''I Was Monty's Double'' (released in the US as ''The Counterfeit General Montgomery''
AbeBooks: "The Counterfeit General Montgomery" - James, M. E. Clifton
Retrieved 2012-01-15) is a book by M. E. Clifton James, first published in London in 1954. It was made into a film in 1958, directed by John Guillermin
John Guillermin (11 November 192527 September 2015) was a French-British film director, writer and producer who was most active in big-budget, action-adventure films throughout his lengthy career.
His more well-known films include ''I Was Monty ...
, from a screenplay adapted by Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 and ...
. It tells the story of Operation Copperhead: James had an uncanny resemblance to General Montgomery in real life, and he was used to impersonate Montgomery to confuse the Germans during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Film vs book
The film broadly follows the account by James in his book of the same name, but according to James, there was no attempt to kidnap him. The German High Command did plan to have him killed, but Hitler vetoed the plan until he could be sure where the landings would actually take place.
Gibraltar was in reality a hotbed of German agents, and James/Montgomery was spied on by several operatives who were smuggled into Gibraltar specifically to discover what "Monty" was up to. James/Montgomery deliberately talked nonsense about non-existent operations and plans, in the hope that the spies would overhear and take such information seriously. According to some accounts, the plan was brought to an abrupt end when James, still in disguise as Montgomery, was seen in public drunk and smoking, while the real Montgomery was a teetotaling non-smoker.
Satires
* '' The Goon Show'' broadcast a parody episode entitled ''I Was Monty's Treble'' on 10 November 1958 (9th series, show 2).
* In 1959, Cecil Parker and Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...
appeared in a spoof version, '' The Night We Dropped a Clanger'' (known as ''Make Mine a Double'' in the U.S.), alongside Brian Rix.
* The 1961 film '' On the Double'', starring Danny Kaye, was also a take-off of ''I Was Monty's Double'', in which Kaye plays the twin roles of the General and the private who (comically but successfully) impersonates him.
* The 1989 Jason Connery film ''Casablanca Express
''Casablanca Express'' is a 1989 Italian action war film starring Jason Connery and Francisco Quinn that was filmed in Morocco. It was produced by Pietro Innocenzi and Umberto Innocenzi and directed by Sergio Martino. The film was later featur ...
'' freely borrows from the original tale, but with Churchill as the kidnap target. Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...
appears briefly as a character resembling Gen. Williams.
* British satirical magazine '' Private Eye'' carried a spoof version of the War Picture Library graphic novels entitled "Battle for Britain", a satire on then-current British political issues, most notably the miners' strike. The author was credited as "Monty Stubble", a pun
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
on Monty's Double.
Since 2010, the name 'Monty's Double' has been adopted by the actor Colin Brooks-Williams as the identity for his popular Field-Marshal Montgomery lookalike and impersonation act, with which he tours 1940s-themed events nationwide ; as a tribute to the Field-Marshal himself and to M.E.Clifton James (the original war-time 'Monty's Double'). Colin has registered the name 'Monty's Double' as his professional stage name with the actor's union 'Equity' and carries the name on his Equity membership card.
See also
*'' The Man Who Never Was''
References
{{Reflist
*James, M. E. Clifton ''I Was Monty's Double'', Rider and Co, London, 1954
1954 non-fiction books
Books about World War II
British autobiographies
Australian autobiographies
Autobiographies adapted into films
Cultural depictions of Bernard Montgomery