that brings him his liquor. I guess that's appropriate somehow, the guy sitting home alone getting plastered. He certainly couldn't have many friends since he's condescending to everyone except pretty girls.The film boasts a Riz Ortalani score but even that doesn't help much. If your cup of tea is to listen to Stewart Granger belittle the Chinese for using chopsticks then by all means, have at it.