On the Double
On the Double
| 19 May 1961 (USA)
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American GI Ernie Williams, admittedly weak-kneed, has an uncanny resemblance to British Colonel MacKenzie. Williams, also a master of imitation and disguise, is asked to impersonate the Colonel, ostensibly to allow the Colonel to make a secret trip East. What Williams is not told is that the Colonel has recently been a target of assassins. After the Colonel's plane goes down, the plan changes and Williams maintains the disguise to confuse the Nazis about D-Day.

Reviews
ShangLuda

Admirable film.

Curapedi

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

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KnotStronger

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

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Tayyab Torres

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

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Robert J. Maxwell

Danny Kaye is an American private in 1943 who is pressed into posing as a British General in order to deceive the Nazis about a coming invasion. Kaye struts about in his British uniform, slapping his swagger stick on the furniture, getting mixed up about which eye his patch should cover, being captured by the Germans, escaping after a frenzied chase through a German night club, and winds up with Dana Wynter, the lovely widow of the real British General, in his arms.It's a kind of farcical version of a real historical incident, shown in the feature film "I Was Monty's Double," but although it's fast, although it's zany, it's not much of a laugh riot. Rather more of a smile demonstration.The film is a pleasant enough diversion, and Dana Wynter is a knockout, but Kaye's nonsensical gibberish isn't too well folded into the plot and the impersonations of Marlene Dietrich and others have a slapdash quality, as if they were written into the plot because the writers figured the audience expected them to be written into the plot.Nothing to be avoided. Nothing to write home about either.

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bkoganbing

I was 14 and saw On The Double when it first came out and was impressed then by the regal beauty of Dana Wynter who was always playing Lady this or Mrs. that and always in the upper class of the United Kingdom. I also thought Danny Kaye was pretty funny.On The Double gives Kaye his usual stage for patter and mimicry. The mimicry is most important because Kaye is asked to impersonate a one eyed British general who he bares a resemblance to. Kaye does other imitations like Churchill and Hitler. I'll bet could have come up with a mean FDR had he the occasion to. The one he doesn't fool is the general's wife played by Dana Wynter who has put up with his frequent infidelities. Something about Kaye does touch her. It's always that we with movie comedians who play nebbishes, but funny nebbishes whether it's Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis or Danny Kaye.Wynter gets into the spirit of things and at a very posh society party in an incident precipitated by Margaret Rutherford turns into an old fashioned food fight that John Belushi couldn't have handled better.Britain's Marilyn Monroe, Diana Dors is also on hand as the shapely sergeant that the general is having his current fling with. On The Double is not the best of Danny Kaye films, yet his legion of fans will find it suits their taste admirably.

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jonssondrx

I must have seen this movie on TV decades ago. It stars Danny Kaye, Dana Wynter and Margaret Rutherford. According to a comment I saw on this movie, it is not available on DVD. I searched on Amazon for it and couldn't find it there. This is one of the funniest movies I ever saw. Danny is doing his usual forged identity. And to add a twist to it, the person he is impersonating has a bad eye and wears a patch, but Danny's bad eye is the opposite eye and he has to wear a contact in his bad eye so he can cover his good eye. The scene where he drops his contact is priceless. Also, the scene when his aunt (Margaret Rutherford) shows up at a party still makes me laugh just thinking about it. Margaret gives an incredible performance, and Danny is at his funniest. I hope it comes on TV again.

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Buddy-11

I've been a big Danny Kaye fan from an early age. I've seen all of his movies, minus one or two. But I will have to say with all honesty, that "Double Time" is without a doubt, one of his best works. I was lucky enough to catch this one on the AMC channel (American Movie Classics) and to this day is the funniest movie I have ever seen. I laughed until I couldn't even see the T.V. screen through the tears. But unfortunately, this one is not available on video, which I really don't understand because it was one of his later films. (1960's) I do wish someone, somehow would make ths happen.

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