Rating: B+
Dir: Peter Yates.
Star: Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand.
RIP Robert Redford. While this may not quite replace The Natural as my favourite of his movies, it isn’t far short. This is a straightforward heist film, which I was surprised to discover was a flop at the box-office. The following year, Redford would make The Sting, which has some similarities, and blew it out of the water. There’s no accounting for success. This sees Redford again working from a script by William Goldman, as in Butch Cassidy. He plays John Dortmunder, who has literally just got out of jail at the end of his sentence, when he is reeled in to another illegal scheme, by long-time pal and brother-in-law, Andy Kelp (Segal).
This one involves stealing a diamond on behalf of African diplomat Dr. Amusa, who wants to reclaim it for his nation. To this end, Dortmunder puts together a team, including Kelp, driver Stan Murch (Leibman) and explosives man Allan Greenberg (Sand). But the heist doesn’t go as planned, Greenberg being caught and having to swallow the gem. Before Dortmunder can fulfill the commission, he will need to take Greenberg out of jail, break into a police station, and then figure out a way to get into a bank’s safety deposit vault. It becomes very personal, the diamond turning into Dortmunder’s white whale. “I don’t believe in jinxes, but that stone’s jinxed me and it won’t let go… I’m going all the way. Either I get it, or it gets me.”
Goldman’s script is great, having not an ounce of fat on it. There isn’t a scene here which is not relevant to the hunt for the gem, e.g. no irrelevant romance. All we need to know, for example, about Murch, is gleaned from him hanging out in his garage, listening to albums of auto races. It helps that the performances are all on the nose: beyond Redford, particular credit goes to Moses Gunn as the sophisticated and intelligent Dr. Amusa, and Zero Mostel stealing scenes as Greenberg’s slimy lawyer father, with no loyalty to anyone – least of all his son. The soundtrack is excellent too. Less funky than I expected for a seventies movie from Quincy Jones, being more jazz-tinged (another point of similarity to The Sting).
Some of the technical crime stuff does seem almost a bit off. Things like the lack of guards in the prison were notable – way too easy – and the hypnosis used on the bank guard was definitely a stretch. I noticed they weren’t using gloves in the initial robbery either, despite Dortmunder’s prints presumably being on file as a convicted felon. However, the general ambiance and approach is simply so much damn fun, I am more than willing to overlook these flaws. Amusingly, it was originally released in the United Kingdom under the title of How to Steal a Diamond in Four Uneasy Lessons, based on fears British audiences might think it was a concert film. Yeah. About that…