Two well-dressed men in suits are having a secret meeting under the hot sun in a regional town outside Manila, Philippines, when suddenly, a bunch of thugs attacks them. Being outnumbered, they soon end up floating face down in a river with knives embedded in their back. One of the murdered men is Chinese secret agent Long Ping from the International Criminal Police Organization. Upon receiving the news, top Chinese agent Chen Tian Hong, agent 009 (Tang Ching) who's having a wonderful time on a beach with two women is summoned to further investigate his murder.
Within a few minutes after he sets foot in the office, 009 concludes that agent Long is linked to a case which involves the shipment of counterfeit US dollars hidden in restored cars sent from Hong Kong. Apparently, the Fudu Trading Company there is responsible for the transporting of those cars, and he soon finds himself on the next plane heading to Hong Kong. Unsurprisingly, being a womanizer by nature, he quickly becomes friendly with a couple of beautiful women during his flight. Coincidentally, they turn out to be the main suspects he is looking for. After reaching Hong Kong, 009 Chen gets himself arrested in order to avoid being followed by the Fudu gangsters. While in prison, he teams up with a local pickpocket Huang Mao (Lee Kwan) and together they work their way towards taking down the counterfeiting gang.
A common practice during the 1960s, Yang Shu Shih is in fact Ko Nakahira, a Japanese director with adopted Chinese name working in Hong Kong in the Shaw Brothers studio as well as working for the Nikkatsu Studios. However, this project of his, though a knockoff of the James Bond series, doesn't come across as a traditional Bond style spy thriller. For starters, it's lacking the typical super bad villain and there's hardly any exciting spectacular action set piece at the end. The mood here is of a rather laid back and a much relaxing one but it does manage to radiate a certain kind of coolness at times. Nonetheless, there's quite a decent variety of interesting gadgets displayed here like a glass cutting watch which is also a listening device. Items like chewing gum which hardens when sprayed with perfume thus doubles as a key to pick locks and a shoe that can lasso enemy's gun are all interestingly creative. The soundtrack uses a combo of guitar and bongo drums to good effect while the opening credits are funky with colorful animated graphic accompanied by the sound of gunfire.
However, Tang Ching's portray of agent 009 is that of a much mature man with enough self-awareness and sophistication, and he carries the movie just fine. Furthermore, he handles the action scenes adequately at the same time looking suave and cool in dark shades and suits. Lee Kwan's turn as the small time pickpocket Huang Mao turns comic relief sidekick is a real standout and with such a meaty supporting role, he's able to show off his skills instead of just being annoying or playing a lowly servant.
Margaret Tu Chuan turns out to be a pronounced choice playing Cheng Pai Lan, the lady crime boss who runs the counterfeiting gang, she has that calm quality which comes with her psychotic looks and she holds your attention on the screen. However, it's indeed very sad that just two years later and after a failed marriage, she died by committing suicide. Another secondary leading female role goes to Shen Yi who plays a nightclub singer Zhao Ping Ping. Watch out for the Fudu Company and boss Cheng's cool henchman, wonderfully played by veteran Ku Feng. Chang Pei Shan also has a brief appearance as agent Lu Wei from the Hong Kong branch. But the best cameo comes in the form of Lily Ho as an airline passenger at the end of the movie as she absolutely lights up the whole production.
Admittedly “Interpol 009” lacks a memorable villain and full-on action, but there're other things to appreciate, starting with the attractive cast, the 60s locations of Hong Kong, the fashion and the coolness of the production in general and above all, a time bomb that's set to explode in two hours so our heroes can escape at leisure. Altogether, this is a lightweight entertainment from Shaw Brothers but with some 60s coolness and those convertible sports cars are also a plus.
