Operation C.I.A.

Burt Reynolds who has contributed some hard as nails characters over the years, provides his usual touch of class to this low budget 1960's flick.

Plot In A Paragraph: Central Intelligence Agent Mark Andrews is dispatched to Saigon in an attempt to stop a potential assassination attempt on a US Ambassador.

In his first leading role in a movie, a clean shaven Reynolds isn't really given much to do, except run around a lot and try ad make some of the worst choreographed fight scenes seem plausible.

Reynolds would go on to greater things, I don't think anybody else in this movie did.

I had never heard of this film until I watched it recently. A CIA agent played by a young Burt Reynolds is sent to Vietnam (although it was filmed elsewhere) to try to abort an assassination plot against the US ambassador. The film which was made in black and white does have an amateurish feel about it, although Burt, who is not a great actor, does okay. When the film started I didn't think that I would be able to watch it all, however, I did and quite enjoyed it. There is a long chase sequence with Burt doing a lot of running which I thought decent. Although it's not a great film, do if you get the chance try to watch it - if only for curiosity value.

I noticed on the final credits that the mens' hair stylist was Jay Sebring who was sadly one of the Sharon Tate murder victims.

Of course, if you look at this from a purist's perspective, the movie just won't hold water. However, if you want to let yourself get sucked right into the naive sixties' view of more exotic parts of the world, then this will do the trick quite nicely. Chuckle at the the unabashed attempt to fool the viewer into believing that well-known Bangkok landmarks are instead the setting for the movie, Saigon. Great to see a very young and sexy Burt Reynolds, and equally sexy Kieuh Chinh of later Joy Luck Club fame (Suyuan – the mother), playing Reynolds' Vietnamese love interest. This movie is a jewel in its own right for being a kind of time capsule of 60s espionage intrigue and the glamor of international locales.

Although Burt Reynolds detested OPERATION CIA, his first starring turn fresh from sidekick TV-roles on RIVERBOAT and GUNSMOKE, he would often brag more about his past stuntwork than any recent acting, so there's actually a lot to be proud of in this B&W programmer miraculously filmed right in Saigon, Vietnam, right before the real life war...

Replacing a slain agent, something straight from the James Bond universe, Burt's CIA-operative Mark Andrews is either fighting woodwork villains, from exploitation regular Vic Diaz to a karate-chopping massage girls, or dodging main baddie (bonafide stuntman) Bill Catching...

And like any spy flick, the dames are something else... like Canadian blonde/BIKINI BEACH babe Danielle Aubry playing French, or the insanely gorgeous Kieu Chinh, steadily at Burt's side for most of the fast-paced adventure...

Directed by always-capable Christian Nyby, OPERATION CIA is more straight action than the kind of espionage or thriller built into the title, and, although Burt's looped voice lacks the gleaming spark of his later years, he looks great, particularly during the final act, sprinting (and leaping) from one side of the genuinely exotic Asian location to the other.

If you want to watch a young Burt Reynolds pretend to act then this will fulfill your desire. Allegedly, this 1965 film is about espionage in Sai Gon, Viet-Nam. Unfortunately, the only thing accurate is the portrayal of incompetent CIA agents. The film opens with a CIA agent standing on a steet corner when a young man on a small motorcycle stops, dismounts and walks away. The alleged CIA is not suspicious and is killed by a bomb attached to the motorcycle.

Suddenly, Burt Reynolds is dispatched as a university professor with expertise in agriculture. He is educated about Viet-Nam's Mekong Delta region while flying to Hong Kong. Strangely he then takes a Thai Airways airplane to Bangkok rather than Sai Gon. The film was shot in Bangkok. Note the business signs and of course the Thai temples which do not exist is Sai Gon. Also, note the aircraft and airport buses are Thai Airways.

Supposedly, a British journalist is conspiring with some Thais (pretending to be Vietnamese) planning to assassinate the U.S. Ambassador for unknown reason. This is remotely related to events during 1945 not 1965.

General Douglas Gracey commander of the British Army in Annam (southern Viet-Nam) during 1945 conspired with French and Vietnamese agents in Sai Gon, to kill the leader of the U.S. Army OSS (forerunner of the CIA) team who was trying to negotiate with political groups aligned with the Viet-Minh in Tonkin, led by Ho Chi Minh. Gracey supported France's claim for former colonies even though President Franklin Roosevelt before his death was publicly against France taking control of such due to previous despicable colonial policies. But, I seriously doubt the scriptwriters knew anything about the political situation in southern Viet-Nam during 1945.

This film needs a logical script. Apparently, the only reason this film was produced was to spend money sitting in Thailand or simply to visit and enjoy Thai massage girls.

Obviously, during 1965, few people knew Bangkok from Sai Gon. But after eight years of war and millions of photos sent home by soldiers, it is difficult to pretend Bangkok is Sai Gon. Also, none of the Thai girls wear the white Ao Dai costume common with Vietnamese schoolgirls.

Other than being a Bert Reynolds fan, the only other reason to watch this film is if you want to see Bangkok during 1964 - 1965.