The Magnificent Two

This was the last of the three films that television comedians Morecambe & Wise made for the Rank Organisation. I saw all three when they came out and thought at the time that this was the best of the three.. Looked at today, more than fifty years on, although I still find it enjoyable, it seems rather more problematic. It seems to be unsure which direction it is going in. On the one hand, with this basic story-line, you could make a much darker film, but that would require different leads, but if judged purely as a vehicle for Morecambe & Wise, then it seems unnecessarily violent. On a positive note, I did rather like the performance of Margit Saad as General Carla, the leader of the women's revolutionary army. In a film like this, it would be easy to make her a ridiculous figure, but in fact, she plays the part for the most part fairly straight in an under-stated manner which I found quite effective, although at times she seems to be in a different film to the two leads. In conclusion, I have seen much worse films starring TV comedians, eg Mr. Ten Per Cent starring Charlie Drake which came out at about the same time.. If you can cut this film some slack, then you may find things about this film that you can enjoy.

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.

Morecambe And Wise Humour Never Really Transferred To The Cinema Screen But Their Movies Actually Performed At The British Box Office. This Third And Final Outing Has A Touch Of The Spaghetti Western About Some Of It And The Humour Might Be Lame But The Score By Ron Goodwin Is More Than Just Fairly Good. The South American Revolution Plot Being Topical At The Time. Watching This Again Over 50 Years Later The Movie Is More Interesting As A Time Capsule Than A Comedy.

There are not many reviews about this film and 2 thirds of them are poor, one who calls it drivel !!

It is actually very funny, particularly the physical side of it, and the dialogue is good, its a bit of a cross between 'The Magnificent Seven' (where it gets its mocking title) and 'Carry On Cowboy', it does mock the former film, but not in a direct way, apart from the title, Eric & Ernie bounce off each other well and the other actors pick up the slack, its not the best film, and just as good as their previous 2, but certainly not rubbish like some are making bit out to be, its a daft comedy from 2 comedians, what do they want 'Schindler's List'?

So ignore the negative reviewers, take a look, if you like physical comedy, with a bit of good dialogue, this might be right up your street, and even if it doesn't get you in stitches, your time will not be wasted.

I'm your regularly dude from Japan, grown up with different parents from different countries; my Dad from England, my Mom from Japan.

My Dad has often ordered much British-related comedies, sitcoms, drama, skits, shows, etc., and Morcambe and Wise have been GOLD! I've been a fan of their's since seeing "That Rivera Tough" (1966), and wonderful underrated rom-com that just is all-round funny with it's great story-line, the two lead characters (of course played by Morcambe & Wise), the funny lines, the funny scenes, the serious lines, the serious scenes, the grand finale, and the pay off just work WELL together! I want to ask a favor from ANYONE to show this movie on the air on live TV, because it definitely deserves more attention! (Way funnier than "Dr. Strangelove," "Airplane!", or "Dumb and Dumber.")

And we also own a VHS called "The Best Years of Morcambe & Wise", which I've watched about 1,000 times now, and just love reciting all the hilarious lines, scenes, and jokes. (A lot of which you can see on YouTube). Comedy coming from these two men was just always FUN!

But The Magnificent Two... just didn't work. I mean, I saw this film just recently on YouTube, I didn't know Morcambe and Wise made more films after "That Rivera Touch", but I was surprised to find out anyway.

I usually don't like films about "Mexico" or "drugs" or "mafias" - and this film proves exactly that. The story I thought was dumb, the idea dumb, and the ending scene was all-round REALLY dumb. I got the idea why these women were to disturb these bad guys by stripping down to their underwear, but....... WHEN did the creative & innovative Morcambe and Wise turn into Benny Hill??? I never saw them use sexual innuendos on their shows, or skits. I mean, it was used a bit in "That Rivera Touch", but it wasn't out of nowhere, and it worked within the story.

I love Eric Morcambe and Ernie Wise, but not "The Magnificent Two" - "That Rivera Touch" is a lot better. Check it out.

4/10