![]() ![]() It’s an uneven satire about politics and espionage that contrasts a realistic view of conditions in a police state with understated British comedy. Oswald Morris’ CinemaScope cameras take full advantage of the local atmosphere in Old Town Havana, recording a fairly incredible moment in history.Īlthough beloved by fans of film espionage, Our Man in Havana was not a big hit. ![]() As a major subplot indicts the corrupt, murderous police force of dictator Fulgencio Batista, Reed had few if any problems getting permission from the revolutionary government. Carol Reed’s production for Columbia sent Alec Guinness and an all-star cast to film in Castro’s Cuba. ![]() For the Cuban-set Our Man in Havana Greene took a personal hand and wrote the screenplay himself. Mankiewicz mangled Greene’s Vietnam-set The Quiet American, inverting the author’s message about C.I.A. Novelist and real-life intelligence operative Graham Greene had a knack for living in exotic locations just before they became international hot spots, whether in Africa or in the Far East. One of the best pre-James Bond spy pictures is this brilliant yet lumpy adventure with an historically unique setting - it was filmed in Castro’s Cuba, just after the revolution and just before relations between Cuba and the U.S. Starring: Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Maureen O’Hara, Ernie Kovacs, Noël Coward, Ralph Richardson, Jo Morrow, Gregoire Aslan. Street Date Ma/ Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95 The filmmakers and stars are all top caliber, and the location is legendary: Castro’s Cuba, immediately after the revolution.ġ959 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 107 min. The pre-Bond espionage genre lights up with cool intrigues and comic absurdities, as a Brit vacuum salesman in Havana is recruited to spy for Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It’s Obi-Wan versus Fidel! Well, not really. ![]()
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