Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with today’s installment of A Movie A Day.
[For those now joining us, A Movie A Day is my attempt at filling in gaps in my film knowledge. My DVD collection is thousands strong, many of them films I haven’t seen yet, but picked up as I scoured used DVD stores. Each day I’ll pull a previously unseen film from my collection or from my DVR and discuss it here. Each movie will have some sort of connection to the one before it, be it cast or crew member.]
Alright, two AMADs in one day! Whoda thunk it? If you’ve been following closely you’ll have noticed I missed a day compiling the Holiday Shopping Guide. This is my catch-up. Make sure you check out the last AMAD column, covering the awesome Elia Kazan flick PANIC IN THE STREETS!
This installment will focus on the ‘70s reteaming of Robert Redford and screenwriter William Goldman… in fact, this is the first credited screenplay from Goldman after their incredibly iconic and entertaining BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.
Peter Yates directed this adaptation of a Donald E. Westlake story about a diamond that refuses to get robbed, despite the best efforts of a world class, if unlucky, master thief. And it doesn’t really work...
It’s a good movie, don’t get me wrong. There’s too much going for it to completely write it off. Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand, Moses Gunn and Zero Mostel (who we’re following over from PANIC IN THE STREETS) are all great in their roles, balancing the humor just right as to not tip the balance into ridiculous territory.
The script is also very strong and I think under different circumstances this would be a movie very well remembered to this day.
It just seems to be one of those movies that has everything going for it and then something just doesn’t click right. In short, it’s missing that natural energy and confidence that you can plan for, but can’t always count on.
I have to lay some of the blame at the feet of Peter Yates, who I actually like as a director, but even I have to admit that he’s hit and miss. For every BULLITT there’s a fascinating misfire like THE DEEP. Two of his films that I will unabashedly love are MOTHER, JUGS & SPEED and KRULL, but even with KRULL it’s a movie that is missed masterpiece of fantasy. He cast a very dull lead and introduced a badass weapon that ultimately does dick-all but get stuck in a giant monster at the end.
This film reminded me of THE DEEP, which was a damn fun book by Peter Bencheley and had some great performances from Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset (and her see-through t-shirt skin-diving opening which is sure to have awakened puberty in many a young boy) and Nick Nolte. It had all that going for it, but it just didn’t click, ending up as a competent film, but not a particularly memorable one.
Same goes here.
The flick is a little over 90 minutes long and there are 4 heists, all after the same diamond. Redford and his crew are hired by an African representative at the United Nations to steal a diamond from a museum. Apparently, the UN are debating on whether or not to give his nation back its famous and valuable diamond and he doesn’t trust them to make the right decision, so he goes ahead and looks for people to grab it.
Moses Gunn plays Dr. Amusa, the African UN dude and hearing him speak in this movie sends me back to my childhood… I love, love, love THE NEVERENDING STORY and I’ll never forget his weird pointy-head spokesperson for the childlike empress who sends Atreyu on the mission to save Fantasia. I know he’s done bigger and more respectable, like his small part in ROOTS or his stage work, but that’s what nostalgia does for ya’, I guess.
Robert Redford is the brains of the outfit, a crook who is great at his job, but seems to always get picked up. It’s almost a pattern with him. In fact, we meet him in jail, as he’s being released. He’s picked up by his well-meaning, but kind of bumbling brother-in-law, a locksmith played by George Segal.
Segal wants into the life of excitement he can only experience second-hand via Redford and has already set up this job. They pull in Ron Leibman, the charismatic New Yorker and getaway driver and Paul Sand, an extra set of hands to pull of the heist.
The museum heist is actually really great and executed well. They cause a car accident outside to distract the guards, with Leibman planting himself, fully covered in gore make-up, a few feet from the overturned car. It’s pretty genius, actually, a perfect way to clear the museum and keep the guards occupied, thinking a man is dying outside.
Of course, things go wrong at the last minute and one of the group is nabbed… unfortunately for them it’s the one with the diamond, Paul Sand. Sand swallows it and is picked up.
The next act is about stealing Sand himself out of prison.
It doesn’t end there, with two more heists planned to get the diamond. It spirals out of control so much that Redford becomes obsessed with it. He takes it personally. It’s not about the job anymore. He almost views the diamond as his adversary and the only way he can let it go is to finally get his hand on it.
See, it’s not a bad set-up for a crime comedy and it’s a great cast. Zero Mostel plays Sand’s father and he’s particularly great. I just find Mostel fun to watch. The man uses his face like no one else, his expressions priceless.
Final Thoughts: Everyone is great in the movie (keep an eye out for an early, early appearance by Christopher Guest as a cop in the epic break-in to a police precinct), but it just doesn’t work. Shots don’t really flow together, the editing feeling awkward and uneven. I refuse to believe that’s the only problem, though. I think sometimes you can have all the right ingredients, follow the recipe to perfection and the meal just doesn’t come out right. That’s what happened to this movie. It’s okay and worth a watch for what works, just not horribly successful.
Here’s what we have lined up for the next week:
Monday, December 1st: WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)
Tuesday, December 2nd: THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN (1973)
Wednesday, December 3rd: CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1971)
Thursday, December 4th: THE CINCINNATI KID (1965)
Friday, December 5th: POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961)
Saturday, December 6th: MIKEY & NICKY (1976)
Sunday, December 7th: TWO MINUTE WARNING (1976)
Tomorrow we follow George Segal over to WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? See you then!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
