S*P*Y*S is a 1974 American spy comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Elliott Gould, Donald Sutherland and Zouzou. The film was screened at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, but it was not entered into the main competition. Plot Following an accident where two KGB agents are mistakenly killed during a failed attempt to help a Russian athlete's defection to the West, the head of CIA in Paris stipulates an agreement with his Russian counterpart to have two American agents killed in order to avoid retaliation. The choice falls on Bruland, an uptight agent passionate about his job and on the promotion ladder, and Griff, a somehow cynical and disillusioned courier. When the two men discover the plot, they form an uneasy alliance to try to escape, eventually getting involved with a French anarchist group and an independent French agent. Cast Elliott Gould as Griff Donald Sutherland as Bruland Zouzou as Sybil (as Zou Zou) Joss Ackland as Martinson Xavier Gélin as Paul (Revolutionary) Vladek Sheybal as Borisenko (Russian Spy Chief) Michael Petrovitch as Sevitsky (Defector) Shane Rimmer as Hessler Kenneth Griffith as Lippet Pierre Oudrey as Revolutionary (as Pierre Oudry) Kenneth J. Warren as Grubov Jacques Marin as Lafayette Jeffrey Wickham as Seely Nigel Hawthorne as Croft John Bardon as Evans Production Filming took place in Paris and England. "Donald and I are very funny together," said Gould. "We're sort of Laurel and Hardy gone straight. Or half straight. And Kershner is very serious. It makes a good balance." Title The film was originally called Wet Stuff, after spy slang for blood. The asterisks in the title are designed to remind viewers of MASH, which also starred Gould and Sutherland, and whose title is generally rendered with the same asterisks. Beyond this, there is no connection between the films. Reception Nora Sayre of The New York Times wrote, "The only mystery contained in 'S*P*Y*S'—a feeble attempt to spoof the Central Intelligence Agency is why Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould ever chose to be in it." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called the film "a mess ... The script is tasteless, Irvin Kershner's direction is futile, and the whole effort comes across as vulgar, offensive and tawdry." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four and criticized it for "creaky old jokes," writing that Kershner "plays for laughs as if the world has