Avec la peau des autres is a French-Italian thriller film first released in 1966, directed by Jacques Deray.  The film stars Lino Ventura, Jean Bouise, Jean Servais, Marilù Tolo and Wolfgang Preiss.  It has also been released under the title: To Skin a Spy.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


Pascal Fabre, an agent of the French secret service, is sent to Vienna to look into the activities of another French agent, Margery, who is suspected of being a double agent.  Margery, an old friend of Fabre, warns him that his spy network has been infiltrated by Russian agents and that his life is in danger.  When Margery goes missing, Fabre tries to locate him, but soon realises that he is up against a formidable opponent, KGB agent Chaliev...

Avec la peau des autres is a pretty conventional mid-’60s French thriller, which means that it looks slick but is encumbered with an overly complicated plot.  Whilst the film lacks the sparkle, depth and originality of some of Jacques Deray’s better known thrillers – Borsalino (1970) and Flic Story (1975) – it has good production values and does evoke the sense of menace of a good cold war thriller.  The generally uninspiring supporting cast is made up for by another terrific performance from Lino Ventura, who excels in this kind of macho, dialogue-sparse urban western.

© James Travers 2007

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