On the Double

May. 19,1961      
Rating:
6.4
Trailer Synopsis Cast

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.

Danny Kaye as  Pfc. Ernie Williams
Dana Wynter as  Lady Margaret MacKenzie-Smith
Wilfrid Hyde-White as  Colonel Somerset
Margaret Rutherford as  Lady Vivian
Diana Dors as  Sergeant Bridget Stanhope
Allan Cuthbertson as  Captain Patterson
Jesse White as  Corporal Joseph Praeger
Gregory Walcott as  Colonel Rock Houston
Terence de Marney as  Sergeant Colin Twickenham
Rex Evans as  General Carleton Brown Wiffingham

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Reviews

Scanialara
1961/05/19

You won't be disappointed!

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Senteur
1961/05/20

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

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Portia Hilton
1961/05/21

Blistering performances.

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Kirandeep Yoder
1961/05/22

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

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Robert J. Maxwell
1961/05/23

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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joshgrey13
1961/05/24

Danny Kaye has to be one of the greatest of the giggle creators of all time. With instinct that is uncanny, he can unleash a torrent of laughter on either side of the ocean. Using that amazing voice, and unique body language all of his own, Danny Kaye becomes whomever he desires to be, in any language. He knew how to create, without the need of crudity, and it remains a beautiful fashion, forty years after the fact. Seldom lacking that twinkle in his eye, anything could and usually did happen in his films, especially On the Double. It has always made me wonder how ofter might this have happened, for it is said that each of us has a direct mirror opposite wandering about on this planet. The list of possibilities is endless. Hopefully, each will have the same bad eye, so that the patch which covers it will be permitted to remain in place, and not confuse family members. Beware to all our beloved Aunts. This is one in the top 5 list I have for Danny Kaye, and it needs to be up and out there on VIDIO if not DVD.

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jonssondrx
1961/05/25

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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Tarfsideoval
1961/05/26

I can remember seeing this film on T.V.and it made me laugh,the type of film i look for.I am not sure why i did not record it.It does not seem that long ago,but my memory could be playing tricks.Perhaps the T.V.showing was before i owned a video in the 1980s.However,there are plenty of films which have been shown several times.Why not this one?

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