The Magnificent Two (1967)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Cliff Owen

Writers:

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

Stars:

Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise, Margit Saad

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Morecambe	...	Eric / Fernando Torres
Ernie Wise	...	Ernie
Margit Saad	...	General Carla
Virgilio Teixeira	...	General Carrillo (as Virgilio Texera)
Cecil Parker	...	Sir John / British Ambassador
Isobel Black	...	Officer Juanita
Martin Benson	...	President Diaz
Michael Godfrey	...	Manuelo
Sue Sylvaine	...	Carmelita Diaz
Henry Beltran	...	José Diaz
Tyler Butterworth	...	Miguel Diaz
Sandor Elès	...	Armandez (as Sandor Eles)
Andreas Malandrinos	...	Juan (as Andrea Malandrinos)
Victor Maddern	...	Drunken Soldier
Charles Laurence	...	Sharpshooter

Storyline

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 Torres. When Torres is accidentally killed the rebels mistaken pick up one of the salesmen, Eric, as he looks like Torres. 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.

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | independent film | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Two of the uncredited guests were husband and wife Jack Armstrong and Alecia St Leger.

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Goofs

Although set in the fictional country of Parazuelia, in the first few minutes an official car comes to the police station bearing the Mexican flag.

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Quotes

Ernie: We'll never sell anything here. I don't suppose anybody's got two pesos to rub together.
Eric: Maybe we picked the wrong town.
Ernie: The wrong town, we picked the wrong country! We were doing all right in Urapania until you had to open your big mouth. "Long live the President."
Eric: How was I to know they'd just shot him?

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Connections

Featured in Morecambe & Wise: The Whole Story: Episode #1.1 (2013)

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 1967 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

De Guerillas van Camp Grande

Filming Locations:

Longmoor military railway, Longmoor Military Camp, Hampshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Rank Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1