I Was Monty's Double
Encyclopedia
I Was Monty's Double is a book by M. E. Clifton James
, first published in London in 1954. It was made into a film
in 1958, directed by John Guillermin, from a screenplay adapted by Bryan Forbes
. James had an uncanny resemblance to Field Marshal Montgomery
in real life, and he was used to impersonate Montgomery to confuse the Germans.
Gibraltar was in reality a hotbed of German agents, and James/Montgomery was spied on by several operatives who were smuggled into Gibraltar specifically to discover what "Monty" was up to. James/Montgomery deliberately talked nonsense about non-existent operations and plans, in the hope that the spies would overhear and take such information seriously.
The intelligence officer who initially recruited James was David Niven
, at that time serving as a Lieutenant-Colonel at the War Office.
The film also includes well-received performances by Leslie Phillips
, Michael Hordern
as the Governor of Gibraltar, "Rusty" Eastwood, Marius Goring
as Karl Nielson and Barbara Hicks as Logan's formidable but highly competent secretary, Hester Baring. In common with many British films from the period Sam Kydd
makes a brief appearance. Bryan Forbes
appears as a young officer co-opted to help intercept the kidnappers.
M. E. Clifton James
Meyrick Edward Clifton James was an actor and soldier, notable for his resemblance to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery...
, first published in London in 1954. It was made into a film
I Was Monty's Double (film)
I Was Monty's Double is a 1958 film made by Associated British Picture Corporation . It was directed by John Guillermin, from a screenplay adapted by Bryan Forbes.- Plot :...
in 1958, directed by John Guillermin, from a screenplay adapted by Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes, CBE is an English film director, actor and writer.-Career:Bryan Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex , and grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex .Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of...
. James had an uncanny resemblance to Field Marshal Montgomery
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
in real life, and he was used to impersonate Montgomery to confuse the Germans.
Film vs book
The film broadly follows the account by James in his book of the same name, but according to James, there was no attempt to kidnap him. The German High Command did plan to have him killed, but Hitler vetoed the plan until he could be sure where the landings would actually take place.Gibraltar was in reality a hotbed of German agents, and James/Montgomery was spied on by several operatives who were smuggled into Gibraltar specifically to discover what "Monty" was up to. James/Montgomery deliberately talked nonsense about non-existent operations and plans, in the hope that the spies would overhear and take such information seriously.
The intelligence officer who initially recruited James was David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, at that time serving as a Lieutenant-Colonel at the War Office.
The film also includes well-received performances by Leslie Phillips
Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
, Michael Hordern
Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
as the Governor of Gibraltar, "Rusty" Eastwood, Marius Goring
Marius Goring
Marius Goring CBE was an English stage and cinema actor. He is most often remembered for the four films he did with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes...
as Karl Nielson and Barbara Hicks as Logan's formidable but highly competent secretary, Hester Baring. In common with many British films from the period Sam Kydd
Sam Kydd
Sam Kydd was an Ulster-born English actor. An army officer's son, he was born in Belfast, but moved to London, England when he was a child. He was educated at Dunstable Grammar School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England....
makes a brief appearance. Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes, CBE is an English film director, actor and writer.-Career:Bryan Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex , and grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex .Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of...
appears as a young officer co-opted to help intercept the kidnappers.
Satires
- The Goon ShowThe Goon ShowThe Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
broadcast a parody episode entitled I Was Monty's Treble on 10 November 1958 (9th series, show 2). - In 1959, Cecil Parker and Leslie Phillips appeared in a spoofParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
version, The Night We Dropped a Clanger (known as Make Mine a Double in the U.S.), alongside Brian Rix. - The 1961 film On the Double, starring Danny KayeDanny KayeDanny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, was also a take-off of I Was Monty's Double, in which Kaye plays the twin roles of the General and the private who (comically but successfully) impersonates him. - The 1989 Jason ConneryJason ConneryJason Joseph Connery is an English actor.-Early life:Connery grew up in London. He attended Millfield School, a co-educational independent school in Somerset, England, and later at the independent Gordonstoun School in Scotland. He was later accepted into the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
film Casablanca ExpressCasablanca ExpressCasablanca Express is a 1989 action war film starring Jason Connery that was filmed in Morocco. It was produced by Pietro Innocenzi and Umberto Innocenzi and directed by Sergio Martino. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia....
freely borrows from the original tale, but with Churchill as the kidnap target. Glenn FordGlenn FordGlenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
appears briefly as a character resembling Gen. Williams. - British satirical magazine Private EyePrivate EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
carried a spoof version of the War Picture LibraryWar Picture LibraryWar Picture Library was a British 64-page Pocket library war comic title published by Amalgamated Press/Fleetway for 2103 issues...
graphic novels entitled "Battle for Britain", a satire on then-current British political issues, most notably the miners' strikeUK miners' strike (1984–1985)The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
. The author was credited as "Monty Stubble", a punPunThe pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on Monty's Double.