- For the episode, see MST3K 815 - Agent for H.A.R.M..
| “ | I told you I wasn't the mop and broom type. | ” |
| - Ava Vestok |
Agent for H.A.R.M. is a made-for-TV movie that was the pilot for a potential series.
Plot[]
Agent for H.A.R.M.
During the Cold War, East German scientist Dr. Jan Stefanik has developed a secret biological weapon. He defects, clutching an briefcase containing "spore-forming meteorite fragments" closely pursued by hostile agents. He makes it to the US, but not before his companion is killed by a double agent with a gun that shoots instant-flesh-eating spores into his face.
Stefanik takes up residence in a beach house/laboratory outside San Diego where he is independently working on a spore antidote. Living with him is his bikini-clad archery-expert niece Ava, whose existence he was unaware of until recently.
Agent for H.A.R.M.
Across the border in Mexico, a team from the Biological Warfare Commissariat of his former country has established operations, headed by the villainous Malko. They are planning to Adam Chance, an agent for H.A.R.M. (Human Aetiological Relations Machine) is dispatched by his boss Jim Graff to investigate the murder of Stefanik's lab assistant. Adam arrives at the beach house and flirts with Ava. Stefanik welcomes Chance, though they later disagree about Chance's methods.
Meanwhile, Ava is secretly talking to someone through her portable record player. Chance proceeds to battle the bad guys while wearing a canary yellow cardigan and welding goggles and riding a moped.
Cast[]
- Peter Mark Richman as Adam Chance
- Carl Esmond as Professor Jan Stefánik
- Barbara Bouchet as Ava Vestok
- Wendell Corey as Jim Graff
- Steve Stevens as Billy
- Martin Kosleck as Basil Malko
- Rafael Campos as Luis
Notes[]
- Produced as a television pilot for a new spy series, it was eventually given a theatrical release.
- H.A.R.M. stands for "Human Aetiological Relations Machine." "Aetiology" is a British variant of "etiology," which is the branch of medical science concerned with causes and origins of diseases. This full wording is seen at the top of the world map in the very last scene of the movie. [1]
- The four-plex where this was filmed in Santa Monica can be seen here, via Google Street View. The neighborhood has been built up since 1966, and the building in question was demolished sometime after 2008, and replaced with a blue building in 2014.
- Despite the film ostensibly being set in San Diego, all of filming seems to have been done in Santa Monica, Malibu, and the Malibu hills.
- Some of the earlier posters printed to advertise the film misspelled Peter Mark Richman's surname as Richmond. He was reportedly annoyed by this.
- The cinematographer was Ted V. Mikels, who would later produce and direct several films used by Mystery Science Theater 3000, RiffTrax, and Cinematic Titanic. He had previously been the cinematographer for Catalina Caper.
- Dr. Stefanik is supposedly from East Germany, but his surname finds its origins in Poland and Slovakia.
- Actor Martin Kosleck often portrayed Nazis, including having played Joseph Goebbels five times during his career. In real life, he fled Germany in 1931, just before the Nazis came to power and was subsequently placed on the "undesirables" list by the Nazis. He considered his Hollywood career to be retaliation against the fascist regime and its members.
MST3K Connections[]
- Writer Blair Robertson was also writer for The Slime People (in which she also portrayed Mrs. Castillo) and script supervisor for Catalina Caper.
- Wendell Corey also portrayed Admiral David King in Women of the Prehistoric Planet.
- Rafael Campos also had an unspecified role in Girl in Gold Boots.
- Robert Donner (morgue attendant) also portrayed Fingers O'Toole in Catalina Caper.
- Actor and makeup artist Marc Snegoff (Conrad) was also makeup supervisor for Catalina Caper and makeup artist for The Time Travelers.
- Associate producer Edward Finch Abrams was also associate producer for The Crawling Hand and The Slime People (in which he also portrayed a bum in the theater).
- Associate producer Jack Bartlett was also producer for Catalina Caper.
- Producer Joseph F. Robertson was also producer for The Crawling Hand and The Slime People (in which he also portrayed a bum in the theater).
- Composer Gene Kauer was also composer for The Atomic Brain and The Beast of Yucca Flats.
- Cinematographer James Crabe was also camera operator for The Slime People.
- Cinematographer Ted V. Mikels was cinematographer for Catalina Caper as well as director and producer for Girl in Gold Boots.
- Production manager Lou Place was also director for Daddy-O, production manager for It Conquered the World, portrayed Police Captain J.R. Goodrich in Swamp Diamonds, and was assistant director for The Undead.
- Sound mixer Ken Carlson was also sound technician for The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies and The Touch of Satan.
- Special effects technician Harry Woolman also did special effects for Hangar 18, The Slime People, The Incredible Melting Man, and Laserblast.
- Chief electrician George Breslaw was also lighting technician for The Slime People.
- Harmonica player Tommy Morgan also played harmonica music in Girl in Gold Boots.
- Script supervisor Brianne Murphy was also unit manager for Bloodlust!.
- Assistant to producer Ron Terry was also production coordinator for Catalina Caper.
Critical Response[]
- Michael Weldon in The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film wrote: "A low-budget American James Bond by a director known for his Outer Limits episodes. Mark Richman stars as agent Adam Chance. H.A.R.M. chief Wendell Corey sends him to investigate a plot to import an alien spore that turns human flesh to fungus. Martin Koslek as Malko is the star villain."