OSS 117 is the codename for Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, a fictional

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

created by French writer

Jean Bruce Jean Bruce (22 March 1921 – 26 March 1963), born Jean Brochet, was a prolific French popular writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Jean Alexandre, Jean Alexandre Brochet, Jean-Martin Rouan, and Joyce Lindsay. He died in a car accident in ...

. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is described as being an American

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

of French descent. After service in the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

(OSS), de La Bath worked for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA), then the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

(NSC). With the revival of the series in 2006, the character is reimagined as a French secret agent working for the

Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

, the French

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...

from 1944 to 1982 (now

DGSE The General Directorate for External Security (french: link=no, Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, DGSE) is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 2 April 1982. ...

). In real-life, OSS code number 117 was allocated to

William L. Langer William Leonard Langer (March 16, 1896 – December 26, 1977) was an American historian, intelligence analyst and policy advisor. He served as chairman of the history department at Harvard University. He was on leave during World War II as h ...

, who was chief of the Research and Analysis Branch of the OSS.

Novels and films

Bruce wrote 88 OSS 117 novels for the French publishing house Fleuve Noir Espionnage series beginning with ''Tu parles d'une ingénue (Ici OSS 117)'' in 1949, predating

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

James Bond 007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

by four years. After Jean Bruce died in a car accident in 1963, his wife Josette Bruce (signing as "J.Bruce") wrote 143 OSS 117 novels before retiring in 1985. Starting in 1987, Bruce's daughter Martine and her husband François wrote 23 more OSS 117 books. The last published novel was ''O.S.S. 117 prend le large'' in 1992. The first OSS 117 film, ''

OSS 117 Is Not Dead ''OSS 117 n'est pas mort'' is the 1957 film debut of Jean Bruce's fictitious secret agent Hubert Bonnisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117, and the beginning of a long-lasting series. It was released in the United States by Republic Pictures under ...

'', was made in 1957 with Ivan Desny as OSS 117. In 1960, the rights to the Jean Bruce novel ''Documents à vendre'', were purchased for filming by as ' (1960). However the rights to the character of OSS 117 had not been agreed upon so the character's name was changed to Brian Cannon, the name of another character from a novel by Jean Bruce, ''Romance de la Mort''. In the 1960s, the character was featured in a successful

Eurospy film Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James Bo ...

series which was mostly directed by

André Hunebelle André Hunebelle (1 September 1896 – 27 November 1985) was a French maître verrier (master glassmaker) and film director. Master Glass Artist After attending polytechnic school for mathematics, he became a decorator, a designer, and then a mas ...

. The role was played initially by

Kerwin Mathews Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' (1958), ''The Three Worlds of Gulliver'' (1960) and ''Jack the Giant Killer'' (1962). Early life ...

, and then by

Frederick Stafford Frederick Stafford (11 March 1928 – 28 July 1979) was a Czechoslovak-born actor. Born Friedrich Strobel von Stein, he spoke fluent Czech, German, English, French and Italian, and was a leading man in European spy-movies. Biography Early life ...

, with

John Gavin John A. Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). Among the films he appeared ...

playing the role when Stafford was filming

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...

''. Before leaving, however, Stafford starred in ''

Atout cœur à Tokyo pour OSS 117 ''Atout cœur à Tokyo pour OSS 117'' (English: ''Trump-Card in the Heart of Tokyo for OSS 117'') is a 1966 French Eurospy spy-fi film. It was the fourth OSS 117 film of the 1960s, directed by Michel Boisrond, presented by the director of th ...

'' (1966), which is notable for being the first film in the series to use an original storyline instead of adapting a novel, and as such it was penned by

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film director

Terence Young Terence or Terry Young may refer to: *Terence Young (director) (1915–1994), British film director * Terence Young (politician) (born 1952), Canadian Conservative Party politician * Terence Young (writer), Canadian writer * Terry Young (American p ...

. In 1966, Sean Flynn starred in ''

Five Ashore in Singapore ''Five Ashore in Singapore'' AKA ''Singapore, Singapore'' and ''Cinq gars pour Singapour'' is a 1967 French/Italian international co-production film based on the 1959 novel by Jean Bruce. Filmed on location in Singapore in 1966, it was the last f ...

'', which is an adaptation of an OSS 117 novel written by Jean Bruce. However, as was the case with '' Le Bal des espions'' (1960), producer Pierre Kalfon didn't have the rights to the OSS 117 character on the screen, he had to substitute him with an original character instead. The rights to the character on the screen was exclusively optioned by producer Paul Cadéac at the time. Kalfon, however, would purchase the rights to the character years later, resulting in ''

OSS 117 Takes a Vacation ''OSS 117 takes a vacation''/''Hot Holidays for OSS 117''/''OSS 117 prend des vacances'' is a French/Brazilian international co-production 1970 spy film directed by Pierre Kalfon who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. It starred Luc Meren ...

