''The Reluctant Spy'' (, , also known as ''How to Be a Spy Without Even Trying'') is a French-Italian

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film from 1963, directed by

Jean-Charles Dudrumet Jean-Charles and Jean-Carles is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jean Charles, Chevalier Folard (1669–1752), French soldier and military author * Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand (1817–1891), French engineer * ...

, written by Michel Cousin, starring

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

and

Geneviève Page Geneviève Bonjean (13 December 1927 – 14 February 2025), known professionally as Geneviève Page (), was a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She was the daughter of Fren ...

.Marco Giusti. ''007 all'italiana''. Isbn Edizioni, 2010. .L’Honorable Stanislas, agent secret (1963)
at the ''Films de France'' It is a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

espionage film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond film ...

s. It was followed by sequel ''

Pleins feux sur Stanislas ''Pleins feux sur Stanislas'' () is a French-German comedy thriller film from 1965. It was directed by Jean-Charles Dudrumet, written by Michel Cousin and Jean-Charles Dudrumet, starring Jean Marais. The film was known under the title ''Killer S ...

''.

Plot

Stanislas Dubois is an ordinary businessman. When he meets a woman on a date in a restaurant, he takes off his coat. Upon leaving he confuses a similar coat with his own. Following this mix-up he becomes increasingly aware that something about him is attracting peculiar people. Hidden in his new coat is a

microfilm A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...

which interests more than one

secret service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

. After being drawn into the world of international

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

, a secret service of his own country hires him to lure enemy spies into a trap.

Cast

(Stanislas Evariste Dubois, director of an advertising agency) *

(Ursula Keller, museum guide) *

Noël Roquevert Noël Roquevert (born Noël Louis Raymond Bénévent; 18 December 1892 – 6 November 1973) was a French stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1932 and 1972. Roquevert was born in Doué-la-Fontaine and was married ...

(Inspector Mouton) *

Gaia Germani Gaia Germani (born Giovanna Giardina; 30 August 1934 – 20 February 2019) was an Italian film and television actress. Biography Born in Rome, Germani made her film debut in a French film, Georges Lautner's '' En plein cirage'' and later starre ...

(Andrea, the female spokesman) *

Maurice Teynac Maurice Teynac (8 August 1915 – 28 March 1992) was a French actor. In 1948 he starred in the film '' The Lame Devil'' under Sacha Guitry. In 1954 he appeared in London's West End in J.B. Priestley's poorly reviewed play ''The White Cou ...

(Alfred Thirios, the trafficker) *

Jean Galland Jean Galland (28 May 1887 – 18 July 1967) was a French film actor. Selected filmography * ''Paris by Night'' (1930) * ''Fantômas'' (1932) * '' The Oil Sharks'' (1933) * ''The Barber of Seville'' (1933) * '' The Scandal'' (1934) * '' Cease Firi ...

(Colonel Derblay, press relations officer) *

Christian Marin Christian Marin (8 February 1929 – 5 September 2012) was a French film actor. Born in Lyon, he is best known for his role in ''Le gendarme series'' (as "Merlot"), although he did not appear in the last two sequels. In 1967 he appeared in the te ...

(Lecanut, the secretary of Inspector Mouton) * Mathilde Casadessus (Maria Linas, the diva) *

Marcelle Arnold Marcelle Arnold (4 May 1917 – 31 March 2010) was a French film, stage and television actress.Turk p.441 Selected filmography * '' Dédée d'Anvers'' (1948) - Magda - la prostituée au perroquet * '' All Roads Lead to Rome'' (1949) - Hermine * ...

(Miss Morin, the secretary of Stanislas) *

Hélène Dieudonné Helene or Hélène may refer to: People * Helene (name), and Hélène, a female given name, including a list of people with the name * Hélène (singer) (Hélène Rollès, born 1966), French actress and singer * Helen of Troy, a figure in Greek ...

(grandmother of Stanislas) *

Germaine Dermoz Germaine Dermoz (born Germaine Deluermoz; 30 July 1888 – 6 November 1966) was a French film and theatre actress of the early-to-mid twentieth century. She performed in over twenty theatre productions, frequently in the Théâtre Réjane. Her f ...

(mother of Stanislas) *

Yvonne Clech Yvonne is a feminine given name, the female form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupational nam ...

(the lady on the train) *

Louis Arbessier Louis Arbessier (9 April 190723 March 1998) was a French film and television actor.Goble p.122 He played Napoleon III in the 1952 musical film '' Imperial Violets.'' Amongst his television roles was that of Maigret. Arbessier was married and div ...

(the museum director) *

Robert Rollis Robert Rollis (16 March 1921 - 6 November 2007) was a French actor. He mainly starred as a film actor, but also appeared in television and also in theatre in the 1950s and early 1960s. Amongst many roles, he starred in Yves Robert's '' War of the ...

(mailman) *

Pierre Tornade Pierre Tornade (21 January 1930 – 7 March 2012) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 120 films and television shows between 1956 and 1998. Biography He was born Pierre Tournadre on 21 January 1930 in Bort-les-Orgues in the departm ...

(inspector)

References

External links

*
L’Honorable Stanislas, agent secret (1963)
at the ''Films de France'' 1963 films 1960s spy comedy films French spy comedy films 1960s French-language films French black-and-white films Films directed by Jean-Charles Dudrumet Films scored by Georges Delerue 1963 comedy films 1960s French films {{1960s-France-film-stub