Publisher: CinemaSerf June 4, 2023
This is quite a curious film from Bryan Forbes. On the face of it, it's just a well produced "Topkapi" (1964) rip off without the humour or the style; but if you give it a chance it's a bit more sophisticated. Michael Caine is on good form as a petty thief who is recruited by the enigmatic Giovanna Ralli and Eric Portman (Fe and Richard Moreau) to carry out a heist that will net them millions of pesetas from a safe in Spain. This does't quite go to plan, indeed it's at time quite comical - but they then move on to an even more daring challenge and that's when the characterisations start to make more of an impact on the rather ordinary plot. Eric Portman is the star here for me. Even though his delivery can be a bit annoying at times, this was probably the only time I ever saw him playing a part that reflected his own personality, and as we discover more about the rather quirky, shall we say, nature of the marriage between the two then things begin to make a bit more sense and the film a bit more intriguing. It is way, way, too long - lots of beautiful photography that advances the story not a jot, and I didn't love the conclusion, that seemed unnecessarily finite, but for a film I'd never heard of until yesterday, I think it is well worth a watch.