Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117

Based on Jean Bruce 's "Lila De Calcutta" ,which ,as the title reads ,took place in India ,the action was transposed to Thailand whilst keeping the subject :plague bacillus injected by "the chosen ones " to eliminate the shameful human race who destroys the world with their atomic bomb.

After exploiting the swashbucklers,in the wake of James Bond ,Hunebelle made his first (black and white) OSS 117 in 1963 ("OSS 117 Se Déchaine ",also starring Matthews as the lead).For his second effort in the field ,Prodis productions granted color , composer Michel Magne - less inspired than in the Angelique saga- and filming on location.In fact ,only 25% of the film was filmed in Thailand.Kerwin Matthews and Pier Angeli were able to combine business with pleasure ,but Robert Hossein and Dominique Wilms never left Paris where they did all their scenes in Boulogne-Billancourt studios.

This is the kind of movie in which the scenery ,at a time when people would not travel much, is the real star.Robert Hossein (who would also play a doctor in Hunebelle ' s last attempt "Pas De Roses Pour OSS 117"(1968)) gives a restrained performance as the villain doctor Sinn (sic),the best thing to do when a clever actor has to work with ,say, very average material.Kerwin Matthews lacks Connery's charisma and humor and Pier Angeli is pretty but bland .

Having said that,the best OSS 117 Hunebelle made was certainly his third one "Furia A Bahia Pour OSS 117",(1965)starring Frederick Stafford and Mylene Demongeot.

Despite the bad rap this OSS 117 adventure has taken over the years, a recent reevaluation suggests that kinder words be spoken about it. The U.S. re-titling, Shadow of Evil, turns out to be quite appropriate for a low-key adventure that relies more on atmosphere than action. This is not to say that the film is a resounding success but neither is it one of the genre entries that should be passed by entirely.

Director Andre Hunebelle, credited on this print as Cyril Grize, made four OSS 117 movies in the sixties of which this is the second. One might argue that Hunebelle's familiarity with the character of Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath aka OSS 117, lead to his experimenting with different approaches in filming his adventures.

Hunebelle takes a noir approach, at least visually, to large sections of the film. Much of the action takes place at night with plenty of shadows in which our characters can hover about. Contrary to what the film's detractors say, this is a good looking film even if experienced as a bad VHS dupe. The score by Michel Magne, credited here as Garry Sherman, uses eastern influences to good effect in creating soundscapes rather than themes, an unusual approach for the genre.

Shadow of Evil is not a failure but neither will it land at the top of most people's list. Make up your own mind.

This movie was released in India as 'Panic in Bangkok' around the same time that Goldfinger became a raging hit. Panic in Bangkok was a big hit too and it launched a huge following for the OSS 117 franchise, which went on to star Fredrick Stafford. This movie was so popular that it was remade in Tamil as 'Vallavan Oruvan' which made actor Jaishankar a star. I loved this movie and although I was hooked to Sean Connery's Bond franchise, I found the OSS 117 series equally credible and most of them were good. Panic in Bangkok was the best and Kerwin Mathews was one of the popular stars of the time with his other movies like 'Viscount' also doing great business. I have been trying to get hold of DVD's of the OSS 117 films, which unfortunately are never played on TV in the US.

This French drama has aged quite well. I remember watching it in the wake of the Bond craze during the early 1960s and it did not fare very well with me, as I was comparing it to Sean Connery's adventures, surrounded by international locations, exotic women and decors. Dubbed in English, "Banco a Bangkok" had little chance against the 1964 entry of the Bond franchise, "Goldfinger", which is regarded as one of the best in the series.

But seeing it again in French, with no reference in mind, "Banco a Bangkok" is an action drama in which finesse, sexual tension and exoticism merge in a gentle way. Car and boat chases, killings or martial arts fights are not lacking, but violence and sadism are handled sparingly, while the usual story of world dominance is told.

The action takes place in Thailand, among colorful characters: an American colonel, Hubert Barton or OSS 117, a code name never used in the plot; mister and miss Sinn, two Caucasian brothers who are supposed to be Thais; Eva, a blonde secretary out of a Bond vehicle, many Thais as assistants of heroes and villains, a free-lance ex-Nazi hustler called Karloff (only in the final roll-up), and a sect of fascist survivalists called The Chosen People.

For Kerwin Mathews (as Barton) this was one of the first movies he made in the last phase of his career, that would evolve into grade-B movies in Europe and the USA. Here he is aging well, with gray hair highlighting his boyish charm, and he seems to be having a good time in a quality product. Robert Hossein plays his usually wicked, handsome villain, while Pier Angeli is the antithesis of the scantily clad, stereotyped Bond girl, properly dressed in Thai fashion.

Sensuality is a game all over (I even felt a homoerotic undercurrent), the tone is light, the humor is kept in check, and the use of Thailand locations is effectively handled by co-director Jacques Besnard. Order Thai food and beer, and enjoy.

Jean Bruce's Hubert Bonnisseur le Bath was France's answer to James Bond. Like Ian Fleming, Jean Bruce became rich thanks to his best-selling novels featuring OSS 117, i.e., Hubert Bath. Despite the French name inherited from his Gallic ancestors, Hubert Bath is an American who is a secret agent for the OSS, the predecessor of the CIA. Jean Bruce's books were turned into movies. Apparently popular in France at that time, they never found an international audience. Watching "Banco a Bangkok pour OSS 117" (English title: Panic in Bangkok), one understands why. The production values are quite bad. OSS 117 seems to be a carbon copy of James Bond. He is irresistible to women; he is good at fisticuffs, etc, etc. Kerwin Mathews who plays the lead role tries to be suave. Of course, he does not have Sean Connery's charisma or presence. The story is formulaic though it anticipates Moonraker, the James Bond flick. An evil Indian doctor, Dr.Guna Sinn (the name does not sound Indian) working in Thailand has developed a biological weapon that will reduce the world's population in accordance with his eugenicist beliefs. OSS 117 has to stop him with the help of a Thai sidekick and seduce the Indian doctor's sister Lila while he is at it.

I watched this movie as a boy many years ago. At that time, it seemed that the acting was adequate. I am sure that I won't think so now. Jean Bruce's books which have been translated into English were far superior to the OSS 117 flicks. Quite the opposite of Ian Fleming, whose books can't hold a candle to the films they engendered. Indeed Jean Bruce was a better writer than Ian Fleming. Read the OSS 117 books. Avoid the movies.

(Reviewed by Sundar Narayan)