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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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

... required a far more playful touch.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 26, 2025

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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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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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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

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Audience Member

A real curate's egg. Tonally, neither amusing as a satire of Cold War espionage nor thrilling enough as a spy yarn. Carol Reed has form in this milieu, not least partnering Graham Greene in another double-cross drama, but everyone here seems miscast - Alec Guinness too cool and camp, Burl Ives implausible as a German spy, Noel Coward just wrong as an immediately suspicious-looking intelligence scout. Nicely photographed by Oswald Morris in Havana, it passes the time.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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: Kingsmead productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation
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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