Spectre
Tags: paranormal, good versus evil

Plot synopsis:
Following Gareth Mallory's promotion to M, James Bond takes leave from MI6, which is merged with MI5 in a series of reforms to the British intelligence community. However, a posthumous message from the previous M leads Bond to carry an unauthorised mission in Mexico City, where he stops a terrorist bombing plot. While confronting the criminals' leader, Marco Sciarra, Bond grabs his ring which is emblazoned with a stylised octopus. Upon returning to London, Bond is indefinitely suspended from field duty by M. Parallel to this, M is in the midst of a power struggle with Max Denbigh (whom Bond dubs "C"), the head of a privately backed agency, the Joint Intelligence Service. C campaigns for Britain to form "Nine Eyes", a global surveillance and intelligence co-operation initiative and uses his influence to close down the '00' section as he believes it to be outdated.
Bond disobeys M's order and travels to Rome to attend Sciarra's funeral. He seduces Sciarra's widow Lucia, who tells him Marco belonged to Spectre, an organisation of businessmen with criminal and terrorist connections. Bond uses Sciarra's ring to infiltrate a Spectre meeting, where he identifies the leader, Franz Oberhauser. When Oberhauser addresses Bond by name, he is pursued across the city by Spectre's assassin, Mr. Hinx. Moneypenny informs Bond that the information he collected leads to Mr. White, a former member of Spectre subsidiary Quantum, who has fallen afoul of Oberhauser and has been marked for assassination. Bond asks her to investigate Oberhauser, who was presumed dead years earlier.
Bond locates White in Austria, where he learns that White is dying of thallium poisoning. He tells Bond to find and protect his daughter, Dr. Madeline Swann, who will take him to L'Américain; this will in turn lead him to Spectre. White then commits suicide. Bond approaches Swann, and after rescuing her from Hinx, the two meet Q. Through Sciarra's ring, Q forensically links Oberhauser to Bond's previous missions, identifying Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene and Raoul Silva as Spectre agents.
Swann takes Bond to L'Américain, a hotel in Tangier, and discover White left evidence directing them to Oberhauser's operations base at a massive crater in the Sahara. Taking a train to a remote station, Bond and Swann have an encounter with Hinx that sees the assassin killed, and are eventually escorted to Oberhauser's base. There, Oberhauser reveals that Spectre has been funding the Joint Intelligence Service while staging terrorist attacks around the world, creating a need for the Nine Eyes programme. In return C will give Spectre unlimited access to intelligence gathered by Nine Eyes, allowing them to anticipate and counter-act investigations into their operations. Bond is tortured as Oberhauser discusses their shared history: after the younger Bond was orphaned, Oberhauser's father Hannes became his temporary guardian. Believing that Bond supplanted his role as son, Oberhauser killed his father and staged his own death, adopting the name Ernst Stavro Blofeld—going on to form Spectre and targeting Bond. Bond and Swann overpower him and escape, destroying the base in an explosion and leaving Blofeld to die.
Bond and Swann return to London where they meet M, Bill Tanner, Q, and Moneypenny with the intention of arresting C and stopping Nine Eyes from being activated. Swann and Bond are abducted separately, while the rest of the group proceed with the plan. After Q succeeds in preventing the Nine Eyes from going online, a brief struggle between M and C ends with C falling to his death. Meanwhile, Bond is taken to the ruins of the old MI6 building, which is scheduled for demolition after Raoul Silva's bombing. Moving throughout a ruined labyrinth, he encounters a disfigured Blofeld, who tells him that he has a choice between escaping the building before explosives are detonated or die trying to save Swann. Bond finds Swann and the two escape by boat as the building collapses. Bond shoots down Blofeld's helicopter, which crashes onto Westminster Bridge. As Blofeld crawls away from the wreckage, Bond confronts him but leaves him to be arrested by M, before leaving the bridge with Swann.

Review: Robert Culp has rarely been better as Sebastian, a psychic sleuth and expert on the occult.
Spectre is one of Gene Roddenberry's busted pilots.All during the 1970's he tried to repeat the success of Sta Trek only to churn out pilot after pilot and failure after failure.
Spectre is the exception to that cycle.Telling the story of a supernatural Holmes and his Watson this is a very good thriller that might have been the lead into bigger things had it been picked up.
While not particularly scary, it is extremely entertaining as Robert Culp shows himself to be much more clever than anyone around him.If you can see this film.
Well...I guess it could, but this film was wayyyy ahead of it's time, and reminded me of a Lovecraftian forerunner to the Xfiles.I can't wait until this gets put onto DVD, so I can add it to my collection.Great job Gene Roddenberry!
Gene Roddenberry did this made for TV movie and it is superb!
