By Lee Pfeiffer
Operation C.I.A. is a 1965 adventure that gave an early starring role to Burt Reynolds, who at that time was primarily known as a TV actor. The movie represents that by-gone era in which certain films were specifically created to be the bottom half of double bills. The irony is that many of these "disposable" vehicles now look superior to much of what is produced today at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. What is intriguing about Operation C.I.A. is that it represents one of the last movies to address the hotbed political situation in Vietnam before the war went into full gear. Unlike today, when moviemakers routinely make the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq the backdrop for major films, once the Vietnam conflict became very contentious, studios avoided the subject like the plague. Virtually the only movie to openly set a storyline in the midst of the war was John Wayne's The Green Berets. That film took until 1968 to get off the ground and Wayne expended all of his considerable influence before he twisted Jack Warner's arm to provide financing because it took a right wing stand in an era in which protests against the war were at a fever pitch.
Operation C.I.A. was filmed at a time when America was officially relegated to providing "advisors" to the South Vietnamese government as opposed to massive amounts of combat troops. Thus, the movie provides a fascinating time capsule of a time period that was to be short-lived. The intent of the producers was to film on location in Saigon, but even by 1965 the situation there was deemed to dangerous to do so. Thus, the exteriors were shot in Bangkok. The B&W production top-lines Reynolds as C.I.A. agent Mark Andrews who is sent to Saigon to investigate the death of a fellow agent who may have been on the verge of uncovering a plot by the Viet Cong to pull off an assassination. From the moment Andrews arrives in South Vietnam, he runs into Bond-style intrigue. Within hours he is robbed at a massage parlor, deceived by people he perceives to be friends and finds himself in a number of death traps.
Andrews is accompanied by the requisite local beauty (sexy Kieu Chinh) and gets even more attention from a lovely French undercover agent (Danielle Aubry). Where the film deviates from 007 territory is that Andrews never gets the chance to consumate the relationships because he's battling to survive, while simultaneously trying to prevent the assassination of the American ambassador. We won't elevate the film beyond its distinct status as a B movie, but if you like spy thrillers from this era, there is much to recommend here. Reynolds displays a modicum of the trademark wit that would serve him well in the years to come and the film benefits greatly from his ability to do his own stunts. There is an extended chase sequence throughout the city that is remarkably ambitious and reminds one of the classic "free running" scene at the beginning of Daniel Craig's version of Casino Royale. The plot never strays from the real world, so there are no secret gadgets or weapons, which adds to the sense of realism. The movie is ably directed by Christian Nyby, who does an outstanding job of capitalizing on the exotic locales. Seemingly every frame of the movie is shot on location. The experience would serve Nyby well, as he would soon go on to direct some of the best episodes of the globe-trotting TV series I Spy.
Operation C.I.A. is certainly not a classic, but it's a highly enjoyable romp that spy movie fans will certainly want to add to their libraries.
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