This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (January 2012) Don't speak French? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the French article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|fr|OSS 117}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

OSS 117 is the codename for Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, a fictional secret agent initially from the pen of the prolific Jean Bruce. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath is described as being an American Colonel from Louisiana of French descent. After service in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), de La Bath worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), then the National Security Council (NSC).

In the real-life OSS, code number 117 was allocated to William L. Langer, who was chief of the Research and Analysis Branch of the OSS.^[1]

Novels and films[link]

Bruce wrote 88^[2] OSS 117 novels for the French publishing house Fleuve Noir Espionnage series^[3] beginning with Tu parles d'une ingénue (Ici OSS 117) in 1949, predating Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 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.^[4] The last published novel was O.S.S. 117 prend le large in 1992.^[5]

The first OSS 117 film, OSS 117 n'est pas mort (OSS 117 Is Not Dead), was made in 1957 with Ivan Desny as OSS 117.^[6] In the 1960s, the character was featured in a successful Eurospy film series which was mostly directed by Andre Hunebelle. The role was played initially by Kerwin Matthews, and then by Frederick Stafford, with John Gavin playing the role when Stafford was filming Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz.

The 2006 and 2009 films OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117: Lost in Rio, conceived as spoofs of the Eurospy genre,^[7] both recreated and parodied OSS 117. The character, reinvented as a French spy working for the SDECE, was turned into a comedy character and portrayed by Jean Dujardin as a self-important, dim-witted and politically incorrect oaf.

List of movie adaptations[link]

Jean Dujardin acts OSS 117 in Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) and Lost in Rio (2009)

Original movies[link]

• OSS 117 n'est pas mort (OSS 117 is not dead), 1956, directed by Jean Sacha, starring Ivan Desny as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath/OSS 117
• OSS 117 se déchaîne (OSS 117), 1963, directed by André Hunebelle, starring Kerwin Mathews
• Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117 (Shadow of Evil or Panic in Bangkok), 1964, directed by André Hunebelle, starring Kerwin Mathews
• Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117 (OSS 117: Mission for a Killer), 1965, directed by André Hunebelle & Jacques Besnard, starring Frederick Stafford
• Atout coeur à Tokyo pour OSS 117 (Terror in Tokyo), 1966, directed by Michel Boisrond, starring Frederick Stafford was not based on a Jean Bruce novel but featured an original screenplay by James Bond director Terence Young
• Pas de roses pour OSS 117 (OSS 117 Double agent), 1968, directed by André Hunebelle, Renzo Cerrato & Jean-Pierre Desagnat, starring John Gavin
• OSS 117 prend des vacances (OSS 117 takes a vacation), 1970, directed by Pierre Kalfon, starring Luc Merenda
• OSS 117 tue le taon [TV], 1971, directed by André Lerouxs, starring Alan Scott

Parodies[link]

• OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies), 2006, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin
• OSS 117: Rio ne répond plus (OSS 117: Lost in Rio), 2009, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin

References[link]

External links[link]

• OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies movie official website
• Jean Bruce website
• OSS117 is not dead original American trailer, Youtube.com
• OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies IMDb Page
• Jean Dujardin and the OSS 117 Revival