I Was Monty's Double Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

I Was Monty's Double Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 17, 2019

John Guillermin's "I Was Monty's Double" a.k.a. "Hell, Heaven or Hoboken" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interview with author/historian Terry Crowdy; short film from British Pathe's vaults; behind the scenes stills; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The impostor

When a true story is adapted for the big screen it is not uncommon to have exaggerations that enhance its drama. Most of these exaggerations are avoidable, but some are not because this is simply the nature of the business. Indeed, when a director recreates a true story his point of view is not the same as that of the people that were part of it, which means that the director introduces a range of cinematic qualities that ultimately reflect his understanding of the events that make up the story. These cinematic qualities -- think atmosphere, tone and attitude -- can then condition the audience to have a very particular experience and ultimately understanding of the story, and both could be flawed. In fact, they can reshape the entire story.

I Was Monty’s Double is a great example of a film where its director, John Guillemin, does precisely that. In it he recreates a true story while introducing cinematic qualities that actually alter its nature. Most interestingly, however, Guillemin does not do it to enhance its drama. Rather, he takes away quite a bit of the drama that defines the original story, and in the process even alters plenty of crucial details. Why? Because the original story is so unbelievable that had he transferred it to his film exactly as it was it would have been dismissed by everyone. (For what it’s worth, even if Guillermin had attempted to do so, in the late 1950s there was still plenty of material that the British government apparently kept classified. In other words, at the time Guillermin likely did as good of a job with the original story as he could).

Here’s a summation of the story from the film: Months before D-Day, Major Harvey (John Mills) approaches an actor (M.E. Clifton James) and informs him that he has been selected to play a part in an upcoming military film. When the overly excited actor, who is serving in the Army but has never been noticed before, agrees to meet Harvey and his boss (Cecil Parker), he discovers that the British government actually wants him to impersonate General Montgomery while preparations for D-Day are underway. While playing ‘Monty’, the actor will be dispatched to Gibraltar and North Africa on a tour to ‘inspect the troops’, and by doing so used to mislead the German military strategists as they prepare for the decisive clash with the Allies. The stunned actor eventually agrees to become ‘Monty’, but once the world becomes his stage and hordes of spies begin following his moves he panics.

James, who really does look a lot like General Montgomery, was part of the real Operation Copperhead that the Foreign Intelligence Service put together and the film is based on his memoirs. But the true adventure that he embarked on was apparently even wilder, or at least this is what author and historian Terry Crowdy claims in a brand new interview that he gave for this release. For example, right before James boarded the plane that was supposed to take him to Gibraltar someone noticed for the very first time that he was missing a finger, so a prosthetic finger had to be made on an extremely short notice to keep the operation alive. To appear exactly like General Montgomery James was also ordered to stop drinking and smoking, but he struggled and throughout his performance apparently made a lot of people very, very nervous. There were a lot of shadow figures around James as well, so when the operation started apparently there was quite a bit of internal deceptive performing as well.

The film has a good sense of humor which is quite deceiving because James’ transformation was deadly serious. According to archival military reports, once ‘Monty’ popped up in Gibraltar German spies immediately notified Berlin and top strategists there started adjusting their plans.

I Was Monty's Double Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, I Was Monty's Double arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

When the press materials for this release arrived there were no technical details about the type of work that was done to ensure that the film looks as it should in high-definition. I also don't know how or when the master that was used to source the release was prepared. However, I can assure you that this is a recent master that was done on a modern equipment. Also, it retains and strengthens the film's native organic qualities as well as possible. Indeed, the entire film looks exceptionally healthy and boasts the type of depth, clarity, fluidity that we have come to expect from top-notch restorations. Close-ups make it painfully obvious that it is so, but even larger panoramic shots reveal the same impressive qualities. The grading is excellent. There are strong but not overdone blacks and very nice and healthy ranges of grays and whites. Image stability is terrific. Lastly, there are no distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or other age-related imperfections to report. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

I Was Monty's Double Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean, stable, and nicely balanced. It has good dynamic intensity as well, though as it is always the case with these types of older films it is not comparable to what modern big-budget productions can deliver. The important thing that needs to underscored here is that the basic qualities of the lossless track are very solid.

I Was Monty's Double Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Terry Crowdy - in this new video interview, author/historian Terry Crowdy discusses the real Operation Copperhead and the part that M.E. Clifton James played in it, some key discrepancies between the original story and the one that John Guillermin's film tells, and the some additional truths and semi-truths about its historic significance. The interview was conducted exclusively for StudioCanal. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Monty's Double (1947) - a short film from British Pathe's vaults. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• John Mills' Home Movie Footage - footage from John Mills' private collection. Silent. (4 min).

• Stills Gallery - behind the scenes stills. With music. (1 min).

I Was Monty's Double Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is anyone's guess precisely how M.E. Clifton James' transformation affected the work of Adolf Hitler's strategists in Berlin, but his adventure before D-Day is quite incredible. John Guillermin's film, I Was Monty's Double, is based on his memoirs and the only flaw that I see in it is the fact that it introduces a light sense of humor to a mission that was actually deadly serious. StudioCanal's recent release of I Was Monty's Double is sourced from an excellent new remaster. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.