Rent Our Man in Havana (1959)
3.7 of 5 from 111 ratings
1h 43min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Adapted from Graham Greene's novel, Alec Guinness stars in this classic spy spoof as Jim Wormold, an English expatriate who sells vacuum cleaners in Havana. His life is irrevocably changed as he is recruited by Hawthorne (Noel Coward), and pressed into service as an operative of M.I.5, which he reluctantly agress to so he can earn extra money for his 17-year-old daughter. Wormold does not actually engage in any actual espionage. Instead, he invents facts on his reports and recruits fictitious agents. However thise reports are taken seriously in London and two additional agents, a radio operator and a secretary are despached to assist Wormold. He soon discovers that his imagination is going to take on life of its own... - Actors:
- Alec Guinness, Maureen O'Hara, Burl Ives, Ernie Kovacs, Noël Coward, Ralph Richardson, Jo Morrow, Grégoire Aslan, Paul Rogers, Raymond Huntley, Ferdy Mayne, Maurice Denham, Joseph P. Mawra, Duncan Macrae, Gerik Schjelderup, Hugh Manning, Karel Stepanek, Maxine Audley, Elisabeth Welch, Yvonne Buckingham
- Directors:
- Carol Reed
- Producers:
- Carol Reed
- Writers:
- Graham Greene
- Studio:
- Sony
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Comedy, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- The Third Man At 75
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 30/10/2023
- Run Time:
- 107 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
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Reviews (2) of Our Man in Havana
A Cuban tale - Our Man in Havana review by CP Customer
There are the usual fine acting performances that you would expect to see in a British film of this era and the storyline has merit as does the odd injections of humour, but for me it felt short of being a Classic.
2 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Spy Satire. - Our Man in Havana review by Steve
The last of Carol Reed's three Graham Greene adaptations is an eccentric cold war spy satire filmed in Cuba around the time of the revolution. It's an unusual and complicated spoof with many offbeat, ironic flourishes, though these are all cerebral rather than providing much spectacle.
Alec Guinness plays an agreeable vacuum cleaner retailer in Havana who is recruited by the British secret service to keep an eye on political instability. And he finds that by inventing his agents and their intrigues, he makes far more money to spend on his teenage daughter (Jo Morrow). But these creations have real world consequences.
The unassuming spy is a stand in for the author. He contrives a narrative which leads to conflict and then unexpected outcomes. What we now call 'meta'. But the interesting premise is marred by dull acting. Guinness is unusually inert. The mostly Hollywood support cast is fine, but poor substitutes for, say, Denholm Elliott and Michael Hordern.
It is the least of the Greene/Reed collaborations, but then the others are immortal. It works better as a novel. But the location CinemaScope photography of Cuba at a turning point in history is artistic and the rumba soundtrack brings atmosphere. There is an outlook of sharp political cynicism and wit. And actually, a few clever laughs.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.