Spy Comedy

The rise of the Cold War and the venerable success of the James Bond franchise spurred on the popularity of the spy comedy, usually broad, farce-like films that send up the conventions of the spy genre even as they adhere to them. Graham Green's sophisticated script for 1960's Our Man in Havana served as an early high-water mark for the type, even if its failure at the box office didn't exactly inspire other filmmakers to follow suit. Instead, the film incarnations of Ian Fleming's popular James Bond novels begat Casino Royale (1967), a candy-colored spoof in which Agent 007 only reluctantly agrees to bed women and save the world. Similar films and television series followed, including Get Smart!, Top Secret and Spy Hard, but the type would enjoy much greater success with the absurd, gag-laden Austin Powers comedies, created by and starring comedian Mike Meyers.

significant works

movies