I Was Monty's Double

I Was Monty's Double is a British wartime drama built on an unusual true story. British intelligence needs to convince the Germans that a major Allied landing will take place in the Mediterranean rather than where it is actually planned. The man they find for the job is an actor who bears a striking resemblance to General Bernard Montgomery. Recruited by Major Harvey, the performer is used as a decoy, sent abroad to be seen in Montgomery's place while the real operation proceeds elsewhere. The tension comes from the gap between the actor's civilian instincts and the danger of a deception that must hold up under German scrutiny.

John Guillermin directed the film, the earliest of the eight titles listed for him, made well before The Bridge at Remagen, Shaft in Africa, The Towering Inferno, King Kong, Death on the Nile, Sheena and King Kong Lives. Bryan Forbes wrote the screenplay, Maxwell Setton produced, and the large credited cast runs to 38. John Mills plays Major Harvey, Cecil Parker appears as Colonel E.F. Logan, and M.E. Clifton James plays himself alongside his impression of Montgomery, the film drawing on his own book about the episode. Marius Goring, Barbara Hicks and Forbes round out the main cast.

The film was released in October 1958 and runs 101 minutes. Its two ratings sit level: 6.9 out of 10 on IMDb from around 1,900 votes, and the same average on TMDB from a much smaller base of 28. The larger IMDb sample suggests a modest but settled reputation rather than a divisive one.