Bumbling bureaucrat Cadogan Carlton-Browne (Terry-Thomas) is sent to the previously forgotten country of Gallardia to find out why the Americans and Soviets are suddenly interested in it. The new king (Ian Bannen) is in a struggle for power with Grand Duke Alexis (John Le Mesurier), and is not being aided by the illegal dealings of his Prime Minister (Peter Sellers). The incompetence of Carlton-Browne and his conservative superior, Foreign Secretary Tufton-Slade (Raymond Huntley), only make things far worse.
A pleasant satire of British self-importance and governmental ineptitude, Carlton-Browne of the F.O. takes a light tone, and with an added movie-style romance, secures itself a position squarely in the middle of British ‘50s comedy. It is a movie that takes few chances, so is rarely laugh-out-loud funny or meaningful, but it also rarely fails.
However, this is an assessment made forty-five year after its release (although one I also held when I first saw it over twenty years ago). In 1959, Carlton-Browne’s commentary on the folly of British colonialism and the inability to adjust to modern realities was thought to be biting. WWII was still remembered by most, and the days of the British Empire were not so distant. Many didn’t realize that England’s place in the world had changed, and more were anxious to ignore the fact. To them, this was an uncomfortable movie that rubbed salt in the wounds. Of course, a majority of English movie-goers weren’t concerned with such conservative silliness—of dreaming of a time that never really existed—so saw nothing to take personally. Without the social relevance, what we have is a farce, with a bit of romance.
The characters are all familiar. Terry-Thomas is at home as the clueless upper-class twit whose only concern upon being sent on a delicate diplomatic mission is that he’ll “miss Ascot.” Raymond Huntley once again takes on the role of the bombastic politician, repeating his performance from The Green Man. In that film, Alastair Sim’s assassin was more than happy to accept a contract on such a pompous windbag. In Carlton-Browne of the F.O., Tufton-Slade allows us to sympathize with Carlton-Browne, since he is every bit as incompetent and self-important as the title character, while also being nasty, one of the few bad traits Carlton-Browne doesn’t possess. Miles Malleson, who often appeared in films of the era as a befuddled third banana, plays…well, a befuddled third banana. Sellers plays a standard, greasy, corrupt, Southern European (in a country where everyone has a different accent). The characters and the actors have that comfortable old shoe feeling.
I’ve seen Carlton-Browne of the F.O. many times over the years, always enjoyed it, and rarely thought about it after it was over.
Originally released in the U.S. as Man in a Cocked Hat.