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Our Man in Havana (film)

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Wikipedia article




'Our Man in Havana' is a 1959 British spy comedy film shot in CinemaScope, directed and produced by Carol Reed, and starring Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Maureen O'Hara, Ralph Richardson, Nol Coward and Ernie Kovacs.'Variety' film review; 13 January 1960, page 7.'Monthly Film Bulletin' review; 1960, page 4.'Harrison's Reports' film review; 30 January 1960, page 18. The film is adapted from the 1958 novel 'Our Man in Havana' by Graham Greene. The film takes the action of the novel and gives it a more comedic touch. The movie marks Reed's third collaboration with Greene.Before was 'The Fallen Idol' (1948), 'The Third Man' (1949)

Plot



In pre-revolutionary Cuba, James Wormold, a vacuum cleaner salesman, is recruited by Hawthorne of the British Secret Intelligence Service to be their Havana operative. Instead of recruiting his own agents, Wormold invents agents from men he knows only by sight and sketches "plans" for a rocket-launching pad based on vacuum cleaner parts to increase his value to the service and to procure more money for himself and his expensive daughter Milly.

Because his importance grows, he is sent a secretary, Beatrice, and a radioman from London to be under his command. With their arrival, it becomes much harder for Wormold to maintain his facade. However, all of his invented information begins to come true: his cables home are intercepted and believed to be true by enemy agents who then act against his "cell". One of his "agents" is killed, and he is targeted for assassination. He admits what he has done to his secretary, and he is recalled to London. At the film's conclusion, rather than telling the truth to the Prime Minister and other military intelligence services, Wormold's commanders (led by Ralph Richardson) agree to fabricate a story claiming his imagined machines had been dismantled. They bestow an OBE on Wormold and offer him a position teaching espionage classes in London.

Cast



* Alec Guinness as Jim Wormold

* Burl Ives as Dr. Hasselbacher

* Maureen O'Hara as Beatrice Severn

* Ernie Kovacs as Captain Segura

* Nol Coward as Hawthorne

* Ralph Richardson as 'C'

* Jo Morrow as Milly Wormold

* Grgoire Aslan as Cifuentes

* Paul Rogers as Hubert Carter

* Raymond Huntley as General

* Ferdy Mayne as Professor Sanchez

* Maurice Denham as Admiral

* Joseph P. Mawra as Lopez

* Duncan Macrae as MacDougal

* Gerik Schjelderup as Svenson

* Hugh Manning as Officer

* Karel Stepanek as Dr. Braun

* Maxine Audley as Teresa

* Timothy Bateson as Rudy

* John Le Mesurier as Louis the Waiter

Production



The film was shot on location in Havana, just two months after the overthrow of the Fulgencio Batista regime, and on 13 May 1959, Fidel Castro visited the film crew when they shot scenes at Havana's Cathedral Square.

Reception



'Our Man in Havana' was positively received by film critics; it has a "fresh" rating of 95% (with 20 reviews) at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

The film was nominated for the Golden Globe best picture (comedy or musical) award, and Reed was nominated for best director by the Directors Guild of America, losing both prizes to 'The Apartment'.

References




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