Movie Review: Fanfare for a Death Scene (1964)

Synopsis: After serving his country for a number of years as a secret agent, John Stryker wants to settle down and run his business. However, when a scientist with a secret formula to create a nuclear chain reaction goes missing, Stryker is once again brought back into action. Soon after, he learns he is facing an old nemesis who is also interested in locating the scientist.

Who's in it? The movie stars Richard Egan, Dee Hartford, Al Hirt, Telly Savalas, Burgess Meredith and Tina Louise.

Review: I originally watched Fanfare for a Death Scene about six years ago because I saw it had Tina Louise, and I had never seen the Gilligan's Island actress in a film role. I remembered not enjoying it all that much but couldn't remember the reasons. So, when I came across the film again this week, I decided to give it a second chance.

My opinion was still the same.

The best way to describe this made-for-TV movie is imagine James Bond as an American secret agent and with about half the budget. Stryker (Egan) did his best to impersonate the famous spy, whether it was flirting with the ladies or handling himself in a fight. However, he was just that, a really bad impersonation of a much more memorable character. Heck, even the women who were fawning over him seemed to be phoning it in.

One thing that definitely didn't help this movie is it felt choppy. It bounced around a lot and quite a few scenes ended in somewhat awkward spots, like the one with Stryker meeting Louise's character, Coola Hana, for the first time and inexplicably ignores clear signs of someone being locked in a nearby room only to have the scene cutaway and him find out the imprisoned woman he ignored was now dead. This was clearly the result of the filmmakers not having the budget to clean things up a bit.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the music, which just didn't seem to fit the film. The trumpet music was irritating and the fast-paced action movie music filler between scenes just seemed out of place in a film that was, despite the constant shifting from one scene to the next, slower in pace and not having a ton of urgency.

Final Opinion: My understanding is this movie was meant to be a pilot for a John Stryker television series. After watching it and re-watching it, I can understand why that series never happened. Stryker was probably meant to be an American James Bond rival, but he and the entire film didn't seem much more than a cheap rip-off despite some well-known actors and a premise that had potential.

My Grade: D

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Here are some reviews of other spy/secret agent movies:

Movie Review: The Accidental Spy (2001)

Movie Review: Back in Action (2025)

Movie Review: Central Intelligence (2016)