OSS - 117
- Mission to Tokyo (1966) - 7.5
Aka - Terror in Tokyo
This is the fourth in the 1960's series of OSS - 117 films. I jumped over the third for now because I wanted to see Tokyo. Such a fabulous city. I am glad I did because this one has a ton of location shooting. Temples, small smoke filled sordid bars, narrow glistening streets and alleyways, children going to school, the small traditional inns called ryokans with paper walls and tatamis, funeral processions, wedding gatherings, women walking in colorful kimonos, the bright Ginza lights - the cool Tokyo that I love. In movies and in person. This is based on one of Jean Bruce's ninety-one OSS - 117 novels with his super spy Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath of the CIA. I would like to read one of his books but none seem to be translated. With that many books I have to be skeptical at how good they are but Simenon wrote nearly as many Maigret novels plus many others and they are terrific. Then there is Gerard De Villiers who wrote about 200 novels starring his spy Malko Linge. It must be something in French wine. Ian Fleming only wrote twelve Bond novels and some short stories. Think if he had written 200 of them. That's what living in Jamaica will do to you.
These OSS films are a step up for me in the Euro-Spy genre of the 60's. The English, Germans, Spanish and Italians were doing them but these French ones are quite good in terms of filmmaking. Nicely shot, good scripts without the usual gigantic holes and bad comedy and with solid actors. And they take them seriously. Not John le Carré serious but early Bond serious. This is very Bondian without the budget - like the Bond films always have the big set-piece before the credits, this one does too but it consists of Hubert setting cans of gas on fire and blowing up some cars chasing him. The big finale is him taking over a ship, knocking out a few guys, setting it on fire and diving over board. Not exactly thrilling. But the plot is as good as any Bond film, the women are lovely and Hubert is played by Frederick Stafford who fits the bill. I saw him in Beirut Death Trap not long ago and he was quite good. In the first two OSS films Hubert was portrayed by Kerwin Mathews and Stafford takes over for the next two.
An interesting aspect here is how this has a slight resemblance to You Only Live Twice which came out a year later but the book was published in 1964. Thankfully, he doesn't have to disguise himself as Japanese but he works with a female Japanese agent and her boss who is like Tiger. He also gets scrubbed by two beautiful Japanese girls. He has been sent to Tokyo because the CIA suspects that is where a secret organization is located that has blown up a USA military base and no one can figure out how. They want a ransom or will blow up another. A woman at the embassy seems to be implicated and Hubert uses her (Marina Vlady) to track down the bad guys. At one point he follows a man into a bar and at the door they hand him a camera - huh? - ah to take pictures of the scantily clad women on stage. Another time he has to take on a giant sumo wrestler. He ends up working with female agent Tetsuko played by Jitsuko Yoshimura who appeared in such great films as Dodes'ka-den, Red Lion, Onibaba and the Insect Woman. The only thing I could not believe is that - like the Bond films - at the end with the villains defeated he ends up frolicking with Marina who was involved in the spying and not Tetsuko.
OSS - 117 - Mission for a Killer (1965) - 7.0
Aka - Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117
CIA agent Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath is back - this time in the form of Frederick Stafford, who was to make two of these OSS 117 films. The other being Terror in Tokyo in 1966. This is actually his debut and he is fine as the suave handsome spy who never passes a pretty lady without a line of encouragement. He is vacationing in the Alps when he gets a call. Go immediately to Rio. Important officials are being murdered by suicide bombers who appear to be in a trance. Ah. Lucky Man. Rio De Janeiro. Wonderful city. Especially from up high. And he stays of course at the Copacabana Hotel right across from the beach. I could never afford it. One of the real pluses of these Euro-Spy films is that they do a lot of traveling to some great places back in the 1960s before the world went crazy. His cover is as a journalist and it is as much a cover as a centerfold in Playboy magazine. I don't think I have ever seen a spy film when the opposition doesn't immediately know who he is and have people at the airport waiting for him. Why do they bother? Just have a sign around your neck saying Agent OSS 117 has arrived and what hotel you are staying at.
It doesn't take long to get into trouble as a lovely lady (Perrette Pradier) posing as the secretary of the CIA agent in Rio leads him into a trap. Child's play for our hero - a few lefts and rights and he is on his way into the city. There are a number of attempts on his life and they are solid action set pieces. He meets up with the real secretary (Annie Anderson) and then a witness to the bombing of the CIA agent - the beautiful Mylène Demongeot, She was in the Fantomas Trilogy which was also directed by André Hunebelle. Hunebelle was behind all these 1960's OSS 117 films and they are a good deal better than the Fantomas films. These have a much bigger budget than most of the Euro-Spy films. This one goes from Rio to Bahia into the jungle with a big action climax near the Iguazu Falls. An organization is killing all these folks as part of a plan to take over Brazil and then the Continent. With their fifty or so men in a camp in the middle of nowhere that will not be easy. But they said the same thing about Castro. It is a well made film - nicely shot in color - up to Sugarloaf - but it isn't as exciting as it should be and I put that down to their choice of a Brazilian soundtrack. Too relaxing and melodic. I like Brazilian music but It isn't the music of a spy film. But of love!
