"At the time of its 1962 release, however, it shook up the spy genre and unleashed a tidal wave of imitators looking to replicate its box-office fortunes. Most, whether serious stories like The Quiller Memorandum, copyright-dodging rip-offs like 008: Operation Exterminate and Agent 077: Mission Bloody Mary, and parodies like the Vincent Price-starring Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, are long-forgotten. One, meanwhile, is only remembered thanks to its sheer lousiness."
"Immortalized by an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Agent for H.A.R.M. sees smarmy spy Adam Chance (Mark Richman) work to foil a Soviet plot to dust American crops with a deadly spore that reduces human skin to a bubbling green slurry. In theory, this involves a cat-and-mouse game between hardline communist Basil Malko and Soviet defector Dr. Jan Stefanik, who's developed a deadly spore pistol."
Dr. No launched a major cinematic spy franchise despite a slower, cheaper look than modern Bond films. The 1962 release sparked a flood of imitators including serious thrillers, copyright rip-offs, and parodies, most now forgotten. Agent for H.A.R.M. centers on agent Adam Chance trying to stop a Soviet plot to dust American crops with a skin-dissolving spore. The project began as a television pilot in the vein of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and was converted into a single theatrical release amid many contemporary spy shows. Mark Richman provides some callous charm, but the film's ineptitude, thin action, and low production values leave it chiefly notable for its lousiness and a Mystery Science Theater 3000 immortalization.
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