Our Man in Havana is a Vacuum Salesman

     Carol Reed's film adaptation of Greene's Our Man in Havana has all the features that make up a great Cold War movie, in my opinion. It's a dark comedy, it's satirical, everyone in high command in government is absolutely inept, and the plot is absurd. As someone who loved Dr. Strangelove, I have to say I really liked this movie. Its biggest strength is in how well it manages to balance the comedic and the serious, deftly switching tones in a natural and easy way. The protagonist, Wormold, does not start out as much of a hero, considering he lies to the British intelligence agency--a rather ironic title based on their behavior--by making up stories and designing weapons based on his vacuum cleaners.

The obvious breaks in the sound are due to my editing.

However, by the time the movie ends he has done quite a few dangerous and brave things that I won't go into detail with because of spoilers.



    Reed likes to focus quite a bit on the absurdities in the intelligence services in the Cold War, and of course includes a few jokes about the atomic bomb. In this particular scene, the agency reviews the sketches sent back by Wormold.

The head of the department criticizes others for getting hung up on details, yet wastes time commenting on the flower Hawthorne is wearing. All of them get hung up over nothing, and for the most part none of they say anything intelligent. The, "I'm no scientist, but this thing looks pretty big." stands out. Then there's the wonderful bit about atomic bombs becoming conventional weapons that could only come out of a Cold War satire. I notice here that no one will simply tell the supervisor that they think Wormold is lying simply because they are afraid to challenge him. He's buying into all the stories because he knows less than any of them about what's going on in Cuba considering he doesn't even know what hemisphere the Caribbean is in and has no business being trusted with any decision making or analysis on the subject.

    This movie was not what I expected at all. I imagined something far less humorous and/or filled with Catholic symbolism, based on the other works we have read. However, religion only came up a few times in this movie and only in very vague and passing comments concerning Wormold's daughter and marriage, plus one scene with the chief of police talking to a nun. Wormold is himself a good man, despite his lies, but never mentions religion except to say that he is not Catholic. Finally, there is one scene where Wormold confesses his lies to his secretary, provided by the intelligence agency. She responds that she'd be in the Persian Gulf while things blew over for redemption through sweat and tears. It's a theme that appears prominently in Greene's The Power and the Glory, the idea of redeeming oneself through suffering.