Un hold-up extraordinaire

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 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.

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 ****