'' (1970), which he co-produced and directed, with

Luc Merenda Luc Charles Olivier Merenda (born 3 September 1943) is a French film actor. He was one of the most prominent actors of the Italian poliziotteschi genre, working several times with Sergio Martino and Fernando Di Leo. He is of Italian origin thr ...

cast in the lead. After the last film proved unsuccessful, the series attempted to transition to the small screen by producing a pilot for a potential television series with Alan Scott cast as the secret agent. However, it wasn't picked up by the networks and was eventually released as a standalone television film, entitled ''OSS 117 tue le taon'' (1971). It retained the use of novels as a source material which was adapted to a teleplay from the book of the same name by the author's wife, Josette Bruce.

Parodies

Director

Michel Hazanavicius Michel Hazanavicius ( lt, Hazanavičius; born 29 March 1967) is a French film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He is best known for his 2011 film, '' The Artist'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Aw ...

and screenwriter Jean-François Halin revived the series as a spoof of the

EuroSpy Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James Bo ...

genre that faithfully parodied the original films, even going as far to paying several homages to the action-adventure films from the 1950s and the 1960s as well as recreating the atmospheric feel of those productions. Its technical and visual influences are drawn from the early

films starring

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

as well as the original OSS 117 films directed by

. Additionally,

's films also serve as major inspirations for the cinematography and the visual effects. Starring actor-comedian

Jean Dujardin Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...

in the titular role, this incarnation of the character is reinvented as a French spy working for the SDECE, who's portrayed as a self-important, dim-witted and politically incorrect oaf. He's generally depicted as quintessentially "franchouillard" (typically French). As a comical character, he often creates awkward social situations due to his colonial ideology, staunch French patriotism, chauvinism and machismo. At the same time, he embodies the ideal secret agent archetype: Handsome, physically adept (he loves fighting and dances everything from the mambo to the twist), and uses his charm to seduce quite a few women. When an ally mispronounces his codename, he eccentrically corrects him with the proper pronunciation—One Hundred and Seventeen ("cent dix-sept" in French) as opposed to Double One Seven (a light jab at James Bond's 00-prefix). The first two films, '' OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies'' (2006) and '' OSS 117: Lost in Rio'' (2009), are both directed by Hazanavicius and co-written with Halin. However, for the third film, Hazanavicius chose not to return due to creative differences with Halin regarding the script. Instead,

Nicolas Bedos Nicolas Simon Bedos (; born 21 April 1979) is a French comedian, writer, director and actor. The son of Guy Bedos, he became known in 2004 as a playwright. In 2013, he joined Laurent Ruquier Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February ...

took over the directing duties and worked closely with Halin on adapting his screenplay, resulting in '' OSS 117: From Africa with Love'' (2021), which, unlike the first two films, opts for contemporary filming techniques.

List of film adaptations

Original series

* '' OSS 117 n'est pas mort'' (OSS 117 Is Not Dead), 1956, directed by

Jean Sacha Jean Sacha (1912–1988) was a French film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly i ...

, starring Ivan Desny as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath/OSS 117 * '' OSS 117 se déchaîne'' (OSS 117), 1963, directed by

, starring

* '' Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117'' (Shadow of Evil or Panic in Bangkok), 1964, directed by

, starring

* '' Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117'' (OSS 117: Mission for a Killer), 1965, directed by

& Jacques Besnard, starring

* '' Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117'' (Terror in Tokyo), 1966, directed by

Michel Boisrond Michel Jacques Boisrond (9 October 1921, Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais – 10 November 2002, La Celle-Saint-Cloud) was a French film director and screenwriter. His work spanned five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Career A former apprentice ...

, starring

* '' Pas de roses pour OSS 117'' (OSS 117 Double agent), 1968, directed by

, Renzo Cerrato & Jean-Pierre Desagnat, starring

* ''

OSS 117 takes a vacation ''OSS 117 takes a vacation''/''Hot Holidays for OSS 117''/''OSS 117 prend des vacances'' is a French/Brazilian international co-production 1970 spy film directed by Pierre Kalfon who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. It starred Luc Meren ...

'' (OSS 117 takes a vacation), 1970, directed by

Pierre Kalfon Pierre Kalfon is a French film producer and director. Selected filmography Director * '' OSS 117 prend des vacances'' (1970) * ''La Cravache – The Whip'' (1972) Producer * '' A Taste for Women'' (1964) * ''Cinq gars pour Singapour'' (1967) * ...

, starring

* ''OSS 117 tue le taon'' V 1971, directed by André Lerouxs, starring Alan Scott

Revival

* '' OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions'' (''OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies''), 2006, directed by

, starring

* '' OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus'' (''OSS 117: Lost in Rio''), 2009, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin * '' OSS 117: Alerte Rouge en Afrique Noire'' (''OSS 117: From Africa With Love''), 2021, directed by

, starring Jean Dujardin

References

External links

* {{OSS 117 Literary characters Cinema of France Fictional Central Intelligence Agency personnel Fictional colonels Fictional characters from Louisiana French film series Series of books Characters in French novels of the 20th century Characters in pulp fiction