Monsieur Saint-Ives

(Some Spoilers) Priviat eye-like movie with retired newspaper columnist and now unpublished book author Raymond St. Ives, Charles Bronson, getting hired to be the go between in a switch of $100,000.00 for a number of personal ledgers of eccentric multi-millionaire and criminal master-mind Abner Procane, John Houseman. At first the job that the down and out St. Ives has seems to be a lead pipe cinch. The $10,000.00 that he'll get for it will come in handy for the compulsive gambling habit that he has and he thinks nothing of it.

Going to an all night laundromat in L.A to pick up the ledgers and hand over the cash for them St. Ives finds the person that he's supposed to do the switch with stone cold dead,Jack Boykins ,Jerrid Brutsche, is found spinning in a washer-dryer with his neck broker. What was to be a simple delivery and exchange for St. Ives turns out to be a string of murders. All that leads to a $4,000,000.00 pay-off, for a number of pages from Procane's ledgers that has information of his dealing with the president of International Electric George McDuff, Norman Palmer. McDuff is involved in setting up an under the table deal with a member of the Saudie royal family that would net him at least a one hundred million dollar contract.

Classy and well acted "St.Ives" has the beautiful Jackie Bisset, Janet Whistler, as the femme fatal in this film-noir drama set in 1976 L.A. John Houseman seems to be really enjoying the role that he has as criminal master mind Abner Procane who prides himself as never committing any act of violence in his long and successful crime career. The non violent Procane only in uses his smarts and soring intellect to get where he's gotten and not any rough stuff. As if he were playing a number of games of championship chess all which was so accurately recorded by him in the stolen ledgers.

Jackie Bissett is as gorgeous as ever as Porcane's aid, or partner in crime, Janet Whistler who turns out to be playing both sides of the law to get just what she wants. Maximillian Schell pops up in the movie every now and then as Porcane's personal psychiatrist, Dr. John Constable, who has more on his mind that the fantasies and fears of his patient.

The movie has a movie within a movie scene when we see the switch between the valuable information in Procane's ledger between go-between's of the Saudie Sheik and McDuff that leads to a bloody shoot-out outside the drive-in movie where the switch was made. Charles Bronson's St. Ives as usual overcomes the odds to get to the bottom of the case that he's on that for one of those involved ends up at the bottom of Abner Procane's giant swimming pool.

Bronson is pushed around and beaten up a number of times in the film but like in all of his movies he comes out on top in the end, especially with Miss. Bisset. The movie at the drive-in seemed to have a film that had an hour and a half long cattle stampede. This made me wonder if the film-makers of "St.Ives" got that idea from the great bad-movie director Ed Wood and copied it off from the legendary buffalo stampede of the Ed Wood directed film "Glen or Glenda".

Charles Bronson plays the title character, an adventurer of sorts and crime writer. Oddly, he's hired by a rich thief (John Houseman) to retrieve some stolen documents...and so St. Ives plays private dick.

As St. Ives proceeds through the case, he keeps arriving when people are dying...but he is innocent. It just seems that a LOT of dishonest people keep killing each other to get the documents. What are they and what really is going on? Well, see the film...or not.

This is an odd Charles Bronson flick. While he is involved in a few action sequences, much of the film seems to happen all around him instead of with him. In addition, the plot is hard to believe and a bit convoluted...making this one of Bronson's lesser efforts. Decent and watchable but not much more.

By the way, if you do watch, pay attention to Hood #1 and 3 who try to kill St. Ives early in the film. They are Robert Englund and Jeff Goldblum before they became famous actors.

Writer St. Ives is hired to retrieve journals stolen from a thief who compulsively writes down his capers and is now being blackmailed...everywhere he goes someone is a step ahead of him and there is a dead body! Lots of killing and an appearance by Jeff Goldbum...all for four million!

This film is based on books that I haven't read, but Charles Bronson received a lot of criticism for his portrayal of St. Ives...I didn't have anything to compare him too and I thought it was a fun cop caper.

John Houseman was fun as an eccentric and wealthy thief-Abner Procain and Jacqueline Bisset was great as his former cop side-kick who St. Ives described as "You're tough, smart and you have a lot of good looking bits and pieces."...best line in the film!

Bit of a watch and delete for me...but still a fun caper, with a clever follow through on who dunnit.

Ex-crime journalist Raymond St Ives is struggling for doe, due to his gambling addiction and his slow progress of his unfinished novel. His offered a job as a "go-between" for the strange, old wealthy Abner Procane. He'll be payed 10,000 dollars for the job, to hand over cash for the exchange of Procane's stolen ledgers. However since he takes the job, nothing seems quite right and this leaves St Ives trying to put together what happened at the bungle exchange.

