O.S.S. Movie Review

1946 Irving Pichel

Today, producer Richard Maibaum's early espionage thriller can be seen as a prototype for the genre he would perfect in the 1960s. That's when he was involved with the James Bond series and either co-wrote or -produced the best early entries, from Dr. No to On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Almost all of the familiar Bond devices appear here, from the off-beat introduction, to the lethal gadgets, to the cooler-than-cool hero. Unfortunately, all the ingredients don't mesh quite as smoothly as they do in the Bond films. The primary reason is leading man Alan Ladd, who turns in a lackluster performance and fails to strike any sparks with his co-star Geraldine Fitzgerald.

Though the film claims to be based on real exploits of agents of the Office of Strategic Services, it presents them in such a fanciful light that it's impossible to take the action seriously. The plot—so loose as to be almost episodic—concerns the efforts of four O.S.S. agents parachuted into France as “Mission Applejack.” The leader of the group barely makes it through his first meal, leaving Philip Masson (Ladd) in charge, with Ellen Rogers (Fitzgerald) and Bernay (Richard Benedict) in support. Their initial mission is to contact the local Resistance and then to blow up a railroad tunnel in preparation for D-Day. Their nemesis is Col. Meister (John Hoyt) who reappears throughout the film whenever the pace flags.

The big scenes—placing a bomb on a train, a confrontation with drunken Nazis in a farmhouse, and an escape from the Gestapo—are handled brightly enough by director Irving Pichel, who also co-directed The Most Dangerous Game. Pichel and cinematographer Lionel Lindon also pay close attention to the night scenes, where their ominous staging provides a preview of the films noir that were then beginning to appear. Those dark visuals are more memorable than the star.

Whenever Alan Ladd is forced to center stage, he seems to be going through the motions. His tough-guy persona cracks whenever he questions the role of women in this particular branch of warfare. Taking into account the differences in public attitudes between then and now, he still comes across as a chauvinistic blockhead. That, of course, is what screenwriter Maibaum means for the audience to think, but Masson is still an unsympathetic, forgettable hero.

The best scenes—and almost certainly the most realistic—involve Brink (Harold Vermilyea), a greedy Gestapo agent who can read the writing on the wall and is ready to change sides. After he departs, the film comes to an odd conclusion that belatedly attempts to invest some seriousness into an otherwise frivolous story. In the end, O.S.S. has considerable value as an artifact of cinematic espionage, but its entertainment value is mostly limited to Ladd's fans.

Cast: Alan Ladd (John Martin/Philip Masson), Geraldine Fitzgerald (Ellen Rogers/Elaine Duprez), Patric Knowles (Cmdr. Brady), John Hoyt (Col. Meister), Richard Benedict (Bernay), Gloria Saunders (WAC Operator Sparky), Bobby Driscoll (Gerard), Don Beddoe (Gates), Richard Webb (Partker), Gavin Muir (Col. Crawson), Onslow Stevens (Field), Joseph Crehan (Gen. Donovan), Leslie Denison (Lt. Col. Miles), Harold Vermilyea (Amadeus Brink); Written by: Richard Maibaum; Cinematography by: Lionel Linden; Music by: Daniele Amfitheatrof; Technical Advisor: Raphael G. Beugnon, John Shaheen. Producer: Richard Maibaum; released by Paramount Pictures. Running Time: 108 minutes. Format: VHS, Closed Caption.