This is one of those charming romantic heist-like
films that had their moment of popularity back in the 1960s. Films like Gambit,
How to Steal a Million, The Italian Job, $ (Dollars) and Oceans 11. Light
on their feet and not to be taken too seriously. There was no violence in
them and the ladies were lovely. The men too with Peter O'Toole, Michael
Caine and the Rat Pack. And Warren Beatty who stars in this one with Susanna
York. York was pop hot at the time - part of the London scene of Carnaby
and Twiggy. Beatty was a legend in the making - Bonnie and Clyde cemented
that the following year. York goes ditzy here and Beatty is bow-tie handsome
with less substance than a stick of gum. They make a lovely couple and for
all the conniving that goes on, that is what the film is really about. Two
beautiful people.
Beatty is a playboy - wealthy through gambling
and quick-witted with an eye for the ladies. He sees York pull the carburetor
out of a truck of a rude driver and he is smitten and follows her. They mesh
but he has to go off for business. His kind of business. Gambling in Monte
Carlo. But he makes a stop first where he breaks into a player card manufacturer
and tweaks the master enough so that he can tell which card is which. It
gives him a slight advantage in playing Baccarat chemin-de-fer - Bond's favorite
card game. He spots York watching people play and they carry on their affair
between winning pots of money. They really are lovely people. Her very eccentric
father (Clive Revill) it so happens works for Scotland Yard and has been
looking for a professional gambler. He figures out what Beatty has been up
to and blackmails him into one more job. Beat the biggest drug dealer in
Europe in poker. Break him. Dominion as played by Eric Porter is right out
of a guide for Bond villains with his Napoleonic complex, castle and a habit
of burning alive his enemies. He doesn't like losing. It is a bit of a Bond
want-to-be by way of Casino Royale even with the opening credits from Maurice
Binder.
