Universal Pictures
Directed by Marty Feldman
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Universal Vault Collection)
Identical twins are adopted by an aging English royal, one bred to be a "hero" and the other perpetually in his shadow. The family diamond goes missing and so do the sons who have joined the Legion. It's all a framework for Feldman's unique sense of humor, part Mel Brooks and part Monty Python. Film buffs will enjoy the appearance of Gary Cooper from the original Beau Geste, a hilarious scene in which Feldman shares a smoke of "Moroccan gold" with Cooper. Later, there is a great scene incorporating silent films and intertitles. It's these touches that make the film as much a homage as a satire. The funniest bit, though, has to be the commercial which interrupts a fight scene in the desert in which Avery Schreiber appears as a used camel salesman, introduced by Ed McMahon. One of my favorite comedies from the 70s, and the Universal Vault print looks fantastic.
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