Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Goingbegging At the fag-end of the 50's, a generation of long-demobbed soldiers were still trying to cut it in uniform, in a spate of cheap black-and-white war films. More convincing than most was the unknown star of this true story, a minor Australian actor who had been rejected by the entertainment services, and was reluctantly pen-pushing in the pay office, when someone noticed that he was a dead ringer for Montgomery.This was in the run-up to D-Day, when the allies were desperate to draw enemy attention away from Normandy as the obvious invasion zone. Might a Monty-lookalike be able to fool German intelligence by touring North Africa, as though preparing for a big Mediterranean landing instead?The actor in question, M.E. Clifton James, is secretly employed as a driver on Monty's staff, in order to get close enough to study his speech and mannerisms. But he doubts his own ability to replicate the character and personality of the great man, not least because 'Jimmy' is a chain-smoking alcoholic. Eventually, jolly optimist John Mills persuades him to go through with it, and suddenly he's stepping off a plane in Gibraltar, under scrutiny from enemy agents (one of them brilliantly sinister, as played by Marius Goring), as well as certain officers who remember Monty from before the war.Defying many attempts on his life, Jimmy overcomes his desperate shyness, and learns to take massed salutes from whole armies. Then all too soon, D-Day has come and gone, his one brief star-performance is over, and it's back to the humble pay office. Except... they felt it necessary to bolt-on a false ending, about which we can reveal nothing, except that it never happened.As for the real-life outcome, we have to face the disappointing fact that it was only part of a much larger decoy operation, which did throw the enemy into some confusion, but reports of Jimmy's own effort reaching Hitler's desk seem to be wishful thinking. The film displays some recognisable weaknesses of those low-budget productions. The over-long opening section is taken up with John Mills' various flirtations, whose only consequence for the story is that his humourless boss (Cecil Parker) decides to replace their seductive secretary with the ugly-beautiful Barbara Hicks, in some ways more arresting. And the way Mills and Parker chat freely in public about top secret plans will grate on the ear of anyone who has worked in intelligence. No war-film of its day was complete without the stuffed-shirt spoilsport Allan Cuthbertson, who duly pops-up here, as does the perennial plug-ugly sergeant Anthony Sagar. Jimmy's one meeting with Monty is awkwardly dodged; we simply cut away from him on the steps of the general's caravan, although split-screen techniques had long since enabled an actor to shake hands with his own double (try the 1937 'Prisoner of Zenda').None of this really detracts from the joy of the film, principally the deeply-believable performance of a professional actor, acting himself acting Monty. Sympathy and charm shine through this modest man, who seems to have been shabbily treated after the war, when he was reduced to the dole. Hopefully this popular film brought a little benison for the five short years that remained to him.

