OSS 117 – Double Agent

OSS 117 – Double Agent
Italian film poster
Directed by	Jean-Pierre Desagnat Renzo Cerrato André Hunebelle
Written by	Renzo Cerrato Jean-Pierre Desagnat Pierre Foucaud Michel Lévine
Based on	Pas de roses pour OSS 117 by Jean Bruce
Produced by	André Hunebelle
Starring	John Gavin Curt Jurgens Luciana Paluzzi Margaret Lee
Cinematography	Tonino Delli Colli
Edited by	Jolanda Benvenuti
Music by	Piero Piccioni
Distributed by	Cinema International Corporation (Italy)[1] Valoria Films (France)[2]
Release date	28 July 1968 (1968-07-28)
Running time	105 minutes
Countries	Italy France
Language	English
Box office	1,226,223 admissions (France)[3]

OSS 117 – Double Agent (also known as OSS 117: Murder for Sale or No Roses for OSS 117 (Pas de Roses pour OSS 117)) is a 1968 Eurospy film about agent OSS 117, starring John Gavin.

Plot

Cast

• John Gavin as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117, alias William Chandler
• Margaret Lee as Aïcha Melik
• Curd Jürgens as the Major
• Luciana Paluzzi as Maud the doctor
• Robert Hossein as Dr Saadi
• Rosalba Neri as Conchita
• George Eastman as Karas
• Guido Alberti as Farouk Melik
• Piero Lulli as Heinrich Van Dyck
• Renato Baldini as MacLeod
• Luciano Bonanni as a policeman

Production

Frederick Stafford did not reprise his role as he was filming Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz and was replaced by John Gavin.[4] The film used an idea of having the hero undergo plastic surgery to fool his enemies, an idea discarded by the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) that was being filmed at the same time.

The film was shot in Rome and Tunisia. It was known during production as No Roses for Robert.[5]

Reception

The film was only a moderate success at the box office in France – the 40th most popular film of the year.[6]

It was not released in the US despite Gavin's presence in the lead role. However the film did help Gavin be cast, briefly, as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever (1971).[4]

References

1. "Niente rose per OSS 117 (1968)". Archivio del Cinema Italiano. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
2. "OSS 117 - Double Agent / OSS 117 - Murder for Sale". UniFrance. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
3. Top box office hits in France in 1968 at Box Office Story
4. Philippe Lombard, "No Roses for OSS11" Production information at Historie de Tournages
5. Martin, Betty (Feb 9, 1968). "MOVIE CALL SHEET: John Gavin Set for Role". Los Angeles Times. p. c15.
6. "French box office 1968". Box Office Story.

External links

• OSS 117 – Double Agent at IMDb
• Review of film at The Lucid Nightmare
• Review of movie at Double O blogsite