Hell, Heaven or Hoboken (1958)
"I Was Monty's Double" (original title)

The incredible but true story of how an impersonator was recruited to impersonate General Montgomery to mislead the German's about his intentions before the North Africa campaign.

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Bryan Forbes (screenplay), M.E. Clifton James (book)

Stars:

John Mills, Cecil Parker, Patrick Allen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Mills	...	Major Harvey
Cecil Parker	...	Col. Logan
Patrick Allen	...	Col. Mathers
Patrick Holt	...	Col. Dawson
Leslie Phillips	...	Major Tennant
Michael Hordern	...	Governor of Gibraltar
Marius Goring	...	Nielson
Barbara Hicks	...	Hester
Duncan Lamont	...	Wing Cdr. Bates
Anthony Sagar	...	Guard Sergeant (Villa)
John Gale	...	Flight Lt. Osborne
Kenneth J. Warren	...	F / O Davies (as Kenneth Warren)
James Hayter	...	Sgt. Adams
Sid James	...	Porter Y.M.C.A. (as Sidney James)
Brian Weske	...	Despatch Rider

Storyline

The incredible but true story of how an impersonator was recruited to impersonate General Montgomery to mislead the German's about his intentions before the North Africa campaign.

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Plot Keywords:

british intelligence | stage performance | impersonation | mistaken identity | decoy | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1959 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Hell, Heaven or Hoboken

Filming Locations:

Governor's Residence, Gibraltar

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Having lost his right-hand middle finger during WWI, M.E. Clifton James wears a prosthetic replacement.

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Goofs

A picture of Queen Elizabeth 2 appears on a wall, whereas it should be her father, King George VI.

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Quotes

[A civilian has just bumped into Clifton-James outside a cinema]
Civilian: Who do you think you are?
[Storms off]
Maj. Harvey: Yes, who do you think you are? Monty?

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Crazy Credits

The story you are about to see is the story of one of the boldest deceptions of our time in which Meyrick Clifton James, late of Her Majesty's Pay Corps, re-enacts his own real-life role. The Producer is deeply grateful to H.E. The Governor and Commander-in-Chief and those member of the Administration and Services at Gibraltar in March 1958, who rendered their invaluable assistance in the reconstruction of certain scenes of this film.

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Connections

Referenced in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)

User Reviews

An almost perfect production

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.