Main Cast: Alan Ladd, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Patric Knowles, Richard Benedict, Richard Webb
Release Year: 1946
Country: US
Run Time: 115 minutes
Plot
Set during WWII, this taut and suspenseful espionage outing chronicles the courage of a brand-new cadre of specially trained American O.S.S. agents who parachute into France to destroy the vital Corbett Mallon tunnel to stop the German invaders from shipping supplies to their troops. One of the spies is a woman, and this bothers the group leader, who doubts her abilities. She soon proves herself, and the two embark on several exciting adventures before and after the completion of their mission. Along the way, the two manage to fall in love. Unfortunately, their commitment to duty is necessarily greater than their love and one of them will make a great sacrifice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
Done in the same vein as Fox's 13 Rue Madeleine, but in a somewhat more romantic and melodramatic manner, Irving Pichel's O.S.S. tries to tell the story of the Office of Strategic Services, the espionage arm of the federal government, which was a creation out of necessity for the prosecution of the Second World War. It's nicely paced overall and essentially breaks down into two sections, the opening in which we witness the training of a group of agents and get an account of what trainees have to unlearn to succeed -- and the second, in which Alan Ladd and Geraldine Fitzgerald's characters become the focus of a specific plotline. Pichel does well enough with the material at hand, although one wishes that Frank Tuttle had been given this movie to direct, to see what kind of sharp little edges he would have brought to the material. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Don Beddoe - Gates; Joseph Crehan - Gen. Donovan; Egon Brecher - Marcel Aubert; Gloria Saunders - WAC Operator (Sparky); John Hoyt - Col. Meister; Harold Vermilyea - Amadeus Braun; Julia Dean - Mme. Prideaux; Bobby Driscoll - Gerald; Dorothy Adams - Claudette; Carl Andre - Col. Hesiter's Aide; Paul Barrett - British Pilot; Helen Chapman - Resistance Girl; André Charlot - French Importer; Edward Clark - French Waiter; Mme. Louise Colombet - Old Frenchwoman; Catherine Craig - Williams' Secretary; James Craven - Jumpmaster; Frank Dae - Scientist; John Dehner - German Radar Captain; Jean del Val - Conductor; Leslie Denison - Lt. Col. Miles; Jimmie Dundee - Sentry; Carl Ekberg; Frank Ferguson - Research Man; Gene Garrick - Operator; Joseph Granby - Engineer; Henry Guttman - German Major; John Harmon - Pierre; Len Hendry - German Soldier; Roberta Jonay - Gracie Archer; Fred Kohler, Jr. - Fireman; Jack Lambert - German Lieutenant; Paul Lees - Trainee; Anthony Marsh; Patrick McVey; Gavin Muir - Col. Crawson; Fred Nurney - Major Courier; Albert Petit; Jean Ruth - Brady's Secretary; Carl Saxe; Onslow Stevens - Field; Tom Stevenson - Instructor; Archie Twitchell - Officer; Albert van Antwerp - Guard; Charles Victor - Trainee; Harlan Warde; James Westerfield - Stout Man; Crane Whitley - Arnheim; John Maxwell - LaFevre; Fred Zendar; Roger Creed - S.S. Man; Philip Ahlm - German Officer; George Barton - Handyman; George Bruggeman - M.P. Noncom; Jerry James - Pilot; Billy Lechner; William Meader; Tony Merlo - Reynal; Peter Michael - German Noncom; Hans Moebus - Gestapo Man; Byron Poindexter - Copilot; Jean Ransome - Elevator Operator; Albert Ruiz; Holger Bendixen - German Sergeant; Carmen Beretta - Resistance Woman; John Bogden - Assistant Jumpmaster; Billy Burt - Lieutenant J.G.; Fred Datig Jr.; Janna DeLoos - Woman Refugee; Richard Elmore - German Army Private; Jon Gilbreath - German Radar Lieutenant; Edward Harvey - Mr. Williams; Walter Pietila - Mansion Attendant; Renee Randall - Cashier; Walter Rode; Tom Schamp - Plainclothesman; Leo Schlesinger; Jack Sterling; Bob Templeton; Henry Vroom - German Corporal; Herbert Wyndham - Copilot; George Taylor - Gestapo Plainclothesman; Georgie Billings; Paul Diamond - Resistance Man [uncredited]
Credit
Haldane Douglas - Art Director, Hans Dreier - Art Director, Comdr. John Shaheen - Consultant/advisor, Lt. Raphael G. Beugnon, UNNR - Consultant/advisor, Irving Pichel - Director, William Shea - Editor, Daniele Amfitheatrof - Composer (Music Score), Heinz Roemheld - Composer (Music Score), Lionel Lindon - Cinematographer, Richard Maibaum - Producer, Sam Comer - Set Designer, Stanley J. Sawley - Set Designer, Farciot Edouart - Special Effects, Gordon Jennings - Special Effects, Richard Maibaum - Screenwriter