Aka - Terror in Tokyo
This is the fourth in the 1960's series of OSS - 117 films. I jumped over the third for now because I wanted to see Tokyo. Such a fabulous city. I am glad I did because this one has a ton of location shooting. Temples, small smoke filled sordid bars, narrow glistening streets and alleyways, children going to school, the small traditional inns called ryokans with paper walls and tatamis, funeral processions, wedding gatherings, women walking in colorful kimonos, the bright Ginza lights - the cool Tokyo that I love. In movies and in person. This is based on one of Jean Bruce's ninety-one OSS - 117 novels with his super spy Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath of the CIA. I would like to read one of his books but none seem to be translated. With that many books I have to be skeptical at how good they are but Simenon wrote nearly as many Maigret novels plus many others and they are terrific. Then there is Gerard De Villiers who wrote about 200 novels starring his spy Malko Linge. It must be something in French wine. Ian Fleming only wrote twelve Bond novels and some short stories. Think if he had written 200 of them. That's what living in Jamaica will do to you.
These OSS films are a step up for me in the Euro-Spy genre of the 60's. The English, Germans, Spanish and Italians were doing them but these French ones are quite good in terms of filmmaking. Nicely shot, good scripts without the usual gigantic holes and bad comedy and with solid actors. And they take them seriously. Not John le Carré serious but early Bond serious. This is very Bondian without the budget - like the Bond films always have the big set-piece before the credits, this one does too but it consists of Hubert setting cans of gas on fire and blowing up some cars chasing him. The big finale is him taking over a ship, knocking out a few guys, setting it on fire and diving over board. Not exactly thrilling. But the plot is as good as any Bond film, the women are lovely and Hubert is played by Frederick Stafford who fits the bill. I saw him in Beirut Death Trap not long ago and he was quite good. In the first two OSS films Hubert was portrayed by Kerwin Mathews and Stafford takes over for the next two.
An interesting aspect here is how this has a slight resemblance to You Only Live Twice which came out a year later but the book was published in 1964. Thankfully, he doesn't have to disguise himself as Japanese but he works with a female Japanese agent and her boss who is like Tiger. He also gets scrubbed by two beautiful Japanese girls. He has been sent to Tokyo because the CIA suspects that is where a secret organization is located that has blown up a USA military base and no one can figure out how. They want a ransom or will blow up another. A woman at the embassy seems to be implicated and Hubert uses her (Marina Vlady) to track down the bad guys. At one point he follows a man into a bar and at the door they hand him a camera - huh? - ah to take pictures of the scantily clad women on stage. Another time he has to take on a giant sumo wrestler. He ends up working with female agent Tetsuko played by Jitsuko Yoshimura who appeared in such great films as Dodes'ka-den, Red Lion, Onibaba and the Insect Woman. The only thing I could not believe is that - like the Bond films - at the end with the villains defeated he ends up frolicking with Marina who was involved in the spying and not Tetsuko.
OSS - 117 - Mission for a Killer (1965) - 7.0
Aka - Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117
CIA agent Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath is back - this time in the form of Frederick Stafford, who was to make two of these OSS 117 films. The other being Terror in Tokyo in 1966. This is actually his debut and he is fine as the suave handsome spy who never passes a pretty lady without a line of encouragement. He is vacationing in the Alps when he gets a call. Go immediately to Rio. Important officials are being murdered by suicide bombers who appear to be in a trance. Ah. Lucky Man. Rio De Janeiro. Wonderful city. Especially from up high. And he stays of course at the Copacabana Hotel right across from the beach. I could never afford it. One of the real pluses of these Euro-Spy films is that they do a lot of traveling to some great places back in the 1960s before the world went crazy. His cover is as a journalist and it is as much a cover as a centerfold in Playboy magazine. I don't think I have ever seen a spy film when the opposition doesn't immediately know who he is and have people at the airport waiting for him. Why do they bother? Just have a sign around your neck saying Agent OSS 117 has arrived and what hotel you are staying at.
It doesn't take long to get into trouble as a lovely lady (Perrette Pradier) posing as the secretary of the CIA agent in Rio leads him into a trap. Child's play for our hero - a few lefts and rights and he is on his way into the city. There are a number of attempts on his life and they are solid action set pieces. He meets up with the real secretary (Annie Anderson) and then a witness to the bombing of the CIA agent - the beautiful Mylène Demongeot, She was in the Fantomas Trilogy which was also directed by André Hunebelle. Hunebelle was behind all these 1960's OSS 117 films and they are a good deal better than the Fantomas films. These have a much bigger budget than most of the Euro-Spy films. This one goes from Rio to Bahia into the jungle with a big action climax near the Iguazu Falls. An organization is killing all these folks as part of a plan to take over Brazil and then the Continent. With their fifty or so men in a camp in the middle of nowhere that will not be easy. But they said the same thing about Castro. It is a well made film - nicely shot in color - up to Sugarloaf - but it isn't as exciting as it should be and I put that down to their choice of a Brazilian soundtrack. Too relaxing and melodic. I like Brazilian music but It isn't the music of a spy film. But of love!