Director J. Lee Thompson along with actor Charles Bronson ( the first exercise to kick start their long-listed collaborations together) churn out a acceptable time-filler in the shape of the luxuriously smooth and constantly busy comic-crime caper "St Ives". Underlining the atmospherically exotic style is Thompson's sophisticatedly tidy direction, along with Lucien Ballard's handsomely crisp cinematography and Lalo Schifrin's high-strung score of sizzling jazz arrangement. The screenplay by Barry Beckerman is sleek, but overly knotty and perplexing in its deliberate developments of a devious layout. Still it stays conventional to the scheming and shady connections lurking around nearly every corner, and this generally engages. Sometimes not deliberately so, like often mentioned 'drive-in' sequence. The offbeat script can loose shape (even though it manages some quite cheeky dialogues), and begin to slumber off in the pulpy latter end of the film. The action is quite little, but pacey with some well performed and animatedly stylised stunts. The production managed to get a hold off a sensational cast. Charles Bronson in the lead as St Ives eases into the performance nicely. Jacqueline Bisset adds a sumptuously classy touch. John Houseman is very fun, and Dana Elcar gets some memorable scenes. Maximilian Schell hones in one hammy entrée turn, and Harry Guardino and Harris Yulin likewise are amusing. Also look out for some diverting performances from up-and-coming Robert Englund and Jeff Goldblum as two petty crooks. Michael Lerner and Elisha Cook Jr show up in minor roles too.

An elegantly charming enterprise with an excellent Bronson performance and great support.

Cloak and dagger story , poorly acted , that finishes into strange and surprising goings-on . Abner Procane (John Houseman) , top L.A. burglar , finds that somebody stole his plans for next ambitious heist . He hires Raymond St. Ives (Charles Bronson acting is wooden just like being habitual in his roles as an investigator who finds out about dark motives) to resolve the simple theft , but it escalates into a large-scale robbery and killings . Here Charles plays a reporter who carries out an investigation , a former police journalist who agrees to recover the stolen ledges . But Ives (Bronson was about fifty-four years of age when here appeared) finds himself dealing with treason , killings and a twisted intrigue . There are also some policemen (Harris Yulin , Harry Guardino , all the cops who show up in the movie but one are corrupt) pursuit him . At the end it takes place a confusing caper about the stealing of an American electronics firm's huge bribe to an Arab oil sheik .

This light entertainment and standard Bronson movie is full of clichés , thrills , betrayal and murder . Confusing and heavy-handled screenplay from a novel by Ross Thomas titled 'The Procane Chronicle' , being slickly paced but dumb . This is a "detective 'film noir' homage" which "features a dense detective plot in the manner of classic 1940s 'film noir' private eye stories" . Taking and snatching dialog here and there from the 40s , such as : ¨Everytime we find a stiff , you're around¨ . Neither Bronson's presence , nor Lucien Ballard cinematography can rescue this routine thriller movie for implausibilities from a complex and silly screenplay . It starts off well enough as tough thriller , but long before the final you've left wondering just what's going on . This Charles Bronson movie was theatrically released between his pictures From noon till three (1976) and The White Buffalo (1977) , both of them starred by Bronson . This is one of the first films Charles Bronson made for producer Pancho Kohner and being ¨Messenger of the death¨ the final of ten teamings between producer Pancho Kohner and star actor Bronson . Regular acting by Bronson as a crime books writer , to negotiate the return of some engaging documents ; however , he seems tired and bored from the start . Nice and wide support cast , such as : John Houseman as the criminal mastermind , Maximilian Schell , Harry Guardino , Harris Yulin , Dana Elcar , Michael Lerner , Dick O'Neill , Burr DeBenning , Elisha Cook Jr. , Daniel J. Travanti , later of TV's ¨Hill Street Blues¨ and Jacqueline Bisset as the gorgeous , glamorous , mysterious Femme fatal . Furthermore , cameos by Robert Englund as henchman and Jeff Goldblum as Hood #3 , he also appeared in a bit cameo as a thug in Charles Bronson's earlier movie Death Wish (1974). Besides , atmospheric score by the usual Lalo Schifrin , composed in the seventies's style . And crisp and glimmer photography by Luicen Ballard .

The fare was regularly directed by J. Lee Thompson , shot in up and downs , the movie consistently skirts the issues it raises . It's narrated understanding as well as hardly . This movie represented the first of nine teaming of director 'J Lee Thompson' with star actor Charles Bronson . Thompson previously had a nice track record in the English cinema from 1950 until 1961 , directing good Western (McKenna's gold , White Buffalo) and all kinds of genres , as Sci-Fi (Conquest and Battle of planet of apes), terror (reincarnation of Peter Proud , Eye of the devil) , adventures (Flame over India , Kings of the sun , Taras Bulba , Tiger Bay) and Warlike ( Guns of Navarone, Von Braun , Chairman , The passage). His two biggest successes turned out to be ¨Guns of Navarone¨and ¨Cape Fear¨. Thereafter , the filmmaker's career subsided in a morass of slickly realized but middling films . He moved into the field of international spectaculars , at which point his filmmaking seemed to lose its individuality . J. Lee Thomson working from the 50s in England, finished his career making Chuck Norris (Firewalker) and Charles Bronson vehicles (Caboblanco , Evil that men do , Messenger of death , Death Wish 4 : Crackdown, Caboblanco, St Ives). St. Ives rating : Mediocre but passable 5.5/10 , but it will appeal to Charles Bronson fans . Marks this down as for hardened Charles buffs only .