James Hitchcock "I Was Monty's Double" dramatises a remarkable true story from World War II. M. E. Clifton James, a Lieutenant serving with the Royal Army Pay Corps (the British Army's financial department) and an actor in civilian life, was recruited by military intelligence to impersonate General Bernard Montgomery, to whom he bore a close resemblance. The reason was that the Allies were attempting to deceive the Germans by spreading false rumours that the D-Day landings would take place in the South of France rather than Normandy. To make such rumours credible it was essential that the Germans should be led to believe that Montgomery, Britain's leading General, was in North Africa, the obvious launch-pad for any such invasion. At the time it was essential that this scheme be kept secret, and Clifton James received no official recognition for his role. Ten years later, when the ban on public discussion of wartime operations had expired, he wrote an autobiography which revealed the story and became a best-seller. In the film he plays two roles- himself and Montgomery. This, unfortunately, means that one key scene, when Monty meets his double in order to encourage him, cannot be shown in the film. With modern computer trickery it would today be quite easy to have the same actor playing two different characters in the same scene, and even in 1958 it would probably have been technically possible. ("The Parent Trap", made by Disney only three years later, features several scenes in which Hayley Mills plays identical twin sisters and therefore appears to be in two places at once). Doubtless, however, the makers of a low-budget British film like this one did not have the same financial resources available to them as the Disney organisation. In real life Clifton James was discovered by the actor David Niven, who was serving as a British Army officer at the time, but he does not appear in the film and no mention is made of his role. (Perhaps the producers couldn't afford him- by 1958 he had become a major international star and doubtless could command large fees). Instead credit for the operation is given to two fictitious intelligence officers, Colonel Logan and Major Harvey, played by Cecil Parker and John Mills. Mills was a regular star of British war movies, generally playing officer types. "How-we-won-the-war" movies about true wartime episodes were a standard feature of the British cinema in the fifties, and varied greatly in quality. Most of these, however, featured combat operations of one type or another. "I Was Monty's Double" is a war film of a rather different type. Its one descent into standard heroics comes at the end, when Harvey has to foil an attempt by German commandos to kidnap Clifton James in the mistaken belief that he is the real Monty. (This is also the film's one major departure from historical facts. Although the Germans did have plans to assassinate Montgomery while he was in Alexandria, these were never put into effect). For most of its length the film's dramatic tension derives from Clifton James' own inner struggle to conquer his doubts and fears. Although he has little difficulty imitating Montgomery's voice and mannerisms, he finds it more of a struggle to convey the great man's personality. One particular difficulty he faces is that while he is both a heavy drinker and smoker, Montgomery was famously teetotal and a militant non-smoker, so he can never publicly be seen with a drink or a cigarette in his hand. It is strongly implied in the movie that Clifton James was not a great success as a theatre actor and spent most of his career as an understudy. This film, however, was to provide him with one great success near the end of his life. (He was to die five years later). If not quite in the class of something like "The Dambusters", it is one of the better "How-we-won-the-war" movies, and gives an insight into the work of the vital role of military intelligence, something often overlooked in the cinema. 7/10

blanche-2 "I Was Monty's Double" is based on the book of the same name, by M.E. Clifton James, an Australian actor in the service who is drafted to impersonate General Montgomery. Though some dramatic license is taken, what makes the film fun is that James plays himself and the historical events are true.In order to make the Nazis believe that D-Day is taking place in Gibraltor, James, who makes an appearance at the end of a show as Montgomery, is asked to impersonate the general. He bears a strong resemblance - so strong, in fact, that when he comes out onto the stage, he gets a standing ovation and rousing cheers. His recruiters, played by John Mills and Cecil Parker, are hoping the troops have the same reaction. They get him assigned as a driver so that he can observe Montgomery at close quarters and copy his mannerisms. James, however, finally tells Harvey and Logan (Mills and Parker) that he can't do it. He's never led a command. Logan is dumbstruck. "You won't be doing any actual commanding," he objects. A consummate actor, James replies, "You don't understand. I have to have it inside." However, he's so good that he is able to find the ego and leadership qualities internally to carry it off.The film is directed by John Guillerman with emphasis on the humor. Marius Goring plays a Nazi spy who thinks he's in tight with the Allies on Gibraltor. "We feed him all kinds of garbage," the top brass says. "He's faster than calling Berlin." The whole bit at the end is fiction, but it doesn't deter from a fascinating story. Highly recommended.

satwalker99-1 I was particularly tickled by the sight of James,as himself,during his training in a sequence where he observes himself,as Monty in order to study his demeanour,walk & mannerisms, before the real masquerade. Now that's acting! The news theatre at the end where Mills & James watch the newsreel was clearly the former Times by Baker St underground & close to Madame Tussauds. Would make a good double feature to support "The Man Who Never Was" - a similar intelligence con to mislead the Nazis on plans for the invasion of Europe. Probably the biggest laugh comes from the icy and withering remarks of John Le Mesurier (as James' adjutant)on his contempt for the acting profession, in a brief early scene where he initially reports for "duty" as a lowly corporal.