Year:  1968
Rating: 5.0

---

I was surprised that I had never heard of this film when I came across it. It looked to be right up my alley. It stars Michael Caine when he was the coolest actor on the planet having done the Harry Palmer spy films, Gambit and Alfie and was now doing a heist film with the music of John Barry. This had to be good. An unknown treasure. Well not really as it turns out. Less 60's cool than 60's tedious psycho drama. This was a lump of coal in my Christmas stocking. It took me four sittings to finish this which is never a good sign.


Henry (Caine) is a cat burglar who has put himself into an alcoholic recovery program in order to get close to a wealthy target who has a stash of diamonds in his mansion. There had been other attempts to steal his diamonds before and they had always ended up bottoms up. Henry is approached by an older man (Eric Portman) and his much younger wife (the lovely Italian actress Giovanna Ralli) to work together to steal the diamonds.


You sort of know exactly where this will be going as Henry can't keep his heavy lidded eyes off of the wife and she seems more than willing. So this hoped for heist film turns into this turgid perverse ménage à trois mind game between the three of them. The husband has a bit of young male crumpet on the side as well just to make it into a square. Between all the come hither looks, longing and jumps into the sack, you just want to yell at them - will you frigging get on with it and steal something. Eventually they do but it feels like an inconvenience to them. Admittedly, much of my annoyance with this film had to do with expectations that I brought into this - I expected another Gambit - and got a mini Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf instead. On the plus side the heists are well done, the acting is fine, the music from Barry is terrific and it looks great but it moves like a slug across an open field.