Thief

This film is intelligent, moving, and in the end...well, I won't spoil that for you. It's one of Richard Crenna's very best performances, and definitely in Angie Dickinson's top 10. You get a rare and chilling insight into the life of a suburban thief. We are disturbed, but also strangely sympathetic to this lost man. See this film and you will experience a wide range of emotions. Excellent writing and direction. Note: "Thief" can be very hard to find. You may have to trade for it. Good luck. Peter Chicago, IL

Wow, movies of this caliber used to come on regular television??? Who would've thought a few decades later this would be the same network to have a show where women cry over men that they've only known for 10 minutes. TV has definitely gotten dumbed down. I don't think a lot of people nowadays have the attention span long enough to watch a movie that doesn't contain a load of cussing and sex. That personally turns me off, so I love finding these vintage movies on YouTube. I'm finally done with Lifetime movies. I got so tired of watching people argue with their family. I wanted to go back to watching the movies that I used to enjoy: films that are truly suspenseful and explore the human condition. Thief is proof of why a small budget doesn't mean poor quality. This is the most well-acted made for TV film I've seen in a LONG while. I'm not exaggerating - I've been watching a lot of them, and this is the first one that wasn't crap for a change.

I don't usually like movies or TV shows where the main character steals as a living, but I found myself enjoying this story about an LA burglar and jewel thief, and even feeling sorry for him. Neil Wilkerson (Richard Crenna) wants to go straight - his motivations being his girlfriend (Angie Dickinson), and trying to obtain custody of his son, who's living on the east coast in a foster home due to his mother's alcoholism. He finds himself having to pull off a heist one last time to pay off a gambling debt. The only complaint I have is the ending. It didn't make any sense, and it was disappointing. Otherwise, Richard Crenna's performance was heartfelt as a father who wanted to be with his son, as a man who was giving serious consideration to becoming a husband, and as a criminal who was being pulled into a life that he was striving to escape. This has been added to my list of movies to watch more than once.

Richard Crenna stars as a present-day jewelry burglar working homes in the Los Angeles area. He has two priors on his record, he's drowning in debt, has a kid in foster care, and wants to marry his live-in girlfriend--all he needs is one last score! Writer John D. F. Black gives Crenna a good role for a change; too often stuck playing the Everyman, the actor gets to show off a little manly swagger here, and it suits him. This plot, however, is a downer (with everyone else grim); worse, it has tunnel vision and we never get a bigger picture of what's happening (a woman is robbed at the beginning--and she gets a good, long look at Crenna--but apparently never contacts the police). Angie Dickinson gives her throwaway role a bit of gravitas, but the "ironic" ending--with no logic or motivation behind it--is a cop-out. *1/2 from ****