Hell, Heaven or Hoboken

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source: Hell, Heaven or Hoboken

I Was Monty's Double

Exactly the sort of film they don't make any more. A fun tale of low-key derring-do. The always excellent John Mills is the main draw, but there are also fabulous turns from some of the best known British character players of the mid-20th Century. Overall, the film makes for perfect lazy Sunday afternoon viewing.

It's hard not to imagine that Bryan Forbes who wrote the script for this 1958 film was not influenced by the James Bond character who first appeared in the Ian Fleming book "Casino Royale" published in England in 1953. As the first Bond film was not released until 1962, the character John Mills plays --cheeky, disrespectful of authority, as adept with women as he is in intelligence work-- is either a predecessor to 007 or an affectionate borrowing from Fleming's novel. Up until then, British men were usually depicted on screen as stiff-upper lip, decent chaps who did their jobs without complaining; surely never distracted from defending the Empire by a pretty face. Mills, with his enormous charm and good looks, introduced a new type of Brit to cinema audiences --sexy, funny and sometimes outrageous-- a character which Sean Connery was to play to perfection many years later.

I love this film and even though I have now bought it on DVD I never miss it when it turns up on TV. The writing, script and direction are bang on the nail, and the blend of tension, drama and gentle humour is perfectly judged. There are also several short moments of genuinely touching human warmth which are often missing from films of this nature. The one or two historical inaccuracies in the script do not detract at all from the sheer excellence of this marvellous picture. Even the theme music is beautifully matched to the content - a mixture of swaggering triumph and comedic undertone. The fact that the film is based (mostly!) on a real story is the cherry on the cake.

I Was Monty's Double is based on the real events of actor M.E.Clifton James who is hired to impersonate General Montgomery and so confuse the Germans by having him popping up in odd places, thus misleading the enemy into thinking the D-Day invasion just might take place at a location other than Normandy. The film itself broadly follows the account by Clifton James in his book of the same name, with the exception of a fictitious attempt to kidnap him. This story is extremely enjoyable watching the real life-double James as he learns to copy General Montgomery's mannerisms and style. John Mills is excellent in his role as James guide and supporter. The story is portrayed with a lot of good humour and is very well-done and well-acted by all, but it is the performance by M.E.Clifton James himself that makes this film extremely fascinating and most entertaining to watch.

It helped in this film to have the actual person that really did impersonate Montgomery. Clifton James give a good performance as both himself and Montgomery. An excellent Bryan Forbes script that is well delivered by Cecil Parker and John Mills.

I WAS MONTY'S DOUBLE is another feather in the cap of director John Guillermin, who seemed to make some of the classiest films of the time (NEVER LET GO, EL CONDOR and THE TOWERING INFERNO are all established favourites of mine). This one tells the true story of a real-life soldier and actor who ends up impersonating General Montgomery in a real-life mission during WW2 due to his uncanny resemblance to the British army leader. A star-studded cast, plenty of wry humour and interesting situations make this a surprisingly engaging kind of biopic, one which only lapses into fantasy for a final-reel splash of excitement which closes the picture beautifully. With stiff upper lips all round, it's John Mills and Cecil Parker who are the scene-stealers with their continued double act lightening the mood considerably.

I was particularly tickled by the sight of James,as himself,during his training in a sequence where he observes himself,as Monty in order to study his demeanour,walk & mannerisms, before the real masquerade. Now that's acting! The news theatre at the end where Mills & James watch the newsreel was clearly the former Times by Baker St underground & close to Madame Tussauds. Would make a good double feature to support "The Man Who Never Was" - a similar intelligence con to mislead the Nazis on plans for the invasion of Europe. Probably the biggest laugh comes from the icy and withering remarks of John Le Mesurier (as James' adjutant)on his contempt for the acting profession, in a brief early scene where he initially reports for "duty" as a lowly corporal.