The Intelligence Men

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.

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many very funny scenes that are like this but too many fail because the laughter and improvisation of the TV show has been replaced by tightly scripted scenes and multiple shoots and takes.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.

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.

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.

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.