Das Mädchen aus der Cherry-Bar

Minor fun featuring Shirley MacLaine as a cabaret dancer who gets a chance to become a key player in a major heist masterminded by thief extraordinaire-wannabe Michael Caine. It has lots of twists and surprises, and it's fun, but the sleek, more serious opening moments prepare you for a totally different picture then the one you eventually get. It seems as though this is going to be classy stuff at first, but it's just a daffy live-action cartoon. Energetic though, and the leads work well together. *** from ****

I love heist flicks, and this overlooked item delivered the things I like about the best heist flicks: suspense, trickery, a plot twist or two, and humor. This is a dead-on heist/comedy that surprised me with a couple of twists.

I've always been a Michael Caine fan, so naturally I'll tell you that his performance here is up to his high standards. I've never really been a Shirley MacClaine fan, though, so it was a surprise to me that she was so good in her role.

What kind of summary can I give without giving everything away? Harry Dean (Caine) has his sights on some loot, but needs a partner for his scheme. Nicole Chang (MacClaine) turns out to be everything he hoped for. But he didn't count on her being as clever or as alluring as she turns out to be.

8/10

I just watched this again, after a period of many years; I think that I must have seen it in its original release, and it would have seemed wildly glamorous and exotic at the time. Its always been a favorite of mine; I love it when MacLaine finally opens her mouth and starts talking, and the entire story tilts and veers off in an amusingly different direction.

So very many things could have gone wrong with this production, and MacLaine could have completely overwhelmed it. Miraculously, everything stays in harness and no scenery gets chewed (as opposed to, say, "Topkapi", which although fun goes completely over the top, and where Mercouri lustily devours everything in sight). Caine and MacLaine were both in their early 30's at the time, and MacLaine gets away with photographing much younger. Its one of the earliest of her films where she got top billing; she had been making a series of Hollywood big-budget bombs, and I suspect that this somewhat modest entry kind of redeemed her. Its great straight entertainment.

In the first 20 minutes of 'Gambit' we witness a perfect heist. A charming crook named Harry (Michael Caine) recruits dancer Nicole (Shirley MacLaine) from a Hong Kong cabaret to lure the rich Shahbandar (Herbert Lom) in order to steal an invaluable statue of an ancient Chinese empress. The face in the statue is strikingly similar to that of Nicole, but also of the magnate's deceased wife. Everything is going perfectly, but something seems to be wrong. Nicole IS SILENT. That is, a heroine played by the assertive Shirley MacLaine not to utter a word? We will quickly understand that this is just about planning a robbery. The real action begins again, in 20 minutes, and this time Nicole not only will speak, but will play the central role in fulfilling Harry's robbery plans.

The 1966 'Gambit' is directed by Ronald Neame, an excellent movie industry professional, who not only was the author of several successful films, but signed the image of many other films, wrote screenplays, was a producer. An encyclopedic film maker we could say. Under his directing, the film has rhythm and humor, combining the genres of films about robberies and scams with an inevitable romantic intrigue. I haven't seen the 2012 remake signed by the Coen brothers, but if we are to trust the rates given by viewers on IMDB, Neame's version is much more successful. The story takes us to the Hong Kong of the '60s, which in the perspective of the past years and of the political changes is a real nostalgic journey, and in an imaginary Asian Muslim country, both presented in a picturesque and authentic way. It is obvious that Ronald Neame knew his job well.

The film belongs to that category of entertainment that was very popular in the 60's, when the world was just opening up to travel. It is true that the images of the international airports where you could drive or wait for passengers at the stairs of the plane seem to be from another world. These films were largely based on an action scenario, relaxed and with humor (there is one!), on exotic landscapes (they are plenty!) and on the charm of the stars in the main roles. The charisma of Shirley MacLaine in the role of the exotic dancer who gives classes from the point of view of culture and good manners to the crook disguised as an English lord played by Michael Caine dominates the film. For her, but not only for her, 'Gambit' deserves to be watched today.

Note! Minor plot points to be discussed. Proceed at your own risk.

One of my favourite genres - the caper movie! In most caper movies, the plan goes perfectly, at least until the heist is over. However, this one is probably unique as the careful plans of our chief thief, Michael Caine, keep going horribly horribly wrong, and right from the beginning to boot. Shirley MacLaine as his female accomplice and Herbert Lom as the "unwitting" victim are allowed their full range of intelligence and emotion as move follows countermove and bad descends to worse. The final plot twist at the end preserves a happy ending for everyone. Definitely worth a look, if you can find a copy or its playing late night.