Les hommes d'argent

I give it three and a half stars. The Moneychangers is a great adaptation of the Hailey novel, but the greatest claim to fame in this action packed story, is its cast, the fact that Christopher Plummer won an Emmy Award as best actor for it, and the return of actrress Jean Peters to the screen. You'll see pros Like Kirk Douglas and Christopher Plummer in a quite credible battle over the presidency of a bank. The rest of the cast is incredibly good, with a lot of big names in supporting roles. Joan Collins plays the vamp who steals Plummer from Jean Peters (looking radiant in her comeback after years of absence from the screen). Marisa Pavan is Douglas's wife. She plays a mental case and her psychiatrist is none other than Helen Hayes. Anne Baxter is head of personnel at the bank and becomes concerned when one of her tellers (Timothy Bottoms) is suspected of credit card fraud. Others in the cast include James Shighetta, Mikko Takka, Percy Rodriguez, Susan Flannery, Hayden Rourque, Virginia Field, Lorne Greene, Patrick O'Neal, and another dozen very recognizable faces. All these fine actors deal with a number of serious topics - infidelity, ambition, battle for success, madness, police investigations, jail, homosexuality, riches and poverty. Good show!

I saw this made for TV movie in its entirety in 1976, it was 6 hours long! But when it was ready for syndication, it was pared down to 4 hours. Did they loose the flavor of the original 6 hours? Not a bit. A book about the banking industry (one in particular, FMA, First Mercantile American...a fictional bank from the book) was one of the most satisfying mini-series ever. The adaptation was virtually "page by page" from the Arthur Hailey best selling novel, which made the production an enjoyable one. The cast is all class all the way, you know who they are by looking at the cast line-up, so I won't repeat them here.

Aired in 1976 and produced by Paramount Television, it was beautifully directed and executed. My only wish is to have it air again...being my favorite mini-series of all time!