I was Monty's Double

[AndrewLA]

Another question re I WAS MONTY'S DOUBLE. This might be for military historians.



Both Patrick Allen and Bryan Forbes wear patches on their uniform sleeves marked "AF." Anyone know what that stands for?



They're in North Africa. Allen plays an American, Forbes an Englishman. So it can't be a national marking. Allied Forces? Something like that...?

[MrDrakesDuck]

Get the book by Clifton-James, it's very good.



It all kicked off for him when David Niven phond him up at the Pay Corps and asked him if he was interested in appearing in some army films.



He had lost a finger in WW1 but he became used to concealing it and the intelligence officers he was working with only noticed at the last minute and had to make him a false finger from cotton wool and plasters!

[Jim]

If they did some news footage with the commentary saying "This is an actor impersonating Monty" I think that might have given the game away just a bit



Steve

Since WWII is not running at the moment I don't think it would matter if they did say that now! Surely there is footage of the 'real thing', since he was there to fool the enemy, the war footage must have been shown in our cinemas!

[JRK]

An excellent film and you should seek the book which fills in a few details omitted from the film. On my VHS anyhow....



Reference the 'cuts', was this done by the Americans? I bought a copy of Gift Horse on VHS done in America. It was crucified bt the label. They actually edited Dickie Attenborough out of it. His cockney accent did it for him I reckon.



Someone decided the Americans were too thick or intolerant to buy.



Made a nonsense of certain sections of the film. There were jumpy cuts all over the place wrcking the viewing experience.

[Andy H]

Maybe not my favourite film, but certainly in my top ten. It's a good rollicking ride with a good dose of humour and the swaggering theme music is brilliant. We've just bought this on DVD, but sadly good old OPTIMUM have b*llsed things up again, this time by clipping off the first few seconds of the intro title music. I had great hopes for Optimum, but they seem to trip up on so many releases.

[paul clifton]

I got my copy from an HMV exclusive box set. Dont think any of the music is missing on mine. Optimum made some mistakes but I THINK they are learning. lets hope so eh

[Film Man]

I'm afraid all the copies either Optimum and the HMV Box set have a ruined transfer...It is a widescreen film (1.75-1) but all these copies are standard 4 X 3...not only this but they have zoomed in to cut out the black bars top and bottom!!!!



Result is most of the opening titles are cropped at the edges (plus clipped music in trying to cut the original logo)....The free copy given away by The Mail is perfect...not (sadly) widescreen but it isn't a 'zoomed' copy. I have a 16mm print that is perfect!



As a fan of the director John Guillermin and always looking for the perfect DVD transfer, my quest is still on!

Film Man

[Andy H]

Thanks for that, Film Man. I did wonder about the 4:3 format, but didn't get around to checking it. I'm afraid I'm losing faith in Optimum, they seem rather careless.

[Amethyst_Isle]

I have a copy via Channel 4 some time ago and what a great film to watch (even though I have seen it so many times now it still holds up ) only downside to this film was the large amount of stock footage used and for me somehow spoilt the film but only a little bit.

[EHV_Emmetts]

I had great hopes for Optimum, but they seem to trip up on so many releases.

I agree.



I have many DVDs from them and the quality of the print is usually poor.

[EllyMack]

My late mother-in-law used to swear that she knew Clifton James. I have no doubt she worked in the same branch of the pay corps as he did, and used to go to see some of his shows at a local theatre, but I suspect the 'knew him' bit is probably a little romancing on her part.

[Gerald Lovell]

My late mother-in-law used to swear that she knew Clifton James. I have no doubt she worked in the same branch of the pay corps as he did, and used to go to see some of his shows at a local theatre, but I suspect the 'knew him' bit is probably a little romancing on her part.

Loads of folk in Edinburgh used to say that Sean (Big Tam) Connery had been their milkman. Well, all I can say is that he must've had the biggest milkround in the country!

[Dadwasinflame]

My Dad plays one of the Soliders in Tent , with the Line "what did he call the sgt Major"

[wellendcanons]

I bought the DVD but had the same problem as other members on this thread, so I'm content with my video copy..... For now. It's a little gem of a film.



Your Dad had a nice little scene in that film Dadwasinflame, brief though it was. Victor Maddern was also in that scene.



Wellendcanons.

[faginsgirl]

I`d heard of this film but didn`t think it was my thing. I watched it to see what all the fuss was about and I really enjoyed it. It had me on the edge of my seat many times

[Toscana]

In Bryan Forbes 1992 Memoir A Divided Life he gives only about a page to I Was Monty's Double which is not a great deal for a film he wrote and had a small part in. I think his view on the film is best summed up by his last few words.
"To my mind his story fell into three perfect acts - obscurity, a few moments of fame, then a return to obscurity, my favoured and unhappy end again. The director of the film had other ideas and insisted on tagging on a phoney kidnapping by German commandos, reducing the whole to a formula movie. I resisted his demands as far as I could, but was finally overruled. Nanette and I were broke at the time and, having slaved through the screenplay, I could not afford to relinquish it for another writer to garner whatever credit might come its way. Clifton James played himself in the film and proved to be a shy and unassuming man, the antithesis of his real-life counterpart".
As a film I enjoyed it but as a piece of history forget it. Perhaps somebody should dig out Clifton James book and have another go at it. Fifty years on and more papers released from the secrets file there should be a lot more light to the real story which could be retold without the boys own kidnapping angle to make it more interesting.