"Zotz" is a run of the mill early 1960s melange that follows the usual pattern. Take a rising comedian (in this case, Tom Poston, best known these days for his long-running stint as handyman George on Newhart), put him in a movie with a semi-popular source novel (like ZOTZ by Thorne Smith wannabe Walter Karig), surround him by about five dependable comedy stalwarts (in this case Jim Backus, Fred Clark, Louis Nye, tough guy Mike Mazurki, and long-time-ago Marx Brothers foil Margaret Dumont). Oh, and throw in a beautiful love interest far outside the hero's league, in this case more chesty than lovely.
Then you tone down the source material for family viewing and make it current. The novel ZOTZ took place during World War II but everything in the 1960s had to be updated to the Cold War with spies from the "other side." The surprising thing is that the hero in ZOTZ the novel points his finger and says "Zotz!" to kill. This angle has not been changed, though it has been mollified into stages. Tom Poston with the ability to kill by pointing his finger and saying "Zotz" is worth watching--once. But it's basically a one-joke concept.
Another curious thing is, while the James Bond phenomenon is usually accused of starting all this spy-movie stuff, "Zotz" was actually released a few months before the first Bond movie, "Doctor No." So much for conventional wisdom.
Then you tone down the source material for family viewing and make it current. The novel ZOTZ took place during World War II but everything in the 1960s had to be updated to the Cold War with spies from the "other side." The surprising thing is that the hero in ZOTZ the novel points his finger and says "Zotz!" to kill. This angle has not been changed, though it has been mollified into stages. Tom Poston with the ability to kill by pointing his finger and saying "Zotz" is worth watching--once. But it's basically a one-joke concept.
Another curious thing is, while the James Bond phenomenon is usually accused of starting all this spy-movie stuff, "Zotz" was actually released a few months before the first Bond movie, "Doctor No." So much for conventional wisdom.