Our Man in Havana
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Movie Reviews of Our Man in Havana
Movie Review: Finally on DVD in US
Summary: 5 Stars
At last this great Alec Guiness classic is available. Most of his good comedies came out in a multi-pack years ago, but this was inexplicably missing.Movie Review: Tine Capsule
Summary: 4 Stars
In this rather peculiar story, the British government has concerns about Cuba and wish to employ a British subject who already resides in Cuba to set up a spy network. Their recruiter arranges to meet a likely prospect: Mr. Wormold, a local shop owner.
Mr. Wormold makes a modicum of money selling vacuum cleaners, but not enough money to support his grown daughter's love of horse riding and his desire to send her off to a safer part of the world. So, when the Secret Service recruiter promised him significant money, he agrees to become a part-time spy.
Mr. Wormold has a problem: there is simply nothing, that he is aware of, in Cuba worth reporting on. At the suggestion of a friend, he begins making up outlandish reports from his fictitious Cuban sources on a revolutionary weapon being built in the rebel-controlled mountains. It would make the H-bomb look like just a conventional weapon.
Mr. Wormold soon has another problem: others are beginning to take notice of his activities, and unfortunately for Mr. Wormold, they don't deal in make-believe weapon systems, but in guns, poison, and accidental murders ...
Some movies are like forgotten time capsules. This 1959 film gives us a glimpse of life in Cuba before Fidel Castro. Havana was no paradise, but a thuggish police-state where intimidation, torture, and death were the razor-edged tools of the state.
Overall, I found this movie interesting. It is difficult to categorize. Although it has comic elements, it is not a comedy, but perhaps you could call it a comic film noir.
Extras: Movie trailer and Martini Minutes: two brief films which start with a hodgepodge of movie clips, an ingredients list for an alcoholic drink, and finally a plug for several movies.
Picture (DVD): good.
Movie Review: A Long Wait But Finally Here
Summary: 4 Stars
Classic British comedy and more. Guinness and Ives are wonderful but Ernie Kovacs and Noel Coward are fantastic too. When people would ask me what going to a much less traveled Caribbean in the '70s I would say it was like stepping into a Graham Greene novel.Movie Review: Good Adaptation
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good adaptation of the Graham Greene novel. Excellent view of pre-Castro Cuba.Movie Review: Interesting, somewhat inconsistent film...
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this after seeing it as an Amazon suggestion when I looked at some other Alec Guinness films as my main familiarity with him has been via his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars films as well as his work in The Bridge on the River Kwai. This film is an interesting effort but the flow of the movie seems inconsistent in that it is geared toward comedy which then transitions somewhat jarringly to a drama, then back to comedy. Sir Guinness does an excellent job in the main role and supporting cast is mostly adequate though his daughter IMHO is not played in a convincing manner - and it is difficult to believe Guinness' character's motivation because of that. Maureen O'Hara who is best known to me for her work in the original Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition) plays an odd role which included a seemingly sudden love interest with the main character - I feel that this did not develop in a believable manner.
One bright spot was seeing Ernie Kovacs, who does a great job in an unusual role - he plays a local police official / strongman for the Batista government. In one scene as he was sitting at a desk I kept thinking he would pull out a pair of thick glasses and introduce himself as Percy Dovetonsils and a couple times I could swear I heard the first few beats of the Nairobi Trio's theme but his strong performance did snap me out of that. [If these references mean nothing to you and you like off-beat comedy which is 30-40 years ahead its time please check out The Ernie Kovacs Show - you're in for a treat].
The print quality is good and as is typical of off-the-beaten-path movies the extras are minimal.
All in all this is recommended viewing especially for any fans of Alec Guinness or Ernie Kovacs.