Prolific writer Jean Bruce, who had numerous pseudonyms and who met his death at just 42 whilst speeding in his sports car, introduced Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath, alias 0SS 117 to the world in 1948. The first film adaptation was made in 1957 with Ivan Desny which seemed to go unnoticed. Following the James Bond phenomenon that swept the world with the release of 'Dr. No' it probably seemed like a good idea to French producers to jump on the secret agent bandwagon and rescusitate Bruce's creation.
As bad luck would have it the task was assigned to a certain Andre Hunebelle who must surely reside in the Circle of Hell reserved for third rate directors. Having planted the kiss of death on '0SS 117' and 'Shadow of Evil' with cigar store Indian Kerwin Matthews in the title role, Monsieur Hunebelle then proceeded to cock this one up and foisted upon us his 'discovery' Frederick Stafford whose style of acting makes Matthews look positively animated. Even Hitchcock failed to bring him to life in 'Topaz'.
The film bears all the hallmarks of this director's output: crummy editing, the pace of a catatonic snail, lack of momentum and totally unsuitable music. The only redeeming features here, which warrant giving it a score of 'deux points', are the French version of Eastmancolor and Mylene Demongeot, surely one of the most delectable creatures ever to walk on to a sound stage. Mlle Demongeot had shown remarkable promise throughout the 1950's but as the following decade progressed her material worsened, not least the ghastly 'Fantomas' films directed by, yes, you've guessed it.....Andre Hunebelle! She has survived and at 85 is still working and has retained her 'sparkle'.
The Bond series weakened by evolving into something of a 'send up' whereas the Eurospy genre seems to be far more effective when 'spoofed', as indeed it has been by Philippe de Broca and latterly by Michael Hazanavicius.
As bad luck would have it the task was assigned to a certain Andre Hunebelle who must surely reside in the Circle of Hell reserved for third rate directors. Having planted the kiss of death on '0SS 117' and 'Shadow of Evil' with cigar store Indian Kerwin Matthews in the title role, Monsieur Hunebelle then proceeded to cock this one up and foisted upon us his 'discovery' Frederick Stafford whose style of acting makes Matthews look positively animated. Even Hitchcock failed to bring him to life in 'Topaz'.
The film bears all the hallmarks of this director's output: crummy editing, the pace of a catatonic snail, lack of momentum and totally unsuitable music. The only redeeming features here, which warrant giving it a score of 'deux points', are the French version of Eastmancolor and Mylene Demongeot, surely one of the most delectable creatures ever to walk on to a sound stage. Mlle Demongeot had shown remarkable promise throughout the 1950's but as the following decade progressed her material worsened, not least the ghastly 'Fantomas' films directed by, yes, you've guessed it.....Andre Hunebelle! She has survived and at 85 is still working and has retained her 'sparkle'.
The Bond series weakened by evolving into something of a 'send up' whereas the Eurospy genre seems to be far more effective when 'spoofed', as indeed it has been by Philippe de Broca and latterly by Michael Hazanavicius.