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Our Man in Havana (1959) More at IMDbPro »

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Our Man in Havana (1959) -- A vacuum cleaner salesman (Alec Guinness) is recruited by the British secret service to act as a spy in Havana.

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   1,585 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Graham Greene (novel)
Graham Greene (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Our Man in Havana on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 February 1960 (West Germany) more
Genre:
Plot:
Jim Wormold is an expatriate Englishman living in pre-revolutionary Havana with his teenage daughter Milly... more | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
On DVD: "Our Man in Havana," "The Singing Revolution"
 (From IFC. 3 February 2009, 6:55 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
A splendidly acted movie about "real" spying before the genre was established. The Government's ready and willing acceptance of misinformation is chillingly relevant in light of the recent Iraq ma more (40 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Alec Guinness ... Jim Wormold

Burl Ives ... Dr. Hasselbacher

Maureen O'Hara ... Milly Wormold

Ernie Kovacs ... Capt. Segura
Noel Coward ... Hawthorne (as Noël Coward)
Ralph Richardson ... 'C'

Jo Morrow ... Beatrice Severn
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
Hugh Manning ... Officer
Karel Stepanek ... Dr. Braun
Maxine Audley ... Teresa
Elisabeth Welch ... Woman
Yvonne Buckingham ... Woman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enrique Almirante ... Man at the Film Introduction (uncredited)
René de la Cruz ... Man Beaten by Police (uncredited)
Madeleine Kasket ... Black-haired girl (uncredited)
Shan Lawrence ... Native Canadian Girl (uncredited)
John Le Mesurier ... Louis - Waiter (uncredited)
Anne Padwick ... Dark-haired woman (uncredited)
Rachel Roberts ... Prostitute (uncredited)
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Directed by
Carol Reed 
 
Writing credits
Graham Greene  novel &
Graham Greene  screenplay

Produced by
Raymond Anzarut .... associate producer
Carol Reed .... producer
 
Original Music by
Frank Deniz (uncredited)
Laurence Deniz (uncredited)
 
Cinematography by
Oswald Morris (photographed by)
 
Film Editing by
Bert Bates 
 
Art Direction by
John Box 
 
Costume Design by
Phyllis Dalton 
 
Makeup Department
Gordon Bond .... hairdresser
Harry Frampton .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
James H. Ware .... unit manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gerry O'Hara .... assistant director
 
Art Department
Syd Cain .... assistant art director
 
Sound Department
John Cox .... sound supervisor
Red Law .... sound recordist
Teddy Mason .... sound editor (as Ted Mason)
John W. Mitchell .... sound recordist
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Denys N. Coop .... camera operator
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Betty Adamson .... wardrobe
Arthur Newman .... wardrobe
 
Music Department
Frank Deniz .... music player
Laurence Deniz .... music player
 
Other crew
Maggie Unsworth .... continuity (as Margaret Shipway)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Runtime:
USA:111 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Finland:K-16
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Alec Guinness originally wanted to play his character as an untidy, defeated soul instead of a generally hapless non-entity. more
Goofs:
Boom mic visible: While Guinness is talking to the Doctor in his ransacked apartment, you can see the shadow of the boom mic moving overhead. more
Quotes:
Jim Wormold: We should all be clowns, Milly. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Hersenschimmen (1988) more
Soundtrack:
¿Domitila, dónde vas? more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
29 out of 32 people found the following review useful.
A splendidly acted movie about "real" spying before the genre was established. The Government's ready and willing acceptance of misinformation is chillingly relevant in light of the recent Iraq ma, 5 December 2004
8/10
Author: bids2650 from Canberra, AUSTRALIA

This movie is a good example of how a story can be carried by the force of the actors' skill and director's art rather than relying the science of special effects. The absence of "action" means that the audience's attention has to be held by the sheer force of the story line, the actors' interpretations of it and the director's presentation of the product as a whole.

It deals honestly with what intelligence gathering is. A mundane craft open to manipulation not only by governments but also by lowly operatives. Sir Alec Guinness, as he later became, portrays the ordinariness of the seedy characters who carry on this trade. Ernie Kovacs gives a splendid presentation of the laid back but sinister not so secret policeman while Burl Ives is as powerful as ever.

The pre-Castro Cuban setting is well portrayed and one can almost feel the tropical heat as the cast of misfit characters go about there subterfuge business.

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more (40 total)

Message Boards

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Our man in Panama??? drhugh
Soundtrack? akim1-1
Thought on Ernie Kovaks character (SPOILER WARNING) wtl471629
Is that Roger Moore? latesnake
What a Great Film!!!! nordiqueboy77
Song in book adambellcambridge
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