The Magnificent Two (1967)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Cliff Owen

Writers:

Peter Blackmore (screenplay)
Sidney Green (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 February 1969 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Two salesmen travel to a small South American Country to peddle their wares. However the country is...

Plot Keywords:

Slapstick | Independent Film

Cast

Eric Morecambe	...	Eric
Ernie Wise	...	Ernie
Margit Saad	...	Carla
Virgilio Teixeira	...	Carillo (as Virgilio Texera)
Cecil Parker	...	British Ambassador
Isobel Black	...	Juanita
Sue Sylvaine	...	President's Daughter
Martin Benson	...	President Diaz
Michael Godfrey	...	Manuelo
Henry Beltran	...	President's Son
Tyler Butterworth	...	Miguel - President's Younger Son
Sandor Elès	...	Armandez (as Sandor Eles)
Andreas Malandrinos	...	Juan (as Andrea Malandrinos)
Victor Maddern	...	Drunken Soldier
Michael Gover	...	Doctor

Also Known As:

What Happened at Campo Grande? (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Black Park Country Park, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

The title is clearly inspired by the similarly South American-set The Magnificent Seven (1960).

Quotes:

[on the run in South America]
Ernie: We were doing quite all right until you opened your big mouth. "Long live the President."
Eric: How was I to know they'd just shot him?

Really poor - a shadow of their TV shows

Two salesmen travel to a small South American Country to peddle their wares. However the country is in the middle of a major conflict between the Government led by Diaz and the rebels led by Torez. When Torez is accidentally killed the rebels mistaken pick up one of the salesmen, Eric, as he looks like Torez. Eric and Ernie are promised millions to carry on the charade once the rebels take charge. However once Eric takes charge he finds himself back in danger as scheming general Carillo plans to remove the impostor from his role.

This was Morecambe and Wise's final attempt at a movie career and it's easy to see why they called it quits. The plot relies on the old chestnut of the main character being a look-alike for someone else. After that the plot is silly but detailed, so detailed in fact that it covers a few twists and turns in allegiances. However the plot is too heavy and doesn't leave any room for Eric to do any of his improvisation-style comedy.

Their films were all pretty poor, but at least in "The Intelligence Men" the plot was loose and the scenes left room for Eric to do asides and the sort of stuff he did in the TV show. Here they aren't given any rope to do anything special and really the two lead roles could have been played by any comedians. The story is pretty unbelievable for the most part which is a shame because there's damn all laughs to be had. The conclusion which includes an all female army charging a fort wearing only red underwear is pure 60's sexist humour.

This is a very poor vehicle for two great comedians. Morecambe and Wise's TV show is a British masterpiece and it is still fresh decades later. They had an unique style that involved improvisation and the feeling that they weren't just telling jokes they were having a laugh as well. In their films much of this was lost, in The Magnificent Two there is almost none of their humour and it falls flat on it's face.

If you really want to experience this great double act at their best then you really need to check out their British TV show where they had as much fun as the audience. This film is a terrible waste of their talents - it's almost a crime.