''Covert Action'' (originally released as ''Sono Stato un Agente C.I.A.'') is a 1978 Italian/Greek co-production

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 ...

film starring the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor David Janssen. The plot was based on the experiences of former

CIA 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, ...

agent

Philip Agee Philip Burnett Franklin Agee (; January 19, 1935 – January 7, 2008)Will Weissert"Ex-CIA Agent Philip Agee Dead in Cuba" Associated Press (sfgate.com), January 9, 2008. was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer and writer of t ...

who initiated a lawsuit with the producers over his fees and expenses.

Plot

A former CIA agent decides to write about his CIA career that leads him into danger.

Production

The original female lead Catherine Bach dropped out and was replaced with

Corinne Cléry Corinne Cléry (born 23 March 1950), also known as Corinne Piccolo, is a French actress. She is known for the films ''Moonraker'' (1979), '' The Story of O'' (1975), ''Hitch-Hike'' (1977) and ''Yor, the Hunter from the Future'' (1983). Early l ...

. Due to a then new Italian ordinance that prohibited the firing of firearms in Italian movies, gunfire scenes were filmed in Greece.

Cast

* David Janssen ... Lester Horton *

Arthur Kennedy John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...

... CIA Chief of Station, Athens * Maurizio Merli ... John Florio *

... Anne Florio * Philippe Leroy ... Greek Inspector *

Ivan Rassimov Ivan Rassimov (Born Ivan Đerasimović; Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Ђерасимовић) (7 May 1938 – 14 March 2003) was an Italian film actor of Serb descent who appeared in many horror and exploitation films. Biography Born in Trieste ...

... The Silent *

Giacomo Rossi-Stuart Giacomo Rossi Stuart (25 August 1925 – 20 October 1994) was an Italian film actor often credited as Jack Stuart or Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1953 and 1989. Biography Born in Todi to an Italian father ...

... Grant

References

External links

* 1978 films Italian spy action films English-language Italian films English-language Greek films 1970s English-language films 1970s Italian-language films 1970s spy action films Films about the Central Intelligence Agency Films directed by Romolo Guerrieri Films scored by Stelvio Cipriani 1970s Italian films {{1970s-Italy-film-stub