Review of Intelligence Men, The

Introduction

Made in 1965, "The Intelligence Men" is Morecambe and Wise`s first foray into feature films. Their comedic style never fully translated to the big screen and this debut outing is probably the least successful of the bunch.

In the movie, Ern is a lowly clerical worker in MI5. Eric is working in a Mexican (or, possibly Spanish) café when he gets mistaken for a spy. As a result of this accident, MI5 see the chance to pass him off as the recently deceased Major Cavendish and Ern becomes his "handler". Ultimately, they have to protect the ballerina Madam Petrovna. Needless to say, she`s not in the safest of hands.

Video

Video is letterboxed at 16:9 and looks pretty good. The image is crisp and detailed and has that slightly faded Sixties look.

The cinematography is functional and only really comes alive during the ballet sequence at the end. This sequence looks suitably rich and opulent (although it`s obviously no competition to Moulin Rouge).

Audio

The sound is mono, duplicated across both front channels. It is perfectly adequate for the movie although starts to sound strained during the classical pieces at the end of the film.

Features

The only extra is a trailer which, while having a wacky Sixties style, is unmemorable.

Conclusion

Despite being the weakest Morecambe and Wise movie, "The Intelligence Men" has its moments. Or rather one long moment in particular. While the film is generally muddled and goes through the usual spy spoof motions, the scenes during the ballet performance in the last fifteen minutes are inspired comic pleasure. From the largely silent chases through the backstage corridors to the superb Swan Dance scene, these are fifteen thoroughly enjoyable minutes and worth the price of the DVD alone.

Patchy but occasionally brilliant, this is the expected innocent fun.