Sieben Diebe

Seven Thieves is an intricately plotted and well acted caper yarn. It combines beautiful Monte Carlo setting with seven distinct characterization. A host of international professionals are on hand including Edward G. Robinson, Eli Wallach, Sebastian Cabot, Alexander Scourby, Berry Kroger, Marcel Hillaire, John Berardino, and most of all, Joan Collins and Rod Steiger.

Collins, generally not one of my favorites, gives a marvelous performance, surprisingly reminiscent of Sophia Loren. Steiger starts the movie off being belligerent and one-note, so much so, that I wasn't certain I would continue watching. But, soon we gradually see why Edward G. wants him on his team so badly. Next, things get very taut and laced with whimsy and dry humor.

If you enjoy caper films that make you think, watch this one.

"Seven Thieves" is an average but interesting little "rob the casino" caper, raised a level by the quality of the acting.

Edward G. Robinson stars as "the professor" who masterminds a plot to rob a Monte Carlo casino. For Robinson, this represents his one last chance to make a major score before he cashes in. Rod Steiger plays on old acquaintance from the States whom Robinson tries to recruit in order to complete his team. Joan Collins, looking gorgeous, is the femme fatale and Eli Wallach as Poncho the Sax playing member of the group. Michael Dante, Alexander Scourby and Berry Kroeger round out the rest of the "Seven Thieves". Sebastian Cabot also appears as the casino director.

Robinson in what amounts to a supporting role, is excellent as always. Steiger's method acting seems a little misplaced here, however under Henry Hathaway's direction, he does deliver a good performance. Collins was never more beautiful and performs a couple of provocative (for 1960) dances in a cabaret with Wallach.

"Seven Thieves" is always interesting but contains little in the way of physical action. There are a couple of surprises as well, but I thought the ending was a bit of a let down. Nevertheless, It is still an interesting film to watch if only see the performances of the stellar cast.

Remember "Mission: Impossible"? The TV series, not the movie. It was always fun to watch the team pull off one of their stunts, because they balanced their Rube Goldberg concepts with NASA-quality planning. This movie is cut from the same cloth. It's about a casino robbery engineered during one of the gambling hall's biggest celebrations. The eponymous crooks must work in synchronized unison to fulfill their plan. Unlike the MI series, though, they aren't all quite equally devoted to their mission or, at least not to their particular roles within it. Still, they have a clever series of steps that get more interesting to watch, even as it seems increasingly likely that the plan will succeed.

Along the way, there are some interesting mixtures of personality types, some mysterious backgrounds waiting to be uncovered, and a degree of slipperiness that make it hard to be sure just who we should be rooting for. Indeed, part of the charm of this film is that there are _no_ "good guys," yet we want the thieves to get away with their crime.

A nifty, thoughtful piece, with little action and no sfx (in the current sense, anyway). An added plus for some of us is a pair of fairly sexy dance numbers a 27-year-old Joan Collins does "nearly naked," as her character puts it. She was at her physical prime in this film, but don't underestimate her acting ability. She carries the sole female role with every bit as much mastery as Wallach, Steiger, and the oddly endearing Edward G. Robinson carry theirs. John Beradino (the original "Dr. Hardy" of TV's "General Hospital") has a small role, and Marcel Hillaire appears as more or less the same character he would play dozens of times in TV guest spots for the next few years.

7/10, recommended if you've had your fill of explosions, CGI, or Tom Cruise.

"Theo Wilkins" (Edward G. Robinson) has put together a plan to steal $4 million from a casino in Monte Carlo and he specifically asks an old accomplice named "Paul Mason" (Rob Steiger) to assist him. Also conspiring with him are five other accomplices who each have their own interests and it's for this reason that he has asked Paul to join in this caper as Theo desperately needs someone on the team he can trust. Although Paul is initially reluctant to join him he is eventually persuaded due in large part to a woman on the team named "Melanie" (Joan Collins). The problem though is that she has a possessive boyfriend on this team by the name of "Pancho" (Eli Wallach) who she feels a certain loyalty towards. In any event, the mission is quite complicated and because of that all seven members of the team have to work together in order to accomplish it. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent crime-drama which could have been better had it had a bit more action or suspense. Even so, it was still entertaining enough for the time spent and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

A so-so caper movie that somehow fails to take off despite a veteran cast and director. There's lots of casino glitz, a sexy Joan Collins, and an inherently suspenseful premise, but the elements never really come together. I agree with the reviewer who thinks Steiger miscast. His is the central role. Yet he's so humorless, his enforcer-leader fails to generate needed sympathy for the caper (I gather director Hathaway was also unhappy with the grimness). In fact, with Robinson's exception, none of the characters is particularly likable. As a result, viewers are not encouraged to engage with the caper, but instead to simply observe it. At the same time, ace director Hathaway films in uncharacteristically impersonal, uncompelling fashion.

Nonetheless, the movie does have its moments. There's genuine tension when the Duc (Hillaire) tries to get Melanie (Collins) evicted from the casino, spoiling the heist. Instead, Melanie does some fast thinking and hangs in there. Then there's the very human last- minute-jitters that threaten to undo the elaborate scheme. But these moments of tension tend to remain isolated instead of tightening into a suspenseful whole, a failing perhaps of the screenplay.

I think there's a reason these heist films were popular during the law-and-order 1950's. The best ones-- The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Killing (1956)— humanize crime in ways crime features to that point don't. Unlike most crime dramas of the period, ordinary people are seen as able to pool their talents into a cleverly profitable undertaking, at the same time, being daring enough to take big risks for big gains.

Such qualities mirror the kind of commercial initiative ordinarily lauded by popular culture. Of course, heists are also criminal enterprises, but except for the key factor of legality, they show off the combined skills of ordinary people acting in effective and sympathetic light. And just as importantly, as long as it's only a bank or racetrack or casino that gets victimized, well, they can likely afford it. Without that key consideration of who's harmed, the ending of this film would be more morally questionable than it is.

Anyhow, the movie's passable entertainment, and if it fails to scale the caper film heights, at least there are compensations.