Operation C.I.A. is a 1965 black-and-white spy thriller film set in Saigon but filmed in Bangkok. Written by Bill S. Ballinger wrote a series of spy thrillers at the time and is also Burt Reynolds' first lead role. Allied Artists had previously filmed their A Yank in Viet-Nam on actual South Vietnamese locations but by 1965 the security situation had deteriorated to such an extent that the safety of the film makers could not be guaranteed.