Avaliações de usuários

Most spy films become parodies or satires. This film is a deliberate goof on the genre by two of the UK's greatest comedians. They never became known in the States unlike Benny Hill and that was a sad thing for America. The film is loaded with sexy beauties like Gloria Paul who was a contender for a role in Thunderball (she should have been a Bond Girl). The music goes for a jazzy spy feel and the film has good cinematography.

Morecombe & Wise's' brief foray into films came a little too early to match their seventies peak and one watches their first film hoping it will be funnier than it ever turns out; although it contains a nice appearance by the boy's early writers Sid Green and Dick Hills, and a running gag involving a sinister stalker in a fur collar and homburg hat, the revelation of whose actual identity (SLIGHT SPOILER COMING:) provides a memorable anti-climax.

And of course it benefits from the fact it was authentically made during the era of James Bond and from the visual style of the period, especially the glamorous women and the quality of the colour.

I could never understand the slating that this film has always received. Admittedly it's not The Pink Panther but it was never meant to be. It's very clear to see that it was made on buttons but the writing and performances are terrific.

There are quite a few comedy moments in The Intelligence Men that even by today's standards are stunningly funny and yet at the same time are just so wonderfully innocent in their delivery. The 'where did that music come from then' moment is streets ahead of it's time as is the hilarious resolution to the sinister man who follows them around throughout the film, it's worth watching for that bit alone.

Morecambe and Wise made their feature film debuts with this film and openly admitted in later years that it wasn't much good.

The problem is even back then the spy spoof had been done to death and there was very little that could be added to it. As others have mentioned as well the film doesn't really feel like a film at all, it's more like a collection of sketches all around the same theme.

Eric Morecambe is reliably funny as he always was, but it can't be ignored that the film is too convoluted in terms of plot and there are too many slow moments. The directors habit of under cranking the action also tends to make the supposedly funny bits unfunny.

I prefer 'That Rivera Touch' to this film, which although is funny, doesn't do a lot for me.

A big screen outing for the beloved TV duo of Morecambe and Wise. This one's a scattershot Bond spoof, as were so many in the 1960s, with our unlikely heroes joining forces to take down a spy ring. Some colour in the sultry actresses picked for the spy roles and fun to see William Franklyn, Terence Alexander and Francis Matthews playing the most frightfully British of intelligence trios, but sadly this just isn't particularly funny. It all rests on Morecambe's shoulders and he tries so hard, but can only do so much with a script which is average at best.

I first saw this on the late show quite a a few years ago. I laughed so hard and loud that I woke up my wife and kids. I devoured TV Guide for the next six months until I found it on again and let the tape roll. This was long before the vhs vcrs we now have. Over the years, the tape got lost and I was heartsick. Not long ago, I found a dvd of it on Amazon.UK. It was of course PAL, Region 2. Then I found a region free, PAL and NTSC dvd player. Now several hundred dollars later, I can watch Spy Larks (British title The Intelligence Men)whenever I please, and I please often.

I see Eric was voted the funniest performer in the UK for the 20th century. Well deserved. That he is now dead is our great loss, but I have learned that he died of a heart attack while performing on stage. If God was not a comedy fan before, He is now.

Often lampooned as a poor relation to the famous duo's T.V series, this and the two other films they made(That Riviera Touch/The Magnificent Two)are great showcases for these two comic legends. DO NOT be put of by comments that often follow the films around that often accuse the two of selling out to Hollywood. This is as good a performance that you will ever see from Britain's favourite comedy duo.

