Summary: In this episode we look at the Leon Uris book and Alfred Hitchcock film Topaz as a possible example of CIA propaganda. I outline the story told in both the novel and the film, and how most of the characters are based on real spies involved in the Sapphire scandal about a Soviet spy ring inside the French SDECE intelligence agency. I focus in on the character of Andre Devereaux - a character based Philippe Thyraud de Vosjoli, a probable double agent who defected from the SDECE to the CIA. I also look at author Leon Uris' background with the DOD, and CIA records suggesting that at least the book part of the Topaz project was CIA weaponised fiction. (Read more...)
