Jim Wormold sells vacuum cleaners in Havana. His daughter Milly, 17, spends a lot of money, so he accepts to work for the Intelligence Service. As he has nothing to report, he invents facts, pretends to recruit agents and to discover secret constructions... Of course, one day all will become much harder...

*NOTE: This movie has great video and audio quality. Occasionally there is a small semi-transparent logo in the bottom right-hand corner. It comes in plain packaging.

viewer's comments:
- Noel Coward and his Ensemble
The novel was infinitely darker than the film. Satire is never casually light-hearted; it has a serious purpose. But this film is touched by the hand of slapstick artist Ernie Kovacs and, in an entirely different comedic way, Noel Coward. As many reviewers have noted, Alec Guinness seems at a loss in more ways than one to bring together all the different strands of entirely disparate story lines that are woven around him. The parts are indeed greater than the whole.

The one scene that I have carried with me, lo, these many years is the one where Sir Noel is having a confidential tête-à-tête with Sir Alec in a tropical garden surrounded by a rattan shell, and he suddenly shushes Sir Alec and cautiously moves to close the putative entry door. One of the best sight gags ever.

The sad thing about "Our Man in Havana" is that it came out the same year that Cuba traded in one tyrant for another. And there is nothing funny at all about either Fulgencia Bautista or Fidel Castro. I recommend the excellent film "Before Night Falls" for those persuaded that the latter was the lesser of two evils.

In short, one has to choose the comedic elements over the political ones in order to enjoy the film. And that means essentially anchoring it to the role of Noel Coward and everyone else who falls in his shadow.



- A vastly underrated masterpiece
Filmed on the eve of Castro's revolution in Cuba, this movie is noteworthy simply as a timepiece to Havana in the late 50s and as one of the last great British comedies from the Ealing Studios era. Guinness is perfect as Wormold the bumbling vacuum cleaner salesman turned spy who's invented intelligence reports become only too real.

The casting of Burl Ives and Ernie Kovacs (as German doctor and Cuban police chief respectively) are inspired genius. The glaring exception is Jo Morrow as Wormold's daughter Millie who has been turned into an `American' for the movie and just comes off as annoying, thus undermining Wormolds motivation for his actions. Thus lies the films fundamental flaw. As a book, `Our Man in Havana' is believable. The movie adds an undercurrent of absurdity (aided by Noel Cowards foppish asides and Ralph Richardson's incompetent blundering), without drifting into full comedic genre, which works well but for a few moments of slapstick and the throwaway ending. But there is more than enough here to appreciate. Carol Reed recalls his Third Man/Orson Welles street shadows during the final chase sequence, the music beautifully evokes a vintage Cuba and the cinematic setting oozes the paranoia and drama of the script. As an adaptation of the novel it remains satisfying and is perhaps one of the better adaptations of a Greene novel. All told this movie stands repeated viewing and I urge anyone to track it down.



- Excellent throughout
This superb noir comedy has wonderful depth and balance -- based on a fine novel, well-scripted, spectacularly well-lit and photographed, and vwey well performed, particularly by Alec Guiness and Ernie Kovacs, who was virtually as good an actor as he was a comedian. Havana itself is another major contributor to this masterpiece, shot at perhaps the peak period of its physical condition.



- A warm-hearted Cold War comedy of life
This afternoon I chanced upon this terrific film on Channel 4.I had seen it years ago as a child,and couldn't understand why my father kept referring to the brilliant " Our Man in Havana" Now I know what he meant.Alec Guinness hit the perfect note in the part,as he invariably did.Havana is rendered almost tangible by director Carol Reed, a difficult feat to achieve.The rest of the cast shine too.Ernie Kovacs makes a human being out of his police-thug character.The script seems almost improvised,so fresh , pointed and witty.Compare this movie to the bulk of today's garbage,and prepare to feel very let-down by what you can see at your local Multiplex.This strange and sharp movie has re-affirmed my intention to spend some time in Havana.Buena Vista Social Club first whetted my curiosity.This movie is timeless and a great 2 hrs of entertainment/art.Enjoy! And look at Maureen O ' Hara, is she not quite splendid? !



- Completely underrated movie!
As described here previously by McVouty, this movie is a true gem - I had the pleasure of seeing it projected at a local art house theater, and was blown away by Alec Guinness' performance, as well as the excellent black & white cinematography, by none other than Robert Krasker; the same writer/director/cinematographer team that created "The 3rd Man", here again created a wonderful film. While it may not be of the caliber of The 3rd Man, it's very sad that this movie was so poorly received that Carol Reed's career was so adversely affected...esp since the movie is actually so good! Will it ever become available on tape or DVD?



- A gem
I'm surprised this picture hasn't been mentioned in any of the Alec Guinness obituaries. It's one of his best, and it's a real kick. What a cast! What a script! Alec Guinness and Graham Greene (the writer, not the actor) -- what a pair! I haven't been able to find it in the video stores, but it's certainly worth seeking out.




cast: Alec Guinness .... Jim Wormold
Burl Ives .... Dr. Hasselbacher
Maureen O'Hara .... Beatrice Severn
Ernie Kovacs .... Capt. Segura
Noel Coward .... Hawthorne (as Noël Coward)
Ralph Richardson .... 'C'
Jo Morrow .... Milly Wormold
Grégoire Aslan .... Cifuentes (as Gregoire Aslan)
Paul Rogers .... Hubert Carter
Raymond Huntley .... General
Ferdy Mayne .... Prof. Sanchez
Maurice Denham .... Admiral
José Prieto .... Lopez (as Jose Prieto)
Duncan Macrae .... MacDougal
Gerik Schjelderup .... Svenson.

Runtime: USA:111 min
Country: UK
Language: English
Black and White



From the novelo by Graham Greene