It has been speculated that 1966’s “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die,” produced by veteran schlockmeister Dino De Laurentiis and directed by Henry Levin (who also helmed two Matt Helm movies), may have been the “inspiration” for 1979’s “Moonraker.” At the very least there are some similarities Among them:
–A rich industrialist decides the world is getting overpopulated.
–The rich industrialist’s plan involves space launches. (In the case of the 1966 movie, he’s going to launch a satellite into orbit that will make men sterile; meanwhile, he’s putting beautiful women in “suspended animation” so HE can repopulate the world at the proper time).
–A British agent and an American agent are initially in competition but later join forces. In the earlier movie, the man is an American (Mike Connors) and the woman British (Dorothy Provine).
–Both films are shot in Brazil and make use of some of the locations.
Anyway, here’s the trailer:
And here are the main titles:
Filed under: The Other Spies | Tagged: Dino De Laurentiis, Dorothy Provine, Henry Levin, Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, Matt Helm, Mike Connors, spy movies |
The Spy Command 
[…] She was also starred as a British agent working along side American agent Mike Connors trying to foil a madman trying to take over the world in Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die (with a plot and locations that seem awfully famiar to those who’ve viewed Moonraker, the 1979 …). […]
[…] Bond fans. Not only was it one of the many movies produced to cash in on 1960s spy popularity, it seems to have a lot elements in common with the 1979 007 film Moonraker. There’s even been speculation it was “inspiration” for Moonraker. At the very […]
[…] that movie is a bit of a curiosity item, particularly how it bears a remarkable resemblance to the 1979 007 film Moonraker (except for its […]
[…] final film bears more than a passing resemblance to the 1966 Dino De Laurentiis-produced Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die. Both films feature a villain who feels Earth is getting over populated and is willing to go to […]
[…] in 2008, the blog noted the remarkable similarities between Kiss the Girls and Makes Them Die (1966) and […]