User Reviews

This is a pretty good caper film, stylish and witty, but it loses its grip a little in the last 15 minutes.

Charles Grodin plays a small time jewellery dealer, Howard R. Chesser, who travels to London to conduct business with 'The System' located at 11 Harrowhouse, an enormously prestigious and snooty diamond trading house. 'The System' is run by the equally snooty Mr Meecham, played by John Gielgud – one of the film's trio of top British actors who were a fair way along in their careers by the mid 70's.

Chesser is offered a big diamond deal by mega-wealthy Clyde Massey, played by Trevor Howard with the ham gauge set on the highest level. Events lead to Chesser breaking into 11 Harrowhouse to steal the entire stock of diamonds. He is helped by Charles Watts, an unassuming Harrowhouse assistant out for revenge. Watts is played by James Mason, an actor with one of cinema's most distinctive voices, like George Sanders, he was smooth from the start to the finish of his career.

Chesser is also helped by his girlfriend, Maren Shirell, played by Candice Bergen in a role that is reminiscent of Grace Kelly in "Rear Window" – glamorous, poised, and adventurous.

The film is in the same spirit as "Arabesque", "How to steal a million" and "Charade" and quite a few others of the 60's and 70's. It features an inventive jewel robbery, much of it played out on the rooftop of 11 Harrowhouse; although that sequence is marred by bad matching between the location and the studio shots.

Charles Grodin's offbeat style was not unlike Bob Newhart's – a bland, milquetoast exterior concealing underlying insolence. Grodin also supplies droll, running commentary on the action in voice-over, somewhat like someone showing home movies. This works pretty well up until the end where the commentary seems disconnected with what is happening on screen. When Grodin says at some length that he can't understand why Howard and his associates are chasing him, it's obvious why they are.

Apparently there was another version of the film without Grodin's voice-over, but I suspect it was added because it was felt something was needed – the long chase sequence at the end is as drawn out and tedious as those things often were in this kind of film.

Despite the odd lapse, the film still has much that works – an ingenious robbery, the tongue in cheek delivery of Grodin, a dazzling Candice Bergen, and a line-up of legendary, albeit aging, British stars of the period.

A light as air but undeniably entertaining heist film. Diamond broker Charles Grodin and wealthy girlfriend Candice Bergen are hired by billionaire madman Trevor Howard to rob a diamond clearing house (address is 11 Harrowhouse). Extremely clever and a lot of fun with great chemistry between Grodin & Bergen. Grodin's narration is hysterical and Bergen, looking stunning, shows early comic promise. Howard, not usually seen in anything approaching a comedy, is very funny. Director Aram Avakian brings a lot of style and moves things along at a lightening pace. Michael Lewis contributes a first rate score and the supporting cast includes James Mason, John Geilgud and Helen Cherry (in a most unlikely role). It's unlikely you'll see a movie make such good use of cockroaches.

This caper comedy is clever. Very clever. In fsct, it's often too clever for its own good, and that cleverness is often what prevents this from being memorable. For the most part, the cast is very good, although lead Charles Grodin seems trying too hard, and seems miscast, or at least trying to swallow these diamonds even though he can't chew it. Candice Bergen gets a lot of screen time but not much to do, and we know she's capable of so much more. John Gielgud is his typically dry and droll self as the head of the system, an organization responsible for the distribution of diamonds around the world, and when the head of the walls, then he may listen, becomes involved in a scheme to steal all the diamonds, he engages Grodin and Bergen. Mason is dying, and wants his family to be able to live well when he goes to that great vault in the sky, hence his motive for organizing this clever heist.

The highest paid Engineers, utilizing a vacuum cleaner with a very large posed to help remove the diamonds out of the vault system. The set for the vault is huge and beautiful, and the shot of Mason sitting at a desk in the middle of it all makes him appear to have more from power than he does. Great tasting classes, including one through a field of cows and later through hay fields, and is very funny. Good in support are Peter Vaughan and Helen Cherry, along with Trevor Howard. It took me awhile to get into this one, but by the time they start the caper, it is non-stop fun. But the first half hour or so is very slow indeed, and that makes the film a disappointment over all. The narration by Grodin seems out of place. It also seems likely that Mason's goals are not going to be achieved, and it's obvious that the system of Gielgud as well as the one for Mason will end up failing just aa this film unfortunately did.

Contains spoilers.

This stunning thriller has it all. A stellar English cast (James Mason, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, among others), a laconic American (Grodin), a beautiful heiress (Bergin), a mess of diamonds, a car chase with a difference, and one of the most inventive and nicely handled heists in cinematic history.

Diamond dealer Grodin is commissioned by criminal millionaire Howard to buy a diamond from merchants 11 Harrowhouse. The diamond, of course, disappears. Grodin decides to heist 11 Harrowhouse, with the help of disgruntled clerk James Mason...

The script is fine and funny, the voice over by Grodin being a soft-boiled version of a Black Mask magazine narrative. The heist never lets up in favour of the love interest - the beautiful Ms Bergin is actually used for once - in fact, she wears the trousers in this film. I haven't seen the version reported to be lacking Grodin's voice-over - in fact, I think it may be more interesting as the lack of information may just up the tension.

The acting honours belong to James Mason. As the terminally ill bank clerk who turns on his employers, he is morbidly mannered and introspective. In fact, he carries off the heist almost single-handed, without much credit and no fuss. The scene where he is discovered in the vault by his employer, Geilgud, is most satisfying and contains the classic line - 'I've eaten the inventory'. And the manner of the heist? You'd have to see it to believe it!!!

I think this film is on every action director's secret wish list, each hoping the other doesn't know about it so they can have sole access to its ideas. Textbook stuff.