I love Morecambe and Wise so I enjoyed this film. They are on top form as bumbling British agents who are trying to stop the bad guys who are "on their side" from doing their bad deeds. There are some really funny scenes and some great lines ("waiter there's a dead man in this soup") and a reasonable cast. Yet though this film is very much enjoyable, it is not as good as their next film "That Riviera Touch", because it begins to get a bit unfunny at times. Nevertheless it's worth watching just for the fantastic opera scene at the end of the film which recalls Danny Kaye's equally hilarious opera performance at the end of his film "Wonder Man". It is also interesting to see how young Morecambe and Wise were when they made the film. Enjoy! 8/10

As a fan of the classic British comedy, this film has stayed with me since my childhood. It was only through accessing the IMDb that I was able to actually find the name of the film. Eric Morecambe shines brighter than ever in The Intelligence Men with clever deflections off straight characters and using the pretence of knowledge of "spy things" to create classic comedy moments. I.e. being taught spycraft and the side-aching Judo sketch will have you rolling in the aisles. Although what aisles you would having running past your TV are your own business. Not necessary "not to be missed", but certainly not a disappointment as with so many contemporary "blockbusters".

Get hold of this film somehow and let a classic British double act entertain a you. Learn Judo the Morecambe way and "Get out of that!".

From the opening introduction of this spy spoof and Bond wannabe to the end credits will have you laughing at the stupidity and silliness of our inept spies...I must have seen this film at least 100 times in my life so far. So much so that I could recite script and dialogue. It's an outright classic of British comedy. Morecambe and Wise have always been a British comedy favorite so their first movie excels. I love the way Eric lusts after the girls with that cheeky schoolboy attitude. If he ever got one of those girls he proberbly wouldn't know what to do with her right away hehe...but it seems he has fun trying! Ernie, on the otherhand, is the best straightman to Erics genius. A perfect match. And Ern does look cute in that blonde wig ;) Good back up comes from various actors but my favorite is Francis Matthews aka Mr. do-do, just watch the judo sketch and the ying-ta-whhoo! Lots of fun for all ages especially if your age is your shoe-size. It never gets tired or old just funnier. Just keep an eye out for Sid and Dick in the cafe and some very silly singing based on 'that song from swan lake'

April 2021

The Intelligence Men is the 1st of the 3 Morecambe and Wise films from the 60s, i personally think they are of the same level and always watch the 3 at the same time.

Great stuff, funny british 60s comedy, enjoy.

Now go and watch the other 2.

9 out of 10.

If you are a fan of Morecambe and Wise, get this film. Loosely based around a typical "spy spoof" plot, the film is a showcase for the talents of the best ever British comedy double act.

The "Judo Sketch" alone ("get out of that") is worth the price of admission :-)

A spy spoof, not like the 1967 Casino Royale, this is more obvious, and physical.

Morecambe & Wise are great, the scenes are very funny and have great dialogue, I can't understand why it has a low rating at 5.8 (at the time), maybe its the English humour that doesn't travel well, but my wife is Chinese and she loved it.

It their first feature and not as well made as later films, but it does not stop it being funny, very funny.

And as its supposed to be a comedy film, it is all it needs to be.

When a coffee shop owner is mistaken for a MI5 spy, the real MI5 enlist his help in uncovering an assassination plot in London. With master of disguise Ernie Sage by his side, Eric Morecambe battles dangers and beautiful women to save the day - whether he knows it or not.

This was Morecambe and Wise's first attempt to take their huge success on TV into film. And it unfortunately doesn't totally carry over. The plot is irrelevant but it doesn't really matter - in fact the film slows down in some scenes where the 'serious' actors have to do dialogue that moves the plot along. Outside of these scenes it's really all about Eric and Ernie doing their usual stand-up routine in different situations.

The film is funny, simply because of Morecambe's act and Wise's straight man, basically each scene is the same as the TV show in that each scene has a basic structure that allows the duo to do their stuff within it. The film contains many very funny scenes that are like this but too many fail because the laughter and improvisation of the TV show has been replaced by tightly scripted scenes and multiple shoots and takes. This takes a lot of the life out of their routine and some bits, most notably the musical numbers fall flat. Having said that, I don't think Eric Morecambe can help but be funny and most of the film is really funny, mainly jokes that are repeated during the film - "get out of that" and the running joke of Eric not recognising Ernie in 'disguise' being some of the best.

Overall this is a funny film simply because of Ernie and Eric. However if you've never seen their TV show then you're missing out on the funniest stuff they've ever done, cause, sadly, this film never comes close to their best.

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.