inventing the enemy
by Douglas Messerli
Graham
Greene (screenplay, based on his novel), Carol Reed (director) Our Man in Havana / 1959, USA 1960
Growing out of
the late 1950s and early 1960s cold-war hysteria, Our Man in Havana takes a comic look at British intelligence and
spy-laden intrigues of James Bond and other later incarnations. But, in some
respects, Carol Reed's seemingly light satirical version, is far darker than
the others simply because of the diffidence of the central character, James
Wormold (Alec Guinness). A vacuum cleaner salesman in pre-revolutionary Havana,
Wormold is having a hard time making a living. He has a pretty daughter (Jo
Morrow) whose education and penchant for lavish spending demands deep pockets.
In one of the earliest scenes, the selfish Milly has just bought herself a
saddle and horse, along with a need for a place to ride it, to say nothing of
its feed and care. Coincidently, Wormold is visited by a "secret"
operative, Hawthorne (Noel Coward), who parades through the city—much like the
mad Englishman of his famous song—dressed mid-day in natty attire and followed
by a gaggle of young boys. Pretending an interest in Wormold's vacuum cleaners,
he sounds out the salesman about the possibility of serving as "our man in
Havana," a man on the lookout for suspicious activities. If nothing else
Hawthorne has perfect timing.
Their
later meeting in the bathroom of a nearby bar continues to mock Hawthorne's
role as an operative, as he runs water in all the sinks and lures Wormold into
a cubicle like he was about to commit a sexual act instead of simply informing
him that his code name will be 559200 strike 5. Coward's public homosexuality
further makes ridiculous the notion of Hawthorne's ability to cover things up!
Now suddenly Wormold has a regular income, is able to join the country
club, and throw his daughter the kind of birthday party which will continue to
spoil her. But what does a spy do? And how can he attain further operatives?
Without a pang of regret, Wormold decides to simply make them up, using the
names of club members and other slight acquaintances. The London service,
headed by "C" (Ralph Richardson) is delighted with his success. When
Wormold further thickens the stew with imaginary drawings—based mostly on his
vacuum cleaner equipment—of supposed rocket-launchers and other dangerous
machines, he is paid even greater sums, finally allowing himself and his
daughter the life she demands.
That she
has also attracted the eye of the local Cuban chief of police, Captain Segura
(Ernie Kovacs)—known as a man who "beats his prisoners, but...never
touches them"—further complicates things and draws even more attention to
Wormold. The arrival of a secretary, Beatrice (Maureen O'Hara) and radioman
heats the situation even further; Wormold now must work harder still to
maintain his deceit.
Havana is played for all its tropical atmosphere, as a world of dark
events and strange goings-on. Wormold's best friend is a German, whom we later
discover worships Bismarck in the way others had Hitler. When he is murdered,
it seems that the weave of international intrigue is not simply something
Wormold has "made up," but a mysterious reality that endangers his
own life. Of course that is precisely the point, intrigue and paranoia only
lead to further intrigue and paranoia; imaginary enemies eventually become real
ones.
Fearing
for his life, Wormold is forced to reveal the truth of his situation, admitting
the facts to Beatrice. Called to London, Wormold, together with "C"
and Hawthorne, agrees to fabricate yet one more tale: the missiles have been "dismantled,"
honors bestowed upon Wormold, and he is given a London job—teaching espionage
classes. Now he can send his daughter away to school in Switzerland and keep
her out of the hands of Captain Segura.
In short, having enemies, so it turns out, is beneficial to everyone. It
is friends who are the dangerous folk. But then, Senator McCarthy had already
showed us that!
Los
Angeles, March 7, 2012
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