Very well executed

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The good news at least is that this isn't the worst movie I've ever seen; that distinction still goes to "Voyage to a Prehistoric Planet". But it does beg the question why the distinguished Vincent Price would get involved in a project like this. I can only assume that even though he mostly appeared in serious roles, he had a self deprecating humor that was laid bare here. Come to think of it, I did see him more than once on comedy variety programs of the Sixties, including 'The Red Skelton Show' and 'Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'.The fun here is in the spoof of the James Bond spy film genre, and you almost had to be there back in the early and mid-Sixties to know that the beach party flick was all the rage at drive-ins across America. All the girls were on display in their skimpy bikinis and that was about all the excuse film makers needed to churn out these flicks before they wore out their welcome. Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman appeared in a handful of these, and interestingly their character names in this film were used in reverse in the same year's "Ski Party". In that one Avalon was Todd Armstrong and Hickman was Craig Gamble.The title character is portrayed by Vincent Price, a mad but opportunistic scientist producing female robots in gold bikinis who he sends out into the world to seduce the planet's richest men and have them sign over their wealth to Goldfoot. His eerie mansion was a gold mine itself in numerous sight gags, including the boxing attaché case, the skeleton in the sarcophagus that reminded me of of Price's 1959 movie "House on Haunted Hill", and the heads-up cameo by Annette Funicello. And don't blink or you'll miss the appearance of motorcycle madman Eric von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) from the beach movies. Because of my timing in catching the picture this morning, I also happened to notice one of those 'Big Eyes' paintings that's the subject of a current release in theaters right now. Funny how that works sometimes.The producers of the film had the good sense to have The Supremes sing the title tune, even though I couldn't detect Diane Ross's voice in the mix. But it sounded a lot better than if Sam and the Apemen had been given the chore. The story itself is mostly senseless, and I couldn't help thinking that Vincent Price might have been commenting on his role here when he told his assistant Igor (Jack Mullaney), who dropped an ice cube down a woman's back - "You have just reached bottom".

...is better than either of the two "Dr. Goldfoot" movies."Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine" (1965) and "Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs" (1966) are spoofs of the early James Bond flicks and, to a lesser degree, the early 60's beach movies with Avalon & Funicello (mainly because Frankie stars in the first one and it shares the harmless, fun-spirited flare of the beach flicks). They're innocuous mid-60's slapstick comedies in the style of "I Dream of Jeanie", but extended to a full movie. Their main attraction can be found in their titles -- the 60's bikini-clad babes and Vincent price in the title role. Since I love both (and "I Dream of Jeanie") I figured I'd like these movies way more than I did, but I found them pretty forgettable, not to mention lame. Yes, I know, they're supposed to be lame, but there's good lame and bad lame and the two Dr. Goldfoot movies are mediocre lame, verging on bad.The first movie takes place in San Francisco and the second one in Rome. These locations are highlights in addition to those already mentioned. These movies are also enjoyable as period-pieces as it's interesting to see the mid-60's styles, etc.As far as the women go, I was a little disappointed with the first one in this respect; the second one is much better, not to mention it was directed by Mario Bava (which many insist is his worst film, lol).At the end of the day, the Dr. Goldfoot movies are throwaway flicks, but they're worth catching for the highlights noted above, if you're in the right frame of mind.The first movie runs 88 minutes and the second one 82 minutes.GRADE: C-

Diabolically hammy mad scientist Vincent Price (as Dr. Goldfoot) has a dozen beautifully-shaped young female robots. They wear gold bikinis for underwear and are not shy about parading around for the camera. Lead "robot" Susan Hart (as Diane, #11) succeeds in Mr. Price's mission, to seduce handsome millionaire Dwayne Hickman (as Todd Armstrong). Also turned on by Ms. Hart, rival agent Frankie Avalon (as Craig Gamble, #00 and ½) tries to foil Price's plot to mate more millionaires with his sexy robots. The Supremes sing the title song, but do not appear. A couple of cameos help liven up the dungeon sequence. When compared to the infinitely better "Get Smart" TV series created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, this spoof of "James Bond" spy films fell flat - fortunately, the women weren't.*** Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (11/6/65) Norman Taurog ~ Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart

I had watched this maligned film's even more notorious sequel, DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS (1966) – a most incongruous assignment for Italian genre stylist Mario Bava! – on late-night TV…so, whatever its quality, I was obviously interested in the original. Unfortunately, the edition I acquired is panned–and-scanned and, just now, I realized that both films, along with the TV special THE WILD, WEIRD WORLD OF DR. GOLDFOOT (1965), are available as a package on DivX! Oh, well… Vincent Price was a fine actor but, whenever he turned to comedy, the horror icon was known to resort to ham – which he certainly does in this sci-fi comedy, mugging his way through the silly (if not entirely unamusing) proceedings. Of course, he's the mad scientist of the title – complete with Arabian-style golden shoes – who dispatches a number of female robots to lure wealthy bachelors into marriage so that they can eventually turn their assets over to them/him. Dwayne Hickman is one such target though, when a robot (engagingly played by luscious Susan Hart, who was actually the wife of top AIP executive James H. Nicholson) is sent out to find him, she actually bumps into Frankie Avalon first who, smitten with the girl, is determined to get to know her.Soon, he and Hickman join forces and land in Dr. Goldfoot's mansion; the latter is hindered, more often than helped, by an inept assistant but nevertheless manages to imprison Hickman in his dungeon. Frankie's partner and nemesis (respectively) from his "Beach Party" series of films, Annette Funicello and Harvey Lembeck, unexpectedly turn up here in cameos as an in-joke! – but we also get copious (albeit deliberate) use of footage from Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptation of PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961), which had starred Price himself. Similarly, the portraits of Dr. Goldfoot's ancestors bear the looks of the actor in a number of his earlier horror pictures for AIP! Fred Clark as Avalon's flustered uncle is typically good value: he's involved in a running gag which has him being hit by the door of his office and thrown clear across the room every time it's opened! For the record, the score (and title song) is very much of its time. The film, then, culminates in an elaborate car chase along the sloping streets of San Francisco (three years before the celebrated sequence in BULLITT [1968]) – before heralding an upcoming sequel which was to have been called THE GIRL IN THE GLASS BIKINI; actually, the craze for such cliff-hanging 'appetizers' begun by the James Bond films, was also adopted by the Matt Helm spy spoofs and even the "Beach Party" series itself!