O.S.S. (1946)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Irving Pichel

Writer:

Richard Maibaum (writer)

Release Date:

19 September 1946 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

He's deep in danger...deeper in love...in the Top Thrill Show of the Year!

Plot:

John Martin is part of an American spy team dropped into France during World War II to destroy the French railway system...

Plot Keywords:

Spy | WWII | Sabotage

Cast

Alan Ladd	...	Philip Masson / John Martin
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Ellen Rogers / Elaine Duprez
Patric Knowles	...	Cmdr. Brady
John Hoyt	...	Col. Paul Meister
Gloria Saunders	...	WAC Operator Sparky
Richard Webb	...	Partker
Richard Benedict	...	Bernay
Harold Vermilyea	...	Amadeus Brink
Don Beddoe	...	Gates / Rodney Parrish
Crane Whitley	...	Arnheim
Onslow Stevens	...	Field
Gavin Muir	...	Col. Crawson
Egon Brecher	...	Marcel Aubert
Joseph Crehan	...	Gen. Donovan
Bobby Driscoll	...	Gerard
Julia Dean	...	Madame Prideaux
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Adams	...	Claudette (uncredited)
Philip Ahlm	...	German Officer (uncredited)
Jerome Alden	...	British NCO (uncredited)
Vern Anders	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Carl Andre	...	Col. Hesiter's aide (uncredited)
James Andrews	...	Radio Operator (uncredited)
Dorothy Barrett	...	Brady's London Secretary (uncredited)
Paul Barrett	...	British pilot (uncredited)
George Barton	...	Handyman (uncredited)
Eddie Bauer	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Holger Bendixen	...	German Sergeant (uncredited)
Carmen Beretta	...	Resistance woman (uncredited)
John Bogden	...	Assistant jumpmaster (uncredited)
Carl R. Botefuhr	...	American Soldier (uncredited)
George Bruggeman	...	MP NCO (uncredited)
Bill Burt	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)
Frank Chalfant	...	American Soldier (uncredited)
Helen Chapman	...	Resistance girl (uncredited)
André Charlot	...	French importer (uncredited)
Edward Clark	...	French waiter (uncredited)
Louise Colombet	...	Old Frenchwoman (uncredited)
Catherine Craig	...	Williams' secretary (uncredited)
James Craven	...	Jumpmaster (uncredited)
Roger Creed	...	SS man (uncredited)
Frank Dae	...	Scientist (uncredited)
Fred Darrell	...	Old Frenchman (uncredited)
Fred Datig Jr.	...	American Soldier (uncredited)
John Dehner	...	German Radar Captain (uncredited)
Janna DeLoos	...	Woman refugee (uncredited)
Jean Del Val	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Leslie Denison	...	Lt. Col. Miles (uncredited)
Paul Diamond	...	Resistance man (uncredited)
Jimmie Dundee	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Rene Dussaq	...	French Artillery Officer (uncredited)
Carl Ekberg	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Richard Elmore	...	German Private (uncredited)
George J. Fannon	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Charles Ferguson	...	American Soldier (uncredited)
Frank Ferguson	...	Electronics Engineer (uncredited)
Monica Folts	...	Little Girl With Kitten (uncredited)
Eugene Gericke	...	Operator (uncredited)
Jon Gilbreath	...	German Radar Lieutenant (uncredited)
Joseph Granby	...	Engineer (uncredited)
Henry Guttman	...	German Major (uncredited)
John Harmon	...	Pierre (uncredited)
Edward Harvey	...	Mr. Williams (uncredited)
Len Hendry	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Lawson Houghton	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Jerry James	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Roberta Jonay	...	Gracie Archer (uncredited)
Fred Kohler Jr.	...	Fireman (uncredited)
Jack Lambert	...	German lieutenant (uncredited)
Billy Lechner	...	American Soldier (uncredited)
Paul Lees	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Anthony Marsh	...	British Pilot (uncredited)
John Maxwell	...	LaFevre (uncredited)
Patrick McVey	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)
William Meader	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Zane Megowan	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Tony Merlo	...	Reynal (uncredited)
Peter Michael	...	German NCO (uncredited)
Hans Moebus	...	Gestapo man (uncredited)
Fred Nurney	...	Major Courier (uncredited)
Albert Petit	...	Resistance Man (uncredited)
Walter Pietila	...	Mansion attendant (uncredited)
Byron Poindexter	...	Co-pilot (uncredited)
Edmund Porada	...	German Sergeant (uncredited)
Frank Pulliam Jr.	...	B-25 Pilot (uncredited)
Renee Randall	...	Cashier (uncredited)
Jean Ransome	...	Elevator operator (uncredited)
Walter Rode	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Albert Ruiz	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Jean Ruth	...	Brady's Secretary (uncredited)
Carl Saxe	...	SS Man (uncredited)
Tom Schamp	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Leo Schlesinger	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
George Sorel	...	Husky refugee (uncredited)
Eric Steiner	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Jack Sterling	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Tom Stevenson	...	Instructor (uncredited)
Paul Stupin	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
George Taylor	...	Gestapo plainclothesman (uncredited)
Bob Templeton	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Kathleen Terry	...	Operator Next To Kenny (uncredited)
Willy Thunis	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Archie Twitchell	...	Officer (uncredited)
Albert Van Antwerp	...	Guard (uncredited)
Charles Victor	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Frederick Voltz	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Henry Vroom	...	German Corporal (uncredited)
Harlan Warde	...	Trainee (uncredited)
Frederick J. Waugh	...	British NCO (uncredited)
Robert Wegner	...	Gateman (uncredited)
James Westerfield	...	Det. Roberts (uncredited)
Herbert Wyndham	...	Co-pilot (uncredited)
Murray Yeats	...	Tall Man (uncredited)
Fred Zendar	...	Trainee (uncredited)

