Our Man in Havana

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Our Man in Havana

Released Jan 27, 1960

1h 47m

Mystery & Thriller

Comedy

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95%

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20 Reviews

77%

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1,000+ Ratings

British expatriate Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) runs a vacuum cleaner store in Havana, Cuba. He has promised his vain daughter, Milly (Jo Morrow), a horse and a country club membership, which leaves him desperate for money. When Hawthorne (Noel Coward) proposes he become a paid British agent and recruit other spies, he accepts, and haplessly embarks on a new career. Though he's delighted when he meets gorgeous fellow spy Beatrice Severn (Maureen O'Hara), Wormold finds he's now a target.

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TIME Magazine

The mixture of mayhem and heehaw is particularly tricky to handle, and not even the sure hand of Director Reed has always achieved a smooth blend.

Aug 2, 2011

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

So much potential in casting, script etc... but the translation from the book didn't quite make sense on screen.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 2, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

Polished, diverting entertainment, brilliant in its comedy but falling apart towards the end when undertones of drama, tragedy and message crop up.

Aug 27, 2008

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Alec Guinness is aptly cast.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 10, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

What begins as another of Reed's acerbic, ironic, and thoroughly readable tales gives way to a shadowy satire in which nationalism presents the greatest danger and intelligence is a generous term.

Rated: 4/4

Feb 14, 2022

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Coward's performance is a glorious caricature of the impeccable bureaucrat.

Oct 21, 2019

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Toni A

"Our Man in Havana" is a delightful and subtly humorous film. The acting is superb, and I truly wish more movies like this were made. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/31/24

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Alec B

A very droll comedy. Some of the commentary isn't fully explored but Guiness' central performance is deeply complex and often hilarious. His interactions with Coward are delightful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

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Liam D

While it feels like a spoof of Hitchcock Thrillers and Spy Capers but director Carol Reed (Mutiny on the Bounty, The Key) and star Alec Guinness (The Fall of the Roman Empire, Cromwell) adds some gravities

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/27/21

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steve d

It is fun and different.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

A classic following the novel brilliantly.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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paul d

I enjoyed the clever story and dry humor, the images of pre-revolution Havana, and a number of actors who command the screen: Ives, O'Hara, Kovacs and most of all Guiness. The movie has three parts: the opening, which introduces all the characters and themes and is relatively light-hearted; the middle, which is a gentle and droll spy parody; and the final third, which takes on more serious, darker tones about the human costs when life goes off-course.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Carol Reed

Director

Alec Guinness

Jim Wormold

Burl Ives

Dr. Hasselbacher

Maureen O'Hara

Beatrice Severn

Ernie Kovacs

Capt. Segura

Noël Coward

Hawthorne

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Synopsis

British expatriate Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) runs a vacuum cleaner store in Havana, Cuba. He has promised his vain daughter, Milly (Jo Morrow), a horse and a country club membership, which leaves him desperate for money. When Hawthorne (Noel Coward) proposes he become a paid British agent and recruit other spies, he accepts, and haplessly embarks on a new career. Though he's delighted when he meets gorgeous fellow spy Beatrice Severn (Maureen O'Hara), Wormold finds he's now a target.

Director: Carol Reed
Producer: Carol Reed
Screenwriter: Graham Greene
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Kingsmead productions
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 27, 1960, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 15, 2010
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Mono

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