Novels and Films
Bruce wrote 88 OSS 117 novels for the French publishing house Fleuve Noir Espionnage series beginning with Tu parles d'une ingénue (Ici OSS 117) in 1949, predating Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 by four years. After Jean Bruce died in a car accident in 1963, his wife Josette Bruce (signing as "J.Bruce") wrote 143 OSS 117 novels before retiring in 1985. Starting in 1987, Bruce's daughter Martine and her husband François wrote 23 more OSS 117 books. The last published novel was O.S.S. 117 prend le large in 1992.
The first OSS 117 film, OSS 117 n'est pas mort (OSS 117 Is Not Dead), was made in 1957 with Ivan Desny as OSS 117. In the 1960s, the character was featured in a successful Eurospy film series which was mostly directed by André Hunebelle. The role was played initially by Kerwin Mathews, and then by Frederick Stafford, with John Gavin playing the role when Stafford was filming Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz.
The 2006 and 2009 films OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117: Lost in Rio, conceived as spoofs of the Eurospy genre, both recreated and parodied OSS 117. The character, reinvented as a French spy working for the SDECE, was turned into a comedy character and portrayed by Jean Dujardin as a self-important, dim-witted and politically incorrect oaf.
Read more about this topic: OSS 117
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