Gambit

Michael Caine and Shirley Maclaine star in "Gambit," a 1966 movie done in the style so popular in that era, the "caper" film.

Inspired by the success and style of "Charade," the '60s brought us "How to Steal a Million," "Topkapi," "Rififi" et al. - sophisticated, glamorous, international, breezy fun.

In "Gambit," Harry (Michael Caine) hires Nicole (Maclaine) to pose as his exotic wife so that he can get into the apartment of the richest man in the world, Shabhandar, played by Herbert Lom.

"There's no such thing as the richest man in the world," Nicole complains. "It's like the highest star or - " "Okay, the second richest man in the world, the third richest!" Harry yells. Nicole is made up to resemble Shabhandar's late wife. The purpose: robbery.

Without giving anything away, the beginning of the film is fabulous and draws the viewer in immediately. Caine is a riot as the gifted Harry, who finds that coping with Nicole is one part of the plan he hadn't counted on, and Maclaine is very funny as a performer who gets more involved in her assignment than she wanted to.

Herbert Lom, as the first, second, whatever wealthiest man in the world, Shabhandar, is perfect portraying the urbane, suspicious, and calculating recluse.

This isn't the top of the genre, but it's still very enjoyable.

Although perhaps not in the same top-flight league as "Rififi" and "Topkapi," "Gambit" is nevertheless an extremely entertaining heist movie that features consistently fine performances, an amusing and twisty script, and good production values. In this one, Caine hires MacLaine, who is working as a dancehall girl in Hong Kong, to assist him in the purloining of a priceless piece of sculpture, owned by Herbert Lom. This is not your typical heist film, however, and there is a twist right around the first half-hour mark that really had me chuckling out loud...and I'm not an easy person to make laugh out loud at movies, either. MacLaine plays one of her patented loveable kooks in this film, and is ever so appealing. Caine, in his first American production, plays it alternately cool and exasperated. Lom is surprisingly good as Shabhandar, one of the world's wealthiest men; his performance is both urbane and beautifully modulated. Good in smaller parts are two faces that classic "Star Trek" fans will recognize: John Abbott (an Organian) as the French art connoisseur, and Roger "Harry Mudd" Carmel as a hotel clerk. The heist itself is fairly suspenseful and, I suppose, high-tech for its day. Both Caine and MacLaine display surprising derring-do and quick thinking, and toward the finale of the film, the viewer is treated to at least three unexpected twists of plot. "Gambit," thus, offers good suspense, real wit, some romance, colorful locales, and fine acting. It is a real winner. If you're a fan of the heist movie, this one will not disappoint. It's good, light, well-done fun, and infinitely more entertaining than recent, "serious" caper films such as "The Score" and "Heist." Check it out!

MICHAEL CAINE was hot after appearing in THE IPCRESS FILE and SHIRLEY MacLAINE grabbed him for her leading man in GAMBIT. It's a highly entertaining and very clever crime caper and is Caine's first American film. It benefits from highly polished production values and Ronald Neame's expert direction, not to mention a story that has several unexpected twists.

Aside from excellent performances by the two stars and Herbert Lom as the intended victim, the plot will keep you guessing until the final moments. Shirley is a knockout in her oriental disguise and delivers a wonderful performance as the girl who discovers she prefers an honest man to a thief, no matter how much she let herself be tricked into the role of a charming look-alike for Herbert Lom's former wife. The trick is to get into his lavish digs so she and Michael can see the layout and devise a plan to steal a prized sculpture. Herbert Lom is urbane and sophisticated as a man who is highly suspicious of his new acquaintances.

If you like crime capers or jewel heists, this is for you. Diverting from start to finish with a particularly good opening sequence that sort of sets you up for a different kind of film than this actually is. But saying more than that would give too much away.

My only complaint--Maurice Jarre's score is a skimpy one. He provides some light and catchy melodies for the lighter scenes but fails to deliver the goods for the film's darker moments. Maybe he figured the audience would just be holding their breath while silence accompanied the cat-like burglar approach rather than music. Whatever, the darker moments would have been heightened by a more suspenseful score.

John Abbott is seen to advantage as a French sculptor devoted to his art.

Michael Caine uses flighty Shirley MacLaine to hopefully steal something from Herbert Lom--the richest man in the world.

That's about all you need to know. This is a fun movie--nothing too serious about it. It's very colorful with some beautiful settings and outfits (get the white dress MacLaine wears). The script is sharp and sometimes very funny. MacLaine is full of life and fun in her role--quite an accomplishment since she has nothing to work with. Caine (a great actor) seems strangely muted in his role. Lom is having a fun time with his part. The comedy mixes very well with the action (MacLaine comes off best) and there are some really neat twists and turns at the end (although I saw the last one coming). This isn't an acting film--just a film to sit back with, turn off your brain and enjoy! Strangely this is pretty unknown--I didn't even now it existed till it turned up on TV unannounced! Well worth catching.

In the 1960s Hollywood combined the classic "caper" film with a healthy dose of romantic comedy. The result was a series of charming films such as CHARADE (1963) and HOW TO STEAL A MILLION (1966)--films that combined major stars, clever plots, witty scripts and which balanced suspense with comic and romantic complications.

Made in 1966 and released in 1967, GAMBIT was among the last of these films, and like all others in the genre it had a complex plot. Ahmad Shahbandar (Herbert Lom) is quite possibly the richest man in the world and a recluse to boot, a man who has never gotten over the death of his beautiful Eurasian wife some twenty years ago. Harry Dean (Michael Caine) devises a clever plan to gain access to his luxury apartment and rob him blind: he will use honky-tonk dancer Nicole Chang (Shirley MacLaine), who bears a striking resemblance to Shahbandar's long dead wife, to breach Shahbandar's defenses.

There's only one problem: it won't work. To tell exactly why it won't work is to betray the plot, which is extremely clever; suffice to say that Dean has made a number of incorrect assumptions about both the situation and the personalities involved. When the plot begins to twist, it does so in a truly unexpected way, taking both Dean and the audience completely by surprise.

This is the sort of film that Hollywood used to do so well but which we seldom see today, a frothy, glamorous confection with first rate production values and expert performances from major stars. MacLaine gets top billing, and she is quite fine, but the weight of the film rests on Caine and Lom, who give memorably dry performances, and director Ronald Neame (who was responsible for a host of memorable films including THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE) keeps everything moving along at a smart pace with plenty of style.

This may not be the best of the genre--I think both CHARADE and HOW TO STEAL A MILLION, to name but two, outpace it. But even so it is a perfectly charming film, the perfect antidote to a drab afternoon. Just add popcorn! GFT, Amazon Reviewer