The best role for Robert Culp and the superb Gig Young plays the sidekick in a wonderful energy with Culp.
This is what American television was capable of at one time.Shame on the movie industry for letting this classic of horror and the master Gene Roddenberry disappear.
From the demise of Star Trek: TOS to the premiere of Star Trek: TNG Gene Roddenberry took at least three swings at returning to Stateside prime-time television.
I viewed each at first broadcast.Genesis II (later repackaged and re-tried as Planet Earth) had an interesting pilot, very much a product of Roddenberry and his times, but likely as a series would have become quite weird and not lasted long.
The Questor Tapes had a superb pilot, but likely as a series would have been forced by network suits to devolve into The Robo-Fugitive.Spectre was not your average Roddenberry product and wasn't even science fiction.
Its concept was decidedly original and very well wrought—what if, just What If?, everything you suspect and fear about the occult is true and a world-renowned criminologist who KNOWS that sets out to right the purposive wrongs of some mighty nasty perps who must be called by their true names out loud?
If this sounds familiar, mind you, this is the Stateside television pilot I recall after 30-plus yearsRobert Culp is at his certifiable creepiest.
By the end you want to know more about Sebastian, how and why he knows what he knows, and what compels him to know and do more.A fine supporting cast, John Hurt, Gordon Jackson, James Villiers and Gig Young in particular.
And, for Stateside prime-time in the Seventies, a knockout confrontation with some truly evil—things—that, as best as I can recall, were not enhanced with anything other than makeup, clever editing, a hypnotic chant, and lots of fire.Had this become a series we likely would've seen less of "Ham" (more Dr McCoy than Dr Watson, and certainly less of poor Gig Young) and more of Lilith.
I'd like to think it could have done better on Stateside television simply because it would have HAD to leave something to the imagination and NOT explain everything.So here's a pitch: Given today's audience, if Someone Out There is still watching, consider the possibilities!.
Though in this film, Young basically sleep walks through the movie...
Culp and Young are recruited by a beautiful woman whose brother has recently undergone a personality change after doing some archeological investigations on his English country estate.
This movie has a real Gene Roddenberry flavor to it.
If you have seen any of Roddenberry's post Star Trek TV movies (basically, failed pilots)...
But, bottom line is I liked this when I saw it in 1977 and it is still fun to watch.
**SPOILERS** For the first time in his life brilliant detective and world renowned criminologist William Sabastian, Robert Culp,is scared and unsure of himself in solving an unsolvable, for anyone else but him, crime a crime involving the supernatural.
His heart was literally ripped out his chest but with the help of his faithful maid Lilith (Majel Barrett), who has a deep knowledge of occult practices, saved his life but William was left a very weak and frighten man.Calling his friend Dr. Ham Hamilton, Gig Young, over to go with him on a case in the UK William feels that he'll need him if anything goes wrong in a case, of the bizarre and supernatural, he's investigating there involving the Cyon House headed by Sir Geoffery Coyn, James Villiers.
Sir Geoffery's sister Anitra, Ann Bell,feels that there's strange and evil goings on in and around the Coyn Esatae and that her brother Geoffery is the cause of them and that her life is now in danger.
William also finds a journal on Quellious written in ancient Coptic that if deciphered explains what evil is really going on at the Coyn House and who's responsible for it.Later at the Coyn House William and Dr. Hamilton meet the Coyn's including young Mitri ,John Hurt, a professional pilot who flew them to England from the USA.
Using his skills as a top crime investigator William deduces that all this horror that struck the Coyn House centers at the Stonehenge-like site on the estate called the "Fire Pit".
Robert Culp as a modern Sherlock Holmes with his Dr. Watson-like friend Dr. Hamilton have their hands full in this suspense/thriller.
Wild and fiery ending with the demon worshipers and their Idol Asmodious thrown back into the bottomless pit by a courageous and revived, back from his heart-ailment, William Sabastian during an orgy of sex and human sacrifices.
Concerning the question of why "Spectre" did not become a series , i would like to give my 2 cents.
the 1970's saw a lot of supernatural/sci-fi themed TV movies which were obviously intended as series pilots .
In addition , "Star Trek" itself was still at that time considered a relative failure despite the beginnings of its resurgence.
I think a possible answer may have been to include a series like "Spectre" as part of a rotating "Mystery Movie" type of show along with some more standard detective /thriller series.
with a star like Robert Culp , older viewers may have given it a chance , along with younger viewers who were the main fans of the genre..
Interesting buddy-teaming of Robert Culp as a criminologist in England who specializes in paranormal matters and Gig Young as a disbelieving physician never quite catches fire.
