The Intelligence Men
| The Intelligence Men | |
|---|---|
Rank Organisation | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Intelligence Men (U.S. title: Spylarks[1]) is a 1965 comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring the British comic duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.[2] It is subtitled "M.I.5 plus 2 equals 0".
Morecambe and Wise made two further films, That Riviera Touch (1966) and The Magnificent Two (1967).
Plot
Eric, in his London coffee bar, is happily serving black coffee to a sinister-looking man when the man tries to persuade him to remember a tune. Unfortunately, Eric is
He reports this to his superiors in
This section provides some of the funniest moments of the film: for example, Eric, masquerading as a Russian, adopts a broad Scottish highland accent; and during the ballet performance itself, Eric and Ernie, dressed in Egyptian costumes, get mixed up in the "Dance of the Little Swans". Finally, however, the villain is unmasked and all ends happily.
Cast
- Eric Morecambe as Eric
- Ernie Wise as Ernie Sage
- William Franklyn as Colonel Grant
- April Olrich as Madame Petrovna
- Gloria Paul as Gina Carlotti
- Richard Vernon as Sir Edward Seabrook
- David Lodge as stage manager
- Jacqueline Jones as Karin
- Terence Alexander as Reed
- Francis Matthews as Thomas
- Warren Mitchell as Prozoroff
- Peter Bull as Philippe
- Tutte Lemkow as Seedy SCHLECHT Agent
- Brian Oulton as laundry basket man
- Michael Peake as sinister stranger
Production
It was the last of several collaborations between Hugh Stewart and Bob Asher. Stewart says this was because he fired Asher's brother Jack, the cameraman, who Stewart thought was too slow.[3]
Reception
Critical
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This exceptionally unfunny comedy makes it very hard to understand what, on any level, has contributed to the popularity of Morecambe and Wise. A formal dinner party scene, not by any means devoid of farcical possibilities, is so appallingly mishandled by the director that it emerges as an almost classic example of how not to amuse while apparently trying."[4]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise found the transition from TV celebrities to film stars a dificult one to make. They were not helped by the fact that, for their big-screen debut, Sid Green and Dick Hills (scriptwriters of their ITV series at the time) failed to marry the familiar Eric and Ernie characteristics that kept audiences in stitches week after week with the demands of what is, in all honesty, a fitfully entertaining spy spoof."[5]
Critic Leslie Halliwell awarded the film no stars, describing it as an "inept and rather embarrassing big-screen debut for two excellent television comedians".[6]
Box office
The film was one of the 12 most popular movies at the British box office in 1965.[7] Stewart says the film was not a success in America, but it made a profit, and led to two more Morecombe and Wise movies.[3]
Notes
- ^ "SPYLARKS Eric Morecambe Ernie Wise MI5 UK SPY COMEDY Vintage US Movie Flyer | eBay". Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ "The Intelligence Men". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Hugh Stewart". British Entertainment History Project. 22 November 1989.
- ^ "The Intelligence Men". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 32 (372): 75. 1 January 1965 – via ProQuest.
- ISBN 9780992936440.
- ISBN 0-00-638779-9.
- ^ "Most Popular Film Star." Times [London, England] 31 Dec. 1965: 13. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012.
External links
- The Intelligence Men at IMDb
- The Intelligence Men then-and-now location photographs at ReelStreets
