The Magnificent Two

The third and last of the Morecambe & Wise spin-off movies. It's better than THE INTELLIGENCE MEN but THAT RIVIERA TOUCH was the highlight of the trilogy. This one's solid enough, with an interesting revolutionary South American setting amid the usual mainstay plot of '50s and '60s British comedy, the mistaken identity. Some of the word gags are very funny, like "I'm going to siesta".

Let me say right from the start that I am a big, big Morecambe and Wise fan and have been ever since I was a kid. I'd heard that their features were but pale shadows of their TV work but even thus forewarned I was shocked by the total lack of humor in this film. THE MAGNIFICENT TWO is clearly meant to be something like the Hope and Crosby ROAD movies and I can't think of two comics who could have carried it off better than Eric and Ernie --- like Bob and Bing, they relied much on spirited ad-libs and spontaneity to earn their laughs, but this movie saddles them with a dreadfully humorless script which they seemed to follow like leaden zombies. Let me give you an example of what this movie's creators thought was funny: Eric and Ernie have an argument with their mouths so stuffed with food you can't hear what they're saying. Laugh? You'll never start. The only reason I gave THE MAGNIFICENT TWO two stars instead of only one is out of respect for the boys. Check out their stuff on YouTube. They were funny, funny men.

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.

I remember seeing this movie as a child with my brothers and sisters sometime in the 80's and we loved it. We were all already very familiar with their comedy series and were elated when we heard that they were in this movie. What made it so memorable was the plot itself. Really simple and straight forward, quirky and funny. Then there is the contrast between the two main characters and their Latin American co characters. It simply flowed and it worked very very well. It had some slapstick, subtle puns, and a few delightful stunts. Ahaaaaaaaaaaa! lest I forget to mention that there is something for the kids as well. It reminds me of 'The three amigos' and is just as funny. It was meant to be light comedy and the producers pulled it off excellently.

Despite their best efforts Morecambe and Wise never quite made the transition from small to big screen, and this third and final film they made for Rank in the 60's isn't that great.

For one thing it has an alarmingly high body count, which seems jarring when you consider that Morecambe and Wise had a big family orientated act.

The mistaken identity plot is as old as the hills and the sight of lots of bikini clad girls running about seems more akin to the 'Carry On' films than Morecambe and Wise.

This film, as with the other two, is regarded now as a cult classic, but I think for many Morecambe and Wise are still best loved for their TV work.