Niente rose per OSS 117

James Bond rip-offs were all the rage in mid-60s cinema, and here's a fairly good one. John Gavin is OSS 117, America's greatest secret agent, who must foil the attempted assassination of a peace broker. Apparently, 'billions' of dollars of arms sales are at risk, even though the warring 'tribes' apparently consist of about two dozen besworded Arabs. Nonetheless, Gavin is off on a mid-East jaunt, where he is pitted against...not much in the way of villains, really. He meets the beautiful daughter of a local mucky-muck, played by a most attractive Margaret Lee, and in between wooing her and killing the odd bad guy he manages to save the day.

This review is based on the Media Home Entertainment video of almost 20 years ago, and as would be expected, the print quality is fair to poor. Obvious screen compression ruins a number of shots and we can only look forward to the day when Anchor Bay chooses to restore this film to all its widescreen splendour.

1968's French-Italian "OSS 117 Double Agent" aka "OSS 117 Murder for Sale" (Pas de Roses pour OSS 117 or No Roses for OSS 117) was the 5th entry in the 60s OSS series, director Andre Hunebelle at the helm for the 4th time, location shooting in Rome and Tunisia. The first two actors cast as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath aka OSS 117, Kerwin Mathews and Frederick Stafford, both played the role twice, the latter unavailable as he was busy filming Alfred Hitchcock's "Topaz." By sheer coincidence, the one chosen to replace Stafford for this lone entry was "Psycho" leading man John Gavin, just good enough to catch the attention of producer Albert Broccoli until Sean Connery returned to the 007 fold for "Diamonds Are Forever." Perhaps the finest cast assembled for any OSS title begins with luscious Luciana Paluzzi, only three years removed from the biggest Bond blockbuster, "Thunderball," Curt Jurgens still a decade away from Roger Moore's "The Spy Who Loved Me," add Margaret Lee as leading lady and a regrettably brief naked cameo from Rosalba Neri for additional eye candy, plus the welcome return of villainous Robert Hossein (from "Shadow of Evil"), and there are the makings of a film almost as good as Stafford's "OSS 117 Mission for a Killer." Hubert impersonates a notorious assassin to infiltrate 'The Organization,' keeping their paid killers in line via a slow acting poison, for without the antidote administered by Hossein's cold hearted Dr. Saadi they are certain to perish. Curt Jurgens is in familiar form as the criminal mastermind known as 'The Major,' George Eastman his main henchman, assisted by beautiful doctor Luciana Paluzzi, who sadly vanishes from the picture after the phony 'vaccine.' Hubert's assignment is to cause a rift between warring tribes eager to sign a peace treaty, foiling the plot by kidnapping the intended victim and replacing his 'corpse' prior to the fatal explosion, Margaret Lee a delightful love interest and damsel in distress (apparently on loan from Harry Alan Towers). The plot tends to move in fits and starts, one impressive early scene with Hubert forced to fight while preserving his unclothed modesty, the climactic rooftop skirmish falling short much like its wicked protagonist (a soft jazzy music score is no help either). This 60s series could not lay claim to be classics but they weren't cheap ripoffs either, just diverting enough to offer solid fare for undiscriminating viewers.

The American Secret Service sends their best agent, OSS 117, to investigate a number of political murders that the police was not able to prevent. Disguised as a ruthless killer, 'William Chandler', OSS 117 will penetrate the terrorist organization just when it is preparing the murder of Heindrich Van Dyck, the UN delegate to the Middle-East peace process. OSS 117 will use a fake killing of Van Dyck, and substitute corpses, trying to dupe the criminal master mind, Dr. Saadi.

Only, the Major is too clever, abducts Aicha, and OSS 117 must fight both for his life (as he must take a daily antidote for a drug he was injected with), Aicha's endangered life, and passing the information of the whereabouts of the terrorists headquarters to the Army before it's too late... Too much for OSS 117?

To get Bond villain Stromberg and Bond bad girl Fiona Volpe (Curd Jorgensen and Lucianna Palluzzi) in one film is quite a feat, and the Bond connection doesn't stop there - John Gavin, who was James Bond for a short time and was meant to be in Diamonds are Forever, plays the hero, acquits himself quite well; he's athletic, thinks on his feet, has a smoothness, especially with the ladies, and has a sense of humour. There's some good one liners.

OSS 117: murder for Sale is a decent Eurospy film which moves quite leisurely, the plot has some sort of drive, the production values are good - it's not a spy spoof, though, but there's some gadgets like the canister linked to a helicopter spewing sleeping gas, a lie detector device, the rooms in the château which are inescapable ( well, not for our hero), and a lethal injection contain slow acting poison- the hero is injected with this and has to have an antidote at certain times. This is done so he would comply and do the assassination and not run off- nice idea, a neat hook. Nice looking girls, scenic Tunisian location. The music can be annoying, though. Remember seeing this on LWT in 1991 ( UK TV)

....So OSS 117 has nothing to complain about.Director André Hunebelle ,who used to direct Jean Marais in watchable swashbucklers had become a spy thriller drudge. It's his fourth Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath (OSS 's real name ,for those who care) .He used first Kerwin Matthews ,then Frederick Stafford .

The cast of "Pas de Roses..." is by far the most interesting: gathering one of his talented compatriots (Robert Hossein) earnest German thespian Jürgens,an ex-James Bond Girl (Luciana Paluzzi,remember Fiona Volpe?)and John Gavin ,the hero of Douglas Sirk's last great works ("Imitation of life" (1959) and " a time to love and a time to die") not to mention "psycho" where he was completely overshadowed by Perkins anyway.

The story is routine itself but there are some good ideas ,such as the poison .More somber than "furia à Bahia" but,unlike the precedent 0SS, humorless.

Like this?Try these (James Bond " A La Française")

"OSS 117 se déchaine" Hunebelle 1963

"Banco à Bangkok pour 0SS 117" Hunebelle 1965

"Furia à Bahia pour 0SS 117 " Hunebelle 1965

"Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117" Boisrond 1966

Yet another of those made-in-Europe "spy thrillers" inspired by the success of the James Bond movies, "Murder for Sale" will evaporate from your memory even as you watch it.

John Gavin lacks the roguish charm, cynical edge, and tough-guy assurance needed to bring off this kind of part. He seems, as always, sincere and dutiful and anxious to please and one can't but help feel a bit sorry for him. But, hey, what other actor can claim to have been directed by Douglas Sirk, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Peter Ustinov?

The best scene comes early in the movie when the police come to arrest Gavin who's sleeping in a hotel room. Gavin jumps out of bed and, as music from "Carmen" plays on the soundtrack, fends off the cops by using his bedsheet the way a matador uses his scarlet cape. Gavin apparently sleeps "in the raw" and this scene gives him a chance to show off his bare and oh-so-beautiful chest.