In this episode we take a look at O.S.S., a 1946 film produced in close co-operation with the real life OSS, and the first movie in history to mention the CIA. I outline the unusually large degree of state sponsorship of this film, the biographies of Alan Ladd (the film's star), Richard Maibaum (the writer/producer) and John M Shaheen (the real life OSS officer who was a technical consultant on the film), and analyse the purpose of the film. I also look at how exceptions must have been made to grant this film a release certificate, given the production code governing movies at the time. (Read more...)