If you weren’t aware the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) was the secret spy operation led by William Donovan during WWII. The organization sent spies into Germany and other nearby countries during the war to gather intelligence and destroy various targets behind enemy lines. When the war ended the organization changed and became the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.). So much for a brief history lesson.
The film O.S.S. was released in a year after the end of WWII. Written by Richard Maibaum who would go on to write 12 of the James Bond films the film shows his penchant working with spies. Unfortunately the film doesn’t quite compare to those movies in spite of this.
Alan Ladd stars as John Martin, a man caught trying to steal plans for an electronics circuit here in the US. Rather than send him to jail he’s recruited by the newly found O.S.S. to be sent out on test missions. Along with Martin are several other agents including a woman named Elaine Dupree (Geraldine Fitzgerald). After thorough training their first mission comes through: blow up a railroad tunnel to slow down the enemy.
Signs of what was common at the time have Martin doubt that Dupree can handle the job since she’s a woman. Posting as an artists which she has some background in, she proves him wrong when she catches the eye of German Colonel Paul Meister (John Hoyt). He admires her work and contracts her to make a bust of himself.
When he is later transferred and headed to Normandy on a troop train, Dupree convinces her to take her with him. He agrees and she takes along a duplicate busts packed with plastic explosives. Martin is also on board the train and when the time is right the pair set off their special package and accomplish their mission of blowing up the train tunnel.
But Meister survived the explosion and is now hunting the duo. They meet a corrupt Gestapo agent who realizes that all is lost for the Reich. He agrees to help them escape the country for a fee. Now the question is can will he follow through? And even if he does, will it be enough to help Martin and Dupree escape the country?
As a historical piece of post war propaganda the film is interesting to watch. The concept of a woman being considered unable to do the job and proving that she could was ahead of its time. The only problem with the film is the pacing. It moves along far too slow for what should have been a film packed with action. 13 RUE MADELINE made just a year later starring James Cagney showed how this could be done and is a much better picture.
Ladd is wasted here. One would never realize his talents seeing this film made after his starring roles in TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST and THE BLUE DAHLIA. His acting here is more wooden than would be expected and he spends more time looking around at people suspiciously than anything else. On the other hand Fitzgerald shines and shows why she was a force to be reckoned with at the time. The end result is a decent film but not one that will be long remembered.
Kino Lorber is releasing the film on blu-ray with a brand new 2k master of the film. Extras are limited and include an audio commentary track by film historian Samm Deighan and a collection of movie trailers.
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