The Intelligence Men (1965)

A chance meeting with a Schlecht agent forces a humble coffee shop manager into the secret world of spies in Swinging London. With the help of his MI5 friend, he poses as the recently dead ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Asher

Writers:

Sidney Green (screenplay) (as S.C. Green), Richard Hills (screenplay) (as R.M. Hills)

Stars:

Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise, William Franklyn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Morecambe	...	Eric Morecambe
Ernie Wise	...	Ernie Sage
William Franklyn	...	Colonel Grant
April Olrich	...	Madame Petrovna
Gloria Paul	...	Gina Carlotti
Richard Vernon	...	Sir Edward Seabrook
David Lodge	...	Stage Manager
Jacqueline Jones	...	Karin
Terence Alexander	...	Reed
Francis Matthews	...	Thomas
Warren Mitchell	...	Prozoroff
Brian Oulton	...	Laundry Basket Man
Michael Peake	...	Sinister Stranger
Peter Bull	...	Philippe
Tutte Lemkow	...	Seedy Schlecht Agent

Storyline

A chance meeting with a Schlecht agent forces a humble coffee shop manager into the secret world of spies in Swinging London. With the help of his MI5 friend, he poses as the recently dead Major Cavendish who had managed to infiltrate the dreaded organization; he knows that they are intending to assassinate someone - could it be the famous Russian ballerina who has recently arrived for an appearance at Covent Garden?

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | mayhem | ballet | counter espionage | drag | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The Cyrillic writing on the rear of the backdrop screen at Covent Garden seen when Eric and Ernie are being chased by staff says "Swan Lake".

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Goofs

Eric's Scarlet uniform at the reception has no rank on the shoulders, despite him supposedly being a major. Mere Epaulettes do not denote any rank.

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Quotes

Eric Morecambe: [on seeing that Phillipe, who is sitting next to him, has just collapsed into his soup after being poisoned] Waiter!
Ernie Sage: Yes?
Eric Morecambe: I have a complaint to make.
Ernie Sage: What?
Eric Morecambe: There's a dead man in this soup.

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Connections

Featured in Morecambe & Wise: In Their Own Words (2008)

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Soundtracks

Swan Lake, Op.20
(1877) (uncredited)
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Arranged by Philip Green

User Reviews

Woeful! But the opening credits were great.

I suppose I was expecting the M&W I knew so well from their television programmes, particularly their infamous Christmas specials. This film was not remotely in that class. Eric, normally a very funny man, just tries too hard to get a laugh here - he comes across as desperate to be funny and it doesn't work. A pedestrian effort that is unworthy of two very fine comedians. A top-notch cast is basically wasted in a film that looks fairly cheap, despite an attempt at lavish costume designs in the "Swan Lake" performance. Having said that, though, I did like the opening credits! Whilst not exactly a Saul Bass effort, the music and images did manage to convey a sense that the movie would be concerned with the illusory world of Bondish-like international espionage and intrigue. And wasn't that a photo of the very beautiful Suzy Kendall at the end of those credits? I think so. Her photograph was possibly the best part about the whole Picture.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1967 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Spylarks

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Rank Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1