''Voitheia! O Vengos faneros praktor 000'' ( el, Βοήθεια! Ο Βέγγος φανερός πράκτωρ 000) ( eng, Help! Veggos the obvious agent 000) is a 1967 Greek spy comedy

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Thanasis Vengos Thanasis Veggos (alternatively spelt Thanassis and/or Vengos; Greek language, Greek: Θανάσης Βέγγος; pronounced: ''Thanássis Véngos''; 29 May 19273 May 2011) was a Greece, Greek actor and director born in Neo Faliro, Piraeus. He perf ...

, written by Napoleon Eleftheriou, and

Nikos Tsiforos Nikos Tsiforos ( el, Νίκος Τσιφόρος; 27 August 1912 – 6 August 1970) was a Greek humorist, screenwriter, and film director. He had more than 60 film scripts to his credit between 1948 and 1970. He further directed 17 films be ...

, and starring

Zannino Zannino ( gr, Ζαννίνο; born Yannis Papadopoulos; 21 August 1923 – 27 May 1995) was a Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a ...

Dimitris Nikolaidis Dimitris Nikolaidis ( el, Δημήτρης Νικολαΐδης; 1922 – 21 January 1993) was a Greek actor. Career He was born in 1922 in Asia Minor and died in January 1993. His journey of life began on a ship that headed from Constanti ...

, and

Antonis Papadopoulos The Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium ( el, Στάδιο «Αντώνης Παπαδόπουλος») is a football stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus. With a current seating capacity of 10,230, it has been the home stadium of Anorthosis Famagusta since its co ...

. The film was shot in black-and-white. The film was successful at the box office and was followed by a sequel,

Thou-Vou falakros praktor, epiheirisis "Yis Mathiam" ''Thou-Vou falakros praktor, epiheirisis "Yis Mathiam"'' ( el, Θου-Βου Φαλακρός πράκτωρ: Επιχείρησις Γης Μαδιάμ, italic=yes) is a 1969 Greek spy comedy film directed by Thanasis Vengos, written by Giorgos ...

(1969).

Title

The film title means ''Help! It is Vengos visible agent '000, in humorous reference to

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 ...

s (1964). At the time Room 000 meant the public toilet. The title character is codenamed ''Thou-Vou'' ( el, Θου-Βου. "Thou" stands for

Theta Theta (, ; uppercase: Θ or ; lowercase: θ or ; grc, ''thē̂ta'' ; Modern: ''thī́ta'' ) is the eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 9. Gr ...

, "Vou" stands for

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

. They form the Greek initials of protagonist

(Θανάσης Βέγγος, pronounced: Thanássis Végos).

Plot

The protagonist is Athanasios Bobas (

), codenamed Thou-Vou. He is a secret agent in training, one of seven students of a spy school named after

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 ...

. He is trained in

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

target practice In the military and in shooting, target practice are exercises in which weapons are shot at a target. The purpose of such exercises is to improve the aim or the weapons handling expertise of the person firing the weapon. Targets being shot at ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, etc. He is, however, thoroughly inept. His trainer

consistently grades him with 0. In order to graduate and receive his degree, Thou-Vou has to successfully complete three missions. He has to put in practice what he has learned so far. He is to be rated with a grade from 0 to 9. His grades will form the three numbers of his new codename. His first mission involves the beautiful daughter of a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

. The girl is having a secret affair, and Thou-Vou has to find out who her lover is. His second mission involves a fashion company. Someone has been stealing its patterns and Thou-Vou has to uncover the culprits. The third mission is to recover a secret document which has been hidden away in a cake. He fails spectacularly in each mission and is rated with 0. He graduates with the disappointing number of 000.

Cast

Thanasis Veggos Thanasis Veggos (alternatively spelt Thanassis and/or Vengos; Greek: Θανάσης Βέγγος; pronounced: ''Thanássis Véngos''; 29 May 19273 May 2011) was a Greek actor and director born in Neo Faliro, Piraeus. He performed in around 130 film ...

..... ''Thou-Vou'' *

..... ''trainer'' *

..... ''chief agent 627000'' *

Periklis Christoforidis Periklis Christoforides (1907 – 30 September 1983) was an Ottoman-born Greek film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1929 and 1979. He was born in Trebizond, Ottoman Empire, and died in Thessaloniki, Greece, following a ...

..... ''school director'' * Nitsa Tsaganea ..... ''Mrs. Psalti'' *

Lavrentis Dianellos Lavrentis Dianellos (Greek: Λαυρέντης Διανέλλος; 1911 – 16 September 1978) was a Greek actor. From 1948 to 1975, he appeared in 200 films, leading one reviewer to call him "ubiquitous." Indicative filmography * ''The Germans ...

..... ''Mr. Psaltis'' *Nikos Fermas ..... ''instructor of theory'' * Takis Miliadis ..... ''Manolis'' *Ria Deltoutsi ..... ''Dora'' *

Kostas Mentis Kostas or Costas ( el, Κώστας) is a Greek given name and surname. As a given name it is the hypocorism for Konstantinos (Constantine). Given name * Costas Andreou, Greek musician * Kostas Antetokounmpo (born 1997), a Greek basketball player ...

..... ''Sou-Pou'' *

Takis Christoforidis Takis Christoforidis ( el, Τάκης Χριστοφορίδης; 1914–1973) was a Greek actor and cousin of Periklis Christoforidis. Filmography Selected filmography: *''O thisavros tou makariti'' (1959) *'' To exypno pouli'' (1961) ..... F ...

..... ''provisions director'' *Antonis Papadopoulos ..... ''Map 031'' *Giannis Sparidis ..... ''assistant to Thou-Vou'' *

Kostas Papachristos Kostas Papachristos ( el, Κώστας Παπαχρήστος; 1916 – 29 September 1995) was a Greek actor who was known for his comedic acting roles. Biography He was born in Volos in 1916 and died in Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, ...

..... ''police officer'' *Kostas Stavrinoudakis ..... ''Sou-Tou'' *Mitsi Konstantara ..... ''designer house director'' *Betty Dakopoulou ..... ''kindergarten teacher''

External links

* 1967 films 1960s Greek-language films Greek comedy films Films directed by Thanasis Vengos Greek black-and-white films 1960s spy comedy films 1967 comedy films Parody films based on James Bond films {{Greece-film-stub