''Covert Action'' (originally released as ''Sono Stato un Agente C.I.A.'') is a 1978 Italian/Greek co-production

Eurospy Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), 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 B ...

film starring the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

actor

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...

. The plot was based on the experiences of former

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

agent

Philip Agee Philip Burnett Franklin Agee (; January 19, 1935 – January 7, 2008)Will Weissert"Ex-CIA Agent Philip Agee Dead in Cuba" Associated Press (sfgate.com), January 9, 2008. was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer and writer of ...

who initiated a lawsuit with the producers over his fees and expenses.

Plot

A former CIA agent decides to write about his CIA career that leads him into danger.

Production

The original female lead

Catherine Bach Catherine Bach (born Catherine Bachman; March 1, 1954) is an American actress. She is known for playing Daisy Duke in the television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' and Margo Dutton in ''African Skies''. In 2012, she joined the cast of the CBS ...

dropped out and was replaced with

Corinne Cléry Corinne Cléry (born 23 March 1950), also known as Corinne Piccolo, is a French actress. She is known for the films ''Moonraker'' (1979), '' The Story of O'' (1975), ''Hitch-Hike'' (1977) and ''Yor, the Hunter from the Future'' (1983). Early l ...

. Due to a then new Italian ordinance that prohibited the firing of firearms i