Directed by
Irving Pichel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Maibaum		writer

Produced by
Richard Maibaum	....	producer

Original Music by
Daniele Amfitheatrof
Heinz Roemheld
George Parrish		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Lionel Lindon		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William Shea

Art Direction by
Haldane Douglas
Hans Dreier

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Stanley J. Sawley

Costume Design by
Mary Kay Dodson		(costumes)

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Francis Murphy	....	assistant director (as John Murphy)

Sound Department
John Cope	....	sound recordist
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
Gordon Jennings	....	special photographic effects
Loyal Griggs	....	assistant process photographer (uncredited)

Stunts
Philip Ahlm	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roger Creed	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jimmie Dundee	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carl Saxe	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Zendar	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
William Shea	....	editorial supervisor

Music Department
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Raphael Bretton	....	technical consultant (as Lieut. Raphael G. Beugnon)
John Shaheen	....	technical consultant (as Comdr. John H. Shaheen)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1997) (USA) (video)
• ClassicLine (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated | Sweden:15

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Okay WW II spy film

Alan Ladd and Geraldine Fitzgerald head up a team of spies in "O.S.S.," a 1946 film about the Office of Strategic Services formed just before the U.S. entered World War II. Ladd and Fitzgerald are part of a group, trained by Patric Knowles, who then parachute into France, perform acts of sabotage and also spy activities. One of the complications is that the Ladd character, John Martin, is a chauvinist who believes that "Elaine Duprez" (Fitzgerald) can't do what he considers a man's job effectively. She proves him wrong as she flirts with a German officer and gets to travel with him by train. The sculpture she is doing of him contains a bomb, which she passes out the window to John and he plants. She climbs out and the two run out of the tunnel. Eventually the two fall in love, but it's bittersweet as they watch the rest of their team fall prey to the Germans.

This is a pretty good film, not the most exciting thing you'll ever see, but it's heightened by the acting of Geraldine Fitzgerald and the presence of Alan Ladd. It's hard to think of Ladd as a great actor; he was very limited, but what he did, he did very well. Handsome, tough, with a no-nonsense line delivery, he was perfect starring in the noir films for which he is justifiably famous and, of course, Shane.

The attractive Patric Knowles does a good job, as does the rest of the cast. "O.S.S." is effective in that you care about the characters. There is some tension, though probably not enough, and nowhere near enough action for this kind of movie. If it were any other actors, it wouldn't be worth seeing; but given the cast, it's a decent watch.