The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, le Carré, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Len Deighton. It is a significant aspect of British cinema, with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service.
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer and businessman who held both Italian and American citizenship. Following a brief acting career in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he moved into film production; alongside Carlo Ponti, he brought Italian cinema to the international scene in the post-World War II period. He produced or co-produced over 500 films, with 38 of his Hollywood films receiving Academy Award nominations. He was also the creator and operator of DDL Foodshow, a chain of Italian specialty foods stores.
Some Girls Do is a 1969 British comedy spy film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was the second of the revamped Bulldog Drummond films starring Richard Johnson as Drummond, made following the success of the James Bond films of the 1960s. Some Girls Do even featured a white Aston Martin DB5, the same marque used by Bond.
Casino Royale is a 1967 spy parody film originally distributed by Columbia Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming; the first novel to feature the character James Bond.
Dorothy Michelle Provine was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first starred in The Bonnie Parker Story and played many roles in TV series. During the 1960s, Provine starred in series such as The Alaskans and The Roaring Twenties, and her major film roles included It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), The Great Race (1965). That Darn Cat! (1965), Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966), Who's Minding the Mint? (1967), and Never a Dull Moment (1968). In 1968, Provine married the film and television director Robert Day and mostly retired. She died of emphysema on April 25, 2010, in Bremerton, Washington.
Spy-fi is a subgenre of spy fiction that includes elements of science fiction, and is often associated with the Cold War. Features of spy-fi include the effects of technology on the espionage trade and the technological gadgets used by the characters, even though the technologies and gadgets portrayed are well beyond contemporary scientific reality.
Murderers' Row is a 1966 American comedy spy-fi film starring Dean Martin as Matt Helm. It is the second of four films in the Matt Helm series, and is very loosely based upon the 1962 spy novel Murderers' Row by Donald Hamilton.
The Silencers is a 1966 American spy comedy film directed by Phil Karlson, starring Dean Martin as agent Matt Helm. The screenplay by Oscar Saul is based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Donald Hamilton, while also adapting elements of Hamilton's first Helm novel, Death of a Citizen (1960). The film co-stars Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O'Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel, Beverly Adams, and Cyd Charisse.
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is a 2006 French spy comedy film directed and co-written by Michel Hazanavicius in his feature directorial debut. Starring Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, and Aure Atika, the film has been widely praised for its cinematography, editing, and score. Set in 1955, the film follows the exploits of a French secret agent, Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath/OSS 117, as he is sent to Cairo to investigate the disappearance of his best friend and fellow spy Jack Jefferson, only to stumble into a web of international intrigue.
Hurricane is a 1979 American romantic adventure film featuring Mia Farrow and Jason Robards, produced by Dino De Laurentiis with Lorenzo Semple Jr., and directed by Jan Troell. It is a loose remake of John Ford's 1937 film The Hurricane, itself based on the 1936 novel by James Norman Hall and Charles Nordhoff.
Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film, 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 Bond spy series feature films. The first wave of Eurospy films was released in 1964, two years after the first James Bond film, Dr. No, and in the same year as the premiere of what many consider to be the apotheosis of the Bond series, Goldfinger. For the most part, the Eurospy craze lasted until around 1967 or 1968. In Italy, where most of these films were produced, this trend replaced the declining sword-and-sandal genre.
OSS 117 is the codename for Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, a fictional secret agent created by French writer 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).
Licensed to Kill is an Eastmancolor 1965 superspy imitation James Bond film starring Tom Adams as British secret agent Charles Vine. It was directed and co-written by Lindsay Shonteff. Producer Joseph E. Levine picked it up for American and worldwide distribution and reedited it under the title The Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World.
Margaret Gwendolyn Box, known professionally as Margaret Lee, was a British actress who was a popular leading lady in Italian films in the 1960s and 1970s.
Two Mafiosi Against Goldginger or Due mafiosi contro Goldginger is a 1965 Eurospy comedy film directed by Giorgio Simonelli starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. It is a spoof of the 1964 James Bond film, Goldfinger. It was picked up by American International Pictures and dubbed into English to be shown on their AIP-TV movie package as The Amazing Dr. G or Two Crazy Secret Agents.
James Tont operazione D.U.E. or The Wacky World of James Tont is a 1966 French/Italian international co-production spy film spoof based on James Bond's Thunderball and featuring elements predating the release of You Only Live Twice. Directed by Bruno Corbucci, the Eurospy spy-fi comedy adventure is the sequel to James Tont operazione U.N.O. (1965) with Lando Buzzanca repeating his role as 00 Agent James Tont, a satire of James Bond and Loris Gizzi as the black monocle wearing supervillain spoof of Emilio Largo.
James Tont operazione U.N.O. or Operation Goldsinger is a 1965 French and Italian international co-production Eurospy film spoof based on James Bond's Goldfinger. Co-written and co-directed by Bruno Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi, the film stars Lando Buzzanca as James Tont Agent 007 1⁄2 a parody of James Bond and Loris Gizzi as Erik Goldsinger, a parody of Auric Goldfinger. It was followed by James Tont operazione D.U.E..
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to James Bond:
Le Tigre aime la chair fraîche, English title Code Name: Tiger, is a 1964 French Eurospy film directed by Claude Chabrol and starring Roger Hanin as the spy Louis Rapière, code named "The Tiger". The screenplay was written by Chabrol and Hanin. It was an attempt to create a French franchise equal to James Bond, and its female lead, Daniela Bianchi, had the previous year appeared in the James Bond film From Russia with Love. The film had a sequel in 1965, Le tigre se parfume à la dynamite.
