''Operation Snatch'' (also known as ''Top Secret'' ) is a 1962 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...

and

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...

and directed by Robert Day. It was written by Alan Hackney, Len Heath and John Warren from a story by Paul Mills.

Plot

The story takes place in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, and is based on a local legend: if the resident

Barbary ape The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the genus ' ...

s were ever to leave, the British would lose

. This wartime comedy has Terry-Thomas as the keeper of the apes. When one of the apes goes missing, he is required to go behind enemy lines to capture another one, or be personally responsible for the loss of Gibraltar.

Cast

as Lieutenant Wigg *

as Major Hobson *

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden ...

as Evans * Jocelyn Lane as Bianca Tabori * Mark Eden as Mosquito pilot * Mario Fabrizi as Tall Man * John Gabriel as Major Frink * Gerard Heinz as Colonel Waldock * Bernard Hunter as Captain Baker * Dinsdale Landen as Captain Wellington * Howard H. Lang as P.T. Sergeant *

Angus Lennie Angus Wilson Lennie (18 April 1930 – 14 September 2014) was a Scottish film, television and theatre actor with a 50-year career. His numerous credits include the character of Flying Officer Archibald Ives in '' The Great Escape'', and Shugh ...

as Vic *

Jeremy Lloyd John Jeremy Lloyd (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful British sitcoms, including '' Are You Being Served?'' and '' 'Allo 'Allo!''. Early ...

as Captain James *

John Meillon John Meillon ( ; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989) was an Australian character actor known for dramatic as well as comedy roles. He portrayed Walter Reilly in the films '' Crocodile Dundee'' and '' Crocodile Dundee II''. He also voiced advertiseme ...

as medical officer * Warren Mitchell as contact man *

Lee Montague Leonard Goldberg (16 October 1927 – 30 March 2025), known professionally as Lee Montague, was an English actor noted for his roles in film and television, usually playing tough guys. Early life Montague was born in Bow, London. His family wa ...

as Miklos Tabori * Nyree Dawn Porter as W.R.A.C. officer * John Scott as Lieutenant General Hepworth * Mark Singleton as Prime Minister's secretary * Graham Stark as soldier * Michael Trubshawe as Colonel Marston *

James Villiers James Michael Hyde Villiers (29 September 1933 – 18 January 1998) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Independent'' as "one of the country's most distinctive character actors, with ripe articulation and a flair for displaying supe ...

as Lieutenant Keen * Ian Whittaker as Dyson *

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

appears in an uncredited role disguised as a Gibraltar Rock Ape

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Clumsy British farce, in which a badly directed Terry-Thomas endeavours to extract laughs from a wan script which pins its faith in jokes about monkeys, bananas, thickly-accented spies and fatuous British espionage agents." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 3/5 stars, calling it "enjoyably daft," writing: "There are too many stock characters, but this does have several ridiculously funny scenes."

References

External links

* {{Robert Day 1962 films 1962 comedy films British comedy films British black-and-white films Films shot at Associated British Studios British World War II films Films directed by Robert Day Films shot in Gibraltar Military comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films Films scored by Ken Jones

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links