All the Queen's Men (2001)

A mismatched team of British Special Services agents led by an American must infiltrate, in disguise, a female-run Enigma factory in Berlin and bring back the decoding device that will end the war.

Director:

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Writers:

Digby Wolfe (story), Joseph Manduke (story)

Stars:

Eddie Izzard, Matt LeBlanc, Udo Kier

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt LeBlanc	...	O'Rourke
Eddie Izzard	...	Tony
James Cosmo	...	Archie
Nicolette Krebitz	...	Romy
David Birkin	...	Johnno
Edward Fox	...	Aitken
Udo Kier	...	General Landssdorf
Oliver Korittke	...	Franz
Karl Markovics	...	Hauptsturmführer
Sissi Perlinger	...	Paloma
Holger Speckhahn	...	Corporal / Truck
Pip Torrens	...	British Major
Maria Petz	...	Girl
Heinrich Herki	...	Librarian
Paul Williamson	...	McCinley

Storyline

Late in World War II, the Brits still want their hands on a German Enigma, the typewriter-like machine that constructs and sends coded messages. Parachuting behind enemy lines - with two days to find the factory where Enigmas are made, grab one, and get out - are an unlikely quartet: a queen, a pencil pusher, a bookworm, and an almost secret agent. Plus they are all dressed as women, with only a crash course from the queen. They reach their destination, rendezvous with their German contact, a lovely librarian, and start their search. They seemed doomed to fail; is this a fool's errand?

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Plot Keywords:

behind enemy lines | punctuation in title | apostrophe in title | gay interest | spy | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, violence and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

In this film, comedian Eddie Izzard plays an English soldier who cross-dresses. Eddie is a transvestite himself, and one of his stand-up routines (concerning transvestites in the armed forces) goes, "The main element of attack is the element of surprise. So what could be more surprising than the first battalion transvestite brigade?" (See Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999)).

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Goofs

Nicolette Krebitz tells Matt LeBlanc that she got him a long-sleeved dress because "German women don't shave their underarms" (and Matt had shaved). However, she introduces Matt as an Italian, not a German.

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Quotes

Tony Parker: Well, actually, I'm a bisexual lesbian in a man's body... but it's more complicated than that.

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Connections

References Hogan's Heroes (1965)

User Reviews

Not as bad as I feared

With Matt LeBlanc in the title role, I'm afraid that I feared the worst as there is certainly a compelling reason for him not appearing in many feature films; one can certainly point a camera at him, but I can't understand why someone would point a microphone at him.

However, his supporting cast certainly props him up well. Eddie Izzard in particular. And Nicolette Krebitz is certainly a delight to look at and someone who seems to be able to act.

In general, this film can't decide what it is. Comedy? Drama? Espionage? There's certainly not a lot of comedy outside of the guys wearing dresses. Then again, Berlin in the dying days of WW2 probably wasn't a whole lot of laughs.

The voice-over/explanation before the film even begins is worthless and should be deleted from all future prints. Yet while the producers seem to want to force this down our throats, they wouldn't spring for sub-titles during the German portions of the film.

The writing is nothing to salute and from people with less-than-noteworthy careers. The directing by Ruzowitzky is noteworthy only in it's lack of noteworthiness. Pretty static and boring.

Not a film to run screaming from, but I wouldn't recommend seeking it out, either.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

Germany Austria USA

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

13 December 2001 (Germany)

Also Known As:

All the Queen's Men

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,026, 27 October 2002

Gross USA:

$23,662

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$121,258

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantic Streamline, B.A. Filmproduktion, Dor Film Produktionsgesellschaft

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1