Ernesto dela Cruz was born in poverty and with primordial dwarfism and underdeveloped intellectual capacities. However, despite his start, he fell in love with martial arts. As he was working with a stunt team, he was noticed by actor and producer Peter Caballes. Working with his wife Cora, they would play the roles of his guardians, agents, producers and writers of some of his greatest roles. Weng Weng was born, but outside of his native Philippines, he wouldn’t become famous until after his early death.

Weng Weng plays Agent 00, who is pretty much James Bond. Equipped with gadgets, his job is to stop Mr. Giant and rescue Dr. Kohlet before the N-Bomb is set off.

From an anti-poison ring to a bladed remote control hat, a miniature machine gun and even a jetpack, Agent 00 romances women, kills henchmen and gets into Hidden Island, Mr. Giant’s base — just like Bond.

Mr. Giant is revealed to be a dwarf himself, which has some poetic meaning, one assumes.

With the tagline “Bigger than Goldfinger’s Finger – Bigger Than Thunderball’s …” this is a movie that has no interest in being subtle or politically correct. It does, however, reference past Filipino Eurospy films, as Agent OO’s commanding officer is played by Filipino actor Tony Ferrer, who played Agent X44 in the 1960’s.

At 2’9″, Weng Weng is considered to be the shortest man to star in an action movie. The world is sadder that he is no longer in it. Any movie where the lead spy is referred to as being “cute as a potato” is one for me.