A trip to the shady mansion of a haughty financier--and possible devil-worshiper--takes up too much time on the clock (the would-be sins and titillation therein fail to come off in a movie made for television).
Gene Roddenberry penned the teleplay from his original story, making the film a curiosity for "Star Trek" fans, however the scenario offers nothing particularly special.
It's a pilot that wasn't sold into a series, which was too bad, because it was intelligent, spooky, and for its time frame a bit shocking.
Sebastian, the lead character, was excellently played by Robert Culp and Gig Young was great as his partner, an alcoholic doctor.
Majel Barrett was Sebastian's housekeeper; heck, it was a Gene Rodenberry production, wasn't it, and that means she had to have a role.
We really liked how she cured the doc of his drinking problem by slipping him a potion that would cause nausea in him every time he tried to consume alcohol.The plot was well-written, with nice twists here and there.
The script was intelligent and suspenseful, with a fine twist at the conclusion of Sebastian's investigation and a climatic scene involving an attempt to fix a broken seal.
All in all, this was a great movie, whether pilot or stand-alone, and we highly recommend it for fans of spooky horror..
Spectre was no doubt the best of Gene Roddenbery's 1970s TV-pilot films, and the only one which dealt squarely with the supernatural.
Like many others here, I still recall watching it back in May of '77, and being both thrilled by, and rather creeped out by it at the same time.
If this great little film isn't available on disc yet, it certainly needs to be!
A brief summary, William Sebastian(Robert Culp in an excellent performance) along with his sidekick, Dr. Ham Hamilton(Gig Young in one of his final appearances, regrettably) are a Holmes and Watson-like team who investigate occult goings-on.
Summoned to England by the sister of a highly-placed English Lord, the suspenseful plot reveals that the ancient demon Asmodious, the Lord of Lechery, has been released from an ages-long imprisonment, and is at work once more.
The identity of Asmodious' human host is something of a surprise, and it's made clear at the very end that he's still active, despite being wounded by a sort of holy bullet Culp shoots him with at the climax.It's remarkable Roddenberry got by with as much as he did for an NBC showing in 1977, although no doubt some(maybe all?) of the orgy scenes were heavily edited, or cut out of the original showing.
Shame on NBC for not green-lighting this one, but many of us here know how they mishandled so many other series, the original Star Trek, Buck Rogers, etc.
World renowned criminologist and sometime occultist William Sebastian (Robert Culp) calls on the help of his former partner Dr Hamilton (Gig Young) to assist him on an intriguing new case in England, a complex case that he claims will revolutionize theories on the subject of the occult.
Hamilton, not one for believing in the occult, calls to his old friends home but is immediately intrigued, after he witnesses a tussle between good and evil, as Sebastian confronts and defeats an evil Succubus there.
Sebastian tells him he has been hired by Anitra Cyon(Ann Bell), a member of an aristocratic family, who has concerns that her elder brother Sir Geoffrey Cyon (James Villiers) has become possessed by some evil spirit.
Almost immediately unseen forces seem to hinder their progress, as the plane looses power, but as Sebastian explains, things will get worse before they get better and that their journey will be "an unimaginable horror, a descent into hell".
On arrival in London Sebastian and Hamilton go to visit an old friend, Dr Qualus, when they arrive they find his home in flames, on entering they find him dead on the floor, he had died seemingly trying to get inside a pentacle etched on the floor.
Spectre is a strange film, it purports to be British and yet with its American stars and its distinctly American look you'd never guess its origins.
Written as a pilot by Gene Roddenberry(Star Trek) It is for all intents and purposes a modern re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson mixed in with some other shows, the fluffy harpsichord score is obviously aimed at the Columbo/Murder She Wrote set, the fact that Culp is involved, rams the fact home none too subtly.
I'm not to familiar with Roddenberry's non Star Trek work, i know he had many failed attempts at creating a successful pilot, if i had to guess why he failed so often, i'd say its because he had too many ideas.
First off we have demons, a succubus, a demon lord called Azmodeus, ape like creatures, dreamy sex vixens, primordial stone circles, ancient pagan gods, witchcraft, evil dwarfs, old crones, satanic sacrifices, the list goes on...another odd thing is that the production does seem to have a decent budget and yet when it comes to the creatures they look as though they had a 50c budget, as they are given "lucky bag" creature teeth, the grand lord Azmodeus is but a man in a bad rubber lizard suit, the human/demon hybrids have lumps of moulded plastic stuck on their foreheads, a little too reminiscent of the Klingons for comfort.
That said director Clive Donner has assembled a fine cast, the performances are all quite watchable, Culp is believable and Young is amiable and they work quite well together, i think this film could have worked well in better hands, but sadly it never came to fruition, as it stands its a very enjoyable mess..
