Ruba al prossimo tuo...

"A Fine Pair" from 1968 is one big yawn of a caper film which stars Rock Hudson and Claudia Cardinale.

Rock plays NYPD Captain Mike Harmon. Esmeralda Marini, who knew him when she was a child in Italy, visits him. Her father was an Inspector, and Mike has precious memories of the six months he spent with the family. Esmeralda needs his help. She's a jewel thief who is reformed and wants to return some jewels to a prominent family before they arrive at their Kitzbuhel, Austria home. She wants Mike's help.

I'm going to stop right there. Mike Harmon has risen to the rank of Captain, but apparently brains had nothing to do with it since you can see the situation they get into coming from a mile away. As the story continues, it becomes more and more ridiculous. However, the convoluted plot, which consists of bringing a room temperature up to 134 degrees, gives male viewers a chance to see the incredible body of Cardinale when she strips down.

The two stars have no chemistry. I've always liked Rock Hudson, but he exhibits no personality here. Cardinale's character is not likable, though she did bring back memories of having that hairstyle.

Skip this.

Despite the two prominent stars in its cast, "A Fine Pair" has never been released on home video, and is seldom broadcast on television. It doesn't take long upon watching it to figure out why it's been banished to obscurity. Though Hudson and Cardinale have shown talent and charm elsewhere, you wouldn't know it with this movie. Cardinale is downright annoying, and Hudson's obvious bored demeanor makes it clear he is wishing he was elsewhere. Needless to say, the scenes where the two are paired up - which make up most of the movie - generate absolutely no chemistry. But the problems with the movie go beyond the stars. The movie has an often cheap feel, from the tacky sets to the wretched dubbing. The biggest problem is that while it's a caper movie, it moves along at a deadly slow pace and generates no excitement or suspense. The only redeeming feature is the musical score by Ennio Morricone, though even fans of his will probably admit that this music is far from his best work.

Italian-made caper-comedy (not released in the US until 1969) stars Rock Hudson as a married New York City police captain who becomes involved with gorgeous jewel thief Claudia Cardinale, the flirtatious daughter of an old friend. Her latest heist will take her to Austria...with the police chief as her unwitting accomplice. Hudson doesn't look any happier here than he did in "Seconds", leaving Cardinale (and her hair!) to pretty much walk away the picture. Stylishly put together in the manner of a '60s cigarette advertisement, the movie is supposed to be romantic and carefree yet it's too slight to hold interest for long. *1/2 from ****

"Ruba al prossimo tuo" or "A Fine Pair", is a pretty standard film, straight from the late 1960's. Funky music, "hippies" (or those attempting to be),"squares" (or those attempting to not be), etc. Unfortunately, "A fine pair" (more precisely, its script) thinks that with these elements, and a big Hollywood star like Rock Hudson, is enough to make a film.

"A fine pair" is entertaining, but not in the way its makers intended. Rock is a NYC Police Detective (complete with horn-rimmed glasses and trenchcoat), who becomes involved with the daughter of an old friend. The daughter is a jewel thief, who gets Rock caught up in a caper to replace the jewels back in some ritzy Austrian manor. This, just so Rock doesn't have to arrest her.(!) The plot gets sillier from there, and before you know it, we're brought along on a travelogue of the Austrian Alps. Then, we trek on to Italy, with Rock & CO. As the camp becomes hilariously evident, i.e. conservative, "Cop" Rock gets offered a joint in a hopelessly hip disco, the Austrian Police are portrayed as absolute twits, ("Oh, ja woll, since you want break in, here's a way to defeat the alarm system, ja!"). The caper itself, is so absurd, it will raise the hilarity level past the Fahrenheit level.

There's numerous scenes, liberally sprinkled with "stock footage." One in particular, features His Holiness, the late Paul the Sixth. The scene goes on for so long, the Pope should have been given credit for a supporting role in the movie. "A fine pair" is campy, unintentionally funny in many spots. The leads have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. The saving grace is that the stars, the director or anyone else involved, didn't take the project too seriously. Therefore, in a strange pursuit of cult filmdom, "A Fine Pair" succeeds magnificently.

Once again I'm guessing that Rock Hudson signed on to make this film because of the trip to Vienna and Rome he was getting. Those fringe benefits are important especially when you know this caper film is going to be a Thanksgiving special.

Rock and co-star Claudia Cardinale basically go through the motions with zero chemistry between them in A Fine Pair. Hudson did a pair of films in the Sixties with another Italian co-star Gina Lollobrigida and those two movies had a lot more going for them than this one. Hudson is ostensibly a police captain in New York who gets a visit in New York from the daughter of a colleague in Italy.

Claudia's a rebellious child coming from a law enforcement family she's become a thief. But ostensibly she's had a change of heart and now wants Rock's help to return some swag she robbed over in Vienna.

So Rock drops everything, career, marriage, etc., to go do a reverse caper in Vienna. Of course that's hardly all, but the film moved so slow I doubt you'll wait to find out.

A Fine Pair will never be in anyone's list of top Rock Hudson films.