Euro-Spy Thriller: OSS 117 SE DECHAINE aka OSS 17 IS UNLEASHED 1963

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:01]Hey everybody, Tom Cornell here, Cornell knowledge, the show I do here on YouTube wherein I review a bunch of movies and books and records and that kind of thing. Today I have something for you kind of cool I saw over the over the weekend.

[00:00:14]It is a film from 1963.

[00:00:16]It is called OSS 117 Dead De Chaon De Chaine aka OSS 117 is unleashed.

[00:00:26]>> [clears throat] >> Directed by Andre Hunebelle, stars Kerwin Matthews who was in Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Three Worlds of Gulliver. Also stars the beautiful Nadia Sanders who is in Fellini's 8 1/2 and The Giants of Thessaly. Also Irina Demick who is in The Longest Day. Has to do with an American agent who disappears during a diving reconnaissance and the Secret Service sends an agent named OSS 117 to investigate. It's an early example of the Euro spy genre. If you watched my my weekend special about Bond parodies.

[00:01:03]At the in the mid-60s Bond became a really big thing the James Bond films and everyone was really rushing to make them and it developed its own subculture called the Euro spy mostly films made in Europe, go figure, and that kind of a thing. It's the first movie with this character it went on to make many many others. Director did three of these OSS films.

[00:01:24]It plays more like Danger Man if you're familiar with the TV series that ran from 1960 to 19 66 than really really a Bond picture. It's lighter, it's wittier than most Euro spy movies. It was later parodied quite well in my opinion in the Jean Dujardin film. It's filmed in stupendous black and white. It's very much kind of a low rent Bond. Matthews is left pretty much on his own with no money and very few gadgets.

[00:01:51]There's a fun film score by Michel Magne and Uh not I said Nadia Sanders is beautiful. Things proceed through the film pretty predictably, culminating [snorts] in a secret lair / island face-off.

[00:02:04]Uh there's lots of what I call James T.

[00:02:06]Kirk kung fu, which is kind of ridiculous. Um but all in all, it's a very, very enjoyable European spy film.

[00:02:15]Uh Matthews is likable, and the plot uh has has yet to sort of veer into what the the really silly Roger Moore type stuff. Well, we're seeing I saw it on YouTube for free or I'm sorry, I saw it on Tubi for free. So, go check that out, and while you're checking that out, check out my channel.

[00:02:31]There's lots of more reviews. I'm adjusting the schedule a little bit, but um I'll be doing these daily shorts a little bit more. So, check it out. Again, OSS is unleashed, and it's available on Tubi. So, until I see you next time, I'll see you at the movies.