The Nude Bomb

The Nude Bomb
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClive Donner
Written by
Based onGet Smart
by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry
Produced byJennings Lang
Starring
Edited byPhil Tucker
Music byLalo Schifrin
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • May 9, 1980 (1980-05-09)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8.5 million[1]
Box office$14.7 million

The Nude Bomb (also known as The Return of Maxwell Smart) is a 1980 American spy comedy film based on the 1965–70 television series Get Smart.[2] It stars Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, and was directed by Clive Donner.[2] It was retitled The Return of Maxwell Smart for television.[2]

Co-creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry notably had no involvement in the making of the film. Furthermore, Adams and Robert Karvelas (as Larrabee) were the only original cast members of the TV series to reprise their roles for the film.

Dana Elcar portrays the Chief in The Nude Bomb because Edward Platt, the original Chief, had died in 1974. Eugene Roche was originally cast as the Chief in this film, but fell ill and was replaced by Elcar. Barbara Feldon did not return as Agent 99 from the TV series nor is she mentioned; Feldon claimed that she was unaware of the film's production and was not asked to reprise the role, but wouldn't have accepted in any case.[3] Sylvia Kristel, at the time best known for her appearances in the Emmanuelle erotic film series, makes a brief appearance as Agent 34, with Andrea Howard as Agent 22 (in a role similar to Agent 99) and Vittorio Gassman playing the Blofeld-like villain. Joey Forman, who played Harry Hoo in the TV series, was recast as Agent 13. Pamela Hensley, who at the time was well known to science fiction fans for playing Princess Ardala in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, appeared as Agent 36.

  1. ^ Fox, Jordan R. (1980). "The Nude Bomb". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Sandra Brennan (2014). "The Nude Bomb". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-09.
  3. ^ "Barbara Feldon Interview Part 4 of 5 - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG". Archive of American Television. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.