Agent 077: Mission Bloody Mary

Agent 077: Mission Bloody Mary is a 1965 spy adventure directed by Sergio Grieco and mounted as a co-production between Italy, Spain and France. It opened the Secret Agent 077 series, which belonged to the flood of European espionage pictures made in the wake of the James Bond craze. Ken Clark heads the cast, supported by performers such as Helga Liné, Erika Blanc, Umberto Raho and Andrea Scotti. The script came from Sandro Continenza, Leonardo Martín and Grieco, while Angelo Francesco Lavagnino supplied the score, incorporating a theme by Ennio Morricone. Running about 101 minutes, the film circulated internationally under a number of alternate titles: it appeared in France as Opération Lotus bleu and reached Spanish-speaking audiences as La muerte espera en Atenas. The picture established the 077 character on screen and was followed by further entries in the series, making it a representative example of mid-1960s continental Eurospy filmmaking.