Assassinos de Aluguel

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.

After a series of high-profile assassinations the United States decides to assign OSS Agent 117 "Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath" (John Gavin) to investigate. To that effect, in order to obtain some credibility with this unknown organization and help him to gain access within it he has plastic surgery to resemble a wanted and very dangerous criminal. Sure enough, he is accepted rather quickly but what he doesn't know is that the person in charge-known simply as "The Major" (Curd Jurgens)-is quite suspicious and has his own internal network which continually maintains surveillance on everyone. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was the first film in which John Gavin appeared as OSS Agent 117 and he performed quite admirably in that regard. Along with that, I thought that the plot was quite entertaining with Margaret Lee (as "Aicha Malik") also putting in a credible performance. Admittedly, I was rather disappointed with the limited screen time for both Luciana Paluzzi (as "Maud") and the aforementioned Curd Jurgens but all things considered I found this to be a solid EuroSpy film and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

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.

The "French James Bond" OSS 117 and his fifth mission - this time with John Gavin

In the EuroSpy film series about OSS 117 released by the French mini-major GAUMONT, the main actors took the lead. After Kerwin Mathews and Frederick Stafford, Hollywood smartie John Gavin (Psycho) was already the third OSS 117. The Golden Globe winner (Time to Live, Time to Die) did so well that he was seriously considered James Bond -The successor to George Lazenby, who left the company, was traded. The attractive John Gavin would also have cut a good figure as 007. Under the direction of experienced director Andre Hunebelle, filming took place in Rome (gorgeous images of the Eternal City) and Tunisia.

This time OSS 117 has to deal with a gang that hires out hitmen and is called "The Organization". To get in there, the super agent with a freshly operated face (that's how the change in actors is explained in the film) pretends to be a bad bank robber who likes to shoot tons of people. This brings him to the attention of the organization and quickly frees him from the clutches of the police, who were able to arrest him after an hour with the lovely dancer Conchita Esteban (Rosalba Neri). He is prepared for his work in a strange villa. The beautiful doctor Maud (Bond villain Luciana Paluzzi) is responsible for his physical needs, including in bed, of course! There (in the villa, not in bed!) he also gets to know the boss of the gang, called the Major (strangely slippery: Curd Jürgens), and his tall assistant Karas (George Eastman). Soon we're off to the Orient for our first job, which is fraught with all sorts of complications. Love is once again not neglected (Margaret Lee as Aicha), but there is also a really nasty colleague (Robert Hossein as Dr. Saadi) of the cuddly Maud. Will OSS 117 succeed in preventing the planned assassination attempt on the scientist van Dyck? Will the Major's gang of criminals be defeated?

Beautiful ladies who tie the attractive hero to the bed in rows, lively fistfights (including with George Eastman), beautiful pictures and a humorous plot - you can't expect more from a EuroSpy classic. 316,000 tickets were still sold in West German cinemas; the heyday for this type of film was certainly over. This film is still fun to watch in the home theater today.