Our Man in Havana (1959)

☆ ☆ ☆

Our Man in Havana (1959) – C. Reed

Given the presence of Sir Alec Guinness, I had hoped for the charm of his classic Ealing comedies here – but somehow the pace is just a little too relaxed.  You can sort of see what Michael Balcon’s crew might have made of the comic turns in Graham Greene’s screenplay but they feel underplayed as directed by Carol Reed (which is not to reduce my appreciation of Guinness, Burl Ives, or Ernie Kovacs and their work here).  Even more tantalising is the fact that Alfred Hitchcock also competed for the rights to make this film – which might have made this more like North by Northwest (also 1959) and its tale of the accidental spy.  Here, Guinness signs up for the British Secret Service after being recruited (by Noel Coward) in his vacuum cleaner store in Havana but solely for the money – as he dreams of sending his teen daughter to finishing school in Switzerland. He never intends to actually work as a spy and instead (with Burl Ives’ urging) makes up fantastical reports to send back to London.  Naturally, the Home Office (with Ralph Richardson in charge) is soon interested.  Subsequently, Guinness finds himself the target of enemy agents!  It could have been more madcap (with Ealing) or it could have been more suspenseful (with Hitchcock).  With Carol Reed, Cuba looks beautiful in widescreen B&W but this was a missed opportunity.