On the Double

I can remember seeing this film on T.V.and it made me laugh,the type of film i look for.I am not sure why i did not record it.It does not seem that long ago,but my memory could be playing tricks.Perhaps the T.V.showing was before i owned a video in the 1980s.However,there are plenty of films which have been shown several times.Why not this one?

I must have seen this movie on TV decades ago. It stars Danny Kaye, Dana Wynter and Margaret Rutherford. According to a comment I saw on this movie, it is not available on DVD. I searched on Amazon for it and couldn't find it there. This is one of the funniest movies I ever saw. Danny is doing his usual forged identity. And to add a twist to it, the person he is impersonating has a bad eye and wears a patch, but Danny's bad eye is the opposite eye and he has to wear a contact in his bad eye so he can cover his good eye. The scene where he drops his contact is priceless. Also, the scene when his aunt (Margaret Rutherford) shows up at a party still makes me laugh just thinking about it. Margaret gives an incredible performance, and Danny is at his funniest. I hope it comes on TV again.

Admittedly, I am a big Danny Kaye fan, and I've been fortunate enough to have seen this film several times on late night TV. If you like Danny Kaye, this film and "The Court Jester" would both be must sees. Dana Winter, who plays the role of Col. Mckenzie's wife, is perfect for her role in "On the Double", and the rest of the supporting cast is excellent as well. Kaye is at his best, and you will never hear the phrase "the usual" again without thinking of this film. The party scene where Kaye attempts to perform a Highland fling is outstanding. Kaye is multi-talented, and this film shows that very well. Wish it was available for purchase, either on DVD or video. If anyone knows of how to obtain an copy of this film, please let me know.

The tempo is unusually fast here for a Danny Kaye film, as you had learned to take it more easy with his films like "Me and the Colonel" and the very serious "Five Pennies", but apparently he agreed to return to professional hilarious farce again and with a vengeance. It's all British although there are a few Americans in it as well, but the relief of the film and what saves it is the lovely Dana Wynter, wife of the monstrous general he has to impersonate, who hated her husband and came back home just to divorce him, but found Danny Kasye instead as something of her husband's better alter ego. They both appear together in the beginning of the film in the first of many hilarious scenes, but he is never heard of again, while the fake conquers the scene. The top hilarious scene is when he gets kidnapped to Germany and has to go through all kinds of ordeals, turning them to great slapstick fun, until he faces his own assassins. Actually, you miss the serious Danny Kaye here from his two previous films, to which genre he never returned. He was funniest as a clown but he proved his artistic worth best in those two changeling films.

I've been a big Danny Kaye fan from an early age. I've seen all of his movies, minus one or two. But I will have to say with all honesty, that "Double Time" is without a doubt, one of his best works. I was lucky enough to catch this one on the AMC channel (American Movie Classics) and to this day is the funniest movie I have ever seen. I laughed until I couldn't even see the T.V. screen through the tears. But unfortunately, this one is not available on video, which I really don't understand because it was one of his later films. (1960's) I do wish someone, somehow would make ths happen.