King's Ransom

Dedee Pfeiffer, an undervalued actress who has found it tough going to withdraw from beneath the shadow of her celebrated sister Michelle, has nonetheless achieved substantial success in works that generally offer little in the way of viewer pleasure, such as in the instance of this moderately absorbing but hardly memorable crime flavoured melodrama that is flattened at the hands of weak direction, a limply structured script, and a lead actor suffering from deficiencies in charisma and proficiency. Cameron King (Miles O'Keefe), who is conducting an illicit gambling operation upon the top floor of his nightclub, has also illegally come into possession of the "Emperor's Pearl", a legendary gem coveted by many, and has organized a private auction for a wealthy handpicked few to submit bids upon the jewel, but several difficulties arise for King as the transfer date nears, most seemingly involving an attractive photographer, Katie (Pfeiffer) who has aggressively wormed her way into a job at the night spot, taking photographs of customers, while also gaining the close attention and romantic affection of a vulnerable Cameron. Katie enjoys a brisk business at the club, selling to patrons photos that she has taken of them, but King's predominant henchman, Sebastian (performed with villainous glee by Fred Ottaviano) is suspicious of her motives for wishing to be close to his boss and it becomes apparent that there are others as well who are clearly interested in probing King's activities, such as the local police department, the FBI, and a young newly hired bartender (Christopher Atkins) who has rallied to the moral support of Katie against Sebastian's strong feelings of distrust. Shot in Florida, and titled SHOOT upon its original VHS release, this film's principal drawback to a viewer is the scenario's lack of balance that results in a failure to emphasise sundry plot twists. O'Keefe displays his customary acting range, that of a cigar store Indian, except for those blessedly few episodes when he impersonates Clint Eastwood, while Pfeiffer handily earns the acting laurels in a work that lacks storyline impact, instead merely dwindling to an insipid conclusion.

Dedee Pfeiffer, an undervalued actress who has found it tough going to withdraw from beneath the shadow of her celebrated sister Michelle, has nonetheless achieved substantial success in works that generally offer little in the way of viewer pleasure, such as in the instance of this moderately absorbing but hardly memorable crime flavoured melodrama that is flattened at the hands of weak direction, a limply structured script, and a lead actor suffering from deficiencies in charisma and proficiency. Cameron King (Miles O'Keefe), who is conducting an illicit gambling operation upon the top floor of his nightclub, has also illegally come into possession of the "Emperor's Pearl", a legendary gem coveted by many, and has organized a private auction for a wealthy handpicked few to submit bids upon the jewel, but several difficulties arise for King as the transfer date nears, most seemingly involving an attractive photographer, Katie (Pfeiffer) who has aggressively wormed her way into a job at the night spot, taking photographs of customers, while also gaining the close attention and romantic affection of a vulnerable Cameron. Katie enjoys a brisk business at the club, selling to patrons photos that she has taken of them, but King's predominant henchman, Sebastian (performed with villainous glee by Fred Ottaviano) is suspicious of her motives for wishing to be close to his boss and it becomes apparent that there are others as well who are clearly interested in probing King's activities, such as the local police department, the FBI, and a young newly hired bartender (Christopher Atkins) who has rallied to the moral support of Katie against Sebastian's strong feelings of distrust. Shot in Florida, and titled SHOOT upon its original VHS release, and later KING'S RANSOM, this film's principal drawback to a viewer is the scenario's lack of balance that results in a failure to emphasise sundry plot twists. O'Keefe displays his customary acting range, that of a cigar store Indian, except for those blessedly few episodes when he impersonates Clint Eastwood, while Pfeiffer handily earns the acting laurels in a work that lacks storyline impact, instead merely dwindling to an insipid conclusion.

King's Ransom involves a heist and it's a more modern combination of Ocean's 11 and The Sting. A pair of much better films.

The problem was that while I like surprise and tricky endings the writers fell in love so with the idea they kept it going and going. After a while it became really hard to follow this thing.

The object of all this is Miles O'Keeffe who is a club owner who has drinks and dancing on his first floor, illegal gambling on his third floor that only a select few get into and he has a sideline in robbery. Right now he has a valuable stolen pearl that he's trying to sell privately for a most exclusive group of bidders, some of whom are getting inpatient. Fred Ottaviano plays O'Keeffe's number 2 and is fanatically devoted to his boss's interest, a little too fanatically at times.

Deedee Pheiffer is a photographer who gets a job at the club and uses the old charm to worm her way into O'Keeffe's affections. There's also Christopher Atkins who is a bartender who also has an agenda going. And the police who'd like to bust O'Keeffe on anything.

Let's just say everyone has their own scheme here. King's Ransom may resemble Ocean's 11 and The Sting, but not nearly as good as either of the others.