''Operation C.I.A.'' is a 1965 black-and-white spy film directed by

Christian Nyby Christian Nyby (September 1, 1913 – September 17, 1993) was an American television and film director and editor. As an editor, he had seventeen feature film credits from 1943 to 1952, including ''The Big Sleep (1946 film), The Big Sleep'' (1 ...

and starring

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

and

John Hoyt John Hoyt (born John McArthur Hoysradt; October 5, 1905 – September 15, 1991) was an American actor. He began his acting career on Broadway, later appearing in numerous films and television series. He is perhaps best known for his roles in th ...

Plot

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

agent Stacey learns of a plan to

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

the American

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, but is killed by a bomb before he can inform his superiors. Secret agent Mark Andrews is sent to Saigon to take his place. Andrews poses as a university professor as a cover while he attempts to prevent the assassination, which is expected to occur sometime within the next five days.

Cast

as CIA Agent Mark Andrews *

as Wells *

Kieu Chinh Kieu Chinh (; born September 3, 1937) is a Vietnamese-American actress, producer, humanitarian, lecturer and philanthropist. Early life Dame Kieu Chinh was born on September 3, 1937, in Hanoi as Nguyễn Thị Kiều Chinh. During World War I ...

as Kim-Chinh * Danielle Aubry as Denise * Cyril Collick as Withers * William Catching as Frank Decker *

Vic Diaz Victor Sunico Diaz, popularly known as Vic Diaz, (July 29, 1932 – September 15, 2006) was a Filipino character actor who mostly portrayed villains. He was also the father of Teddy Diaz, the founding guitarist of the Filipino Rock band The D ...

as Professor Yen * Marsh Thomson as CIA Agent Stacey

Production

The film was originally titled ''Last Message from Saigon'' with an announcement made in 1964 it would be filmed in Saigon,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. Allied Artists filmed '' A Yank in Viet-Nam'' on actual South Vietnamese locations, but the security situation had deteriorated to such an extent that the safety of the filmmakers could not be guaranteed. Filming began in Bangkok in January 1965. Said Reynolds: Producer Peer Oppenheimer later signed Reynolds to appear with

Diane Cilento Elizabeth Diane Cilento (2 April 1932 – 6 October 2011) was an Australian actress. She is best known for her film roles in '' Tom Jones'' (1963), which earned her an Academy Award nomination, '' Hombre'' (1967) and '' The Wicker Man'' (1973). ...

in ''Deadly Contest'', to be filmed in Germany, but the project did not happen.MOVIE CALL SHEET: Aldrich Plans Western Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 13 Aug 1965: c7.

In popular culture

''Operation C.I.A.'' was referenced in the ''

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

'' episode "

The Man from Jupiter "The Man from Jupiter" is the fourth episode of the List of Archer episodes#Season 3 (2011–12), third season of the American animated television series ''Archer (2009 TV series), Archer''. It originally aired on January 19, 2012, in the Unite ...

", in which Reynolds makes a guest appearance as himself.

Sterling Archer Sterling Malory Archer, almost exclusively referred to by his surname Archer, and sometimes referred to by his codename Duchess, is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the American adult animated sitcom '' Archer''. Created by A ...

claims the film inspired him to become a secret agent, to which Reynolds replies "that film was just god-awful."

References

External links