"Spectre" is one of my guilty pleasures.**SPOILERS**Dr. Hamilton, (Robert Culp) visits his old friend Sebastian, (Gig Young) a private detective, at his request to help out on a weird case that he can't figure out.
When they land in London, they are witnesses to a strange event: an old friend of Sebastian's is found, clawed to death in the middle of a pentacle inside of a fire threatening to destroy his library.
Taken back to Mitri's (John Hurt) house, Annie's brother, they discover that she was right all along about a weird force possessing her brother and they use their combined knowledge to put an end to the whole affair.The Good News: This is one of my favorite films, but it falls into the category of a guilty pleasure.
It is quite different from the other occult films made at the same time.
The ending is the real highlight, as Dr. Hamilton and Sebastian confront the devil and his disciples in a large cave during one of their ceremonies.
Add to that an ancient Druid ceremony and an appearance by the devil, which looks like a lizard/turtle in human form.
It looks completely freaky for the time, and it makes the scene seem better than it should.The Bad News: There is only one thing that I can think of for people to not like this movie: there is no explanation given for why the events are happening.
There's no other else bad in the movie.The Final Verdict: I'm surprised more people don't know about this movie, as it is a very entertaining film.
Originally airing on May 21, 1977, this show was co-written by Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek writer Samuel A.
Peebles and directed by Clive Donner (What's New Pussycat, the Get Smart reboot The Nude Bomb (which had Sylvia Kristel in it!) and the 1981 Charlie Chan reboot Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen).William Sebastian (Robert Culp, I Spy, The Greatest American Hero) used to be a criminologist but now he studies the occult so that he can explain why humanity is evil.
On one of his past adventures, the demon of lust Asmodeus cursed him, leaving him with a heart in need of constant medical attention from his live-in nurse and housekeeper Lilith (Majel Barrett, Nurse Chapel from Star Trek and Roddenberry's wife).
"Ham" Hamilton (Gig Young, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?) for help with a case.A woman claiming to be Anitra Cyon comes to tell Sebastian that her family no longer requires his services.
Then, Mitri Cyon (John Hurt, The Elephant Man, Hellboy) takes them to London, but not before their plane almost gets taken out of the sky.In London, they discover that Dr. Qualus, one of Sebastian's associates, has already been killed.
Then, they are rebuffed by Sir Geoffrey Cyon (James Villiers, Asylum), who has turned Cyon Manor into place of sex, drugs and devil worship.Mitri gets attacked by dogs and when our heroes go to investigate the Manor, they come to believe that Asmodeus has taken over Geoffrey's form.
Also, there's a lot of exploitation in here, as two demon women (one a dominatrix and the other a schoolgirl) call Ham daddy and try to hump him to death on a waterbed!I would have liked to have seen what would have happened had this become a series.
The one scene I can remember vividly was the scene with Dr "Ham" Hamilton waking up to find a young woman in his bed and the other two walking in and setting up what looked like a hot BDSM scene.Many years later, I managed to find the film starring Robert Culp, Gig Young and John Hurt.
The film was produced by Gene Roddenberry and also written by him and Samuel A Peeples.
It was meant to be a pilot for a television series but for some reason, was rejected.
The scenes with William Sebastian (Robert Culp) who is a former criminologist who now studies the occult and Dr.
"Ham" Hamilton (Gig Young) who is something of a Dr Watson to Sebastian's Sherlock Holmes.
They are summoned by Anitra Cyon (Ann Bell)who is concerned about her brother, Sir Geoffrey Cyon (James Villier.) A succubus arrives at Sebastian's house in the guise of Anitra making him realize that something evil is afoot.
After being picked up by younger brother Mitri Cyon (John Hurt) they arrive at the Cyon home to discover that it has been turned in to a den of iniquity.
The pair begin their investigation and discover that an ancient evil that has taken over the family.
I won't give away the rest, I will only to say that it is a great movie, a little over the top at times, but the cast give their all and it is clear to see that they are enjoying themselves.
Majel Barrett makes an appearance as Lilith, Sebastian's housekeeper who seems well versed in the magical arts herself.
All in all, Spectre is a good film and worth checking out for horror buffs or people looking for something a little different..
I recently got a hold of a bunch of bootlegged Gene Roddenbury pilots - I am taking a break from the Questor tapes to write this.I liked the concept of this show, but I felt that Culp underplayed his role too much and was too wooden - remake this with Kevin Costner.
Both Culp and especially Gig young were too old to play their roles - Gig was not very attractive.
Culp was more of a see what's happening sort of guy, I would have preferred a Mandrake the Magician or Dr. Strange war of magical forces.Much as I like the female form, I had my son watch the movie with me and was not happy about the surprise nudity.