The Exhibitor (1966)

5470 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR November 16, 1966 Gambit (6701) Universal . (Technicolor) Melodrama 109M. Estimate: Good entertainment. Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Herbert Lom, Roger C. Carmel, Arnold Moss, John Abbott, Richard Ancarola, Maurice Marsac. Produced by Leo L. Fuchs; directed by Ronald Neame. Story: In Hong Kong, Michael Caine, Englishman of charm but dubious means of livelihood, and his companion, John Abbott, jack of all arts, have elaborate plans for the heist of an art treasure from multi-millionaire Herbert Lom. They enlist the aid of Eurasian taxi-dancer Shirley MacLaine for a large sum of money because she resembles Lom’s de¬ ceased wife. After Abbott makes a plaster mold of her head, Caine and MacLaine arrive at a middle eastern airport posing as royalty with MacLaine transformed in appearance by a black wig. So much for their plan; but things turn out differently. Roger C. Carmel, em¬ ployee of Lom, is astonished by MacLaine’s appearance and her resemblance to Lom’s dead wife. Knowing Lom would want to meet her, he leads them to his headquarters in a hotel Lom owns. This enables Caine and Ab¬ bott to case the heavily protected art collec¬ tion. MacLaine, however, learns of Caine’s crookedness and threatens to walk out on the plan. When chief of police Richard Ancarola arrives, MacLaine is certain a trap has been prepared. Caine pulls off the heist, pays off MacLaine, gives her a forged passport, and tells her he will meet her in Hong Kong. She, however, is apprehended and taken to Lom, who tells her to find Caine and advise him to return what he has stolen or be killed. When she does, he tells her he can’t return the stolen idol because he has not stolen it. She believes him, and at Abbott’s studio, it is revealed that Abbott is a genius at duplicating art objects, and has made a copy of the valuable idol. MacLaine accuses Caine of having made her a thief and a swindler. Caine, in love with her, crashes the idol to the floor where it shatters. Abbott goes to a closet where there are three more duplicates of the idol. X-Ray: The formidable team of Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine should take audiences by storm, entertain them with a smooth mixture of drama, comedy, and sus¬ pense, and send them out with a laugh and a recommendation for others to share the fun. Add to this bits of intrigue, color, good act¬ ing, smart direction, and attractive production values, and you have a film with sizeable boxoffice potentials. A gambit is a chess opening in which the first player sacrifices a pawn or a piece for advantage in position. Ad Lines: “Art Treasure Swindlers Tan¬ gled In An Oriental Web Of Intrigue”; “A Game In Which Art Treasures Are The Stake.” MISCELLANEOUS The Defector Drama 106M. Seven Arts (Eastman Color) (Filmed abroad) Estimate: Effective, suspenseful drama. Cast: Montgomery Clift, Hardy Kruger, Roddy McDowall, Macha Meril, David Opatoshu, Christine Delaroche, Hannes Messemer, Karl Lieffen. Produced and directed by Raoul Levy. Story: U.S. physicist Montgomery Clift reluctantly allows CIA agent Roddy Mc¬ Dowall to persuade him to convert a vacation and cultural visit to Leipzig into an assign¬ ment to bring back some information from a CIA spy with the Communists. Clift is closely watched from the moment he crosses the border. He is welcomed by East German scientist Hardy Kruger, who is assigned to the state security police to control Clift. The latter sticks to his story about being present on a' cultural visit, but his intended contact, a doc¬ tor, is questioned. Russian secret police official David Opatoshu supervises the activities of Hardy and the others, and he reveals that the spy is dead and that they should now con¬ centrate on preventing micro-filmed informa¬ tion from leaving the country. Clift is trans¬ ferred to another room which turns out to be a torture chamber. He survives a session here and is brought out by Kruger. He contacts the doctor’s assistant, Macha Meril, relative to getting the information, and they start a romance of sorts. Meanwhile, the doctor is killed while being arrested, and Opatoshu further confides in Kruger that the whole plot is one that they hope will eventually see Clift defecting to the east with his knowledge. Kruger refuses to carry through on this, but he is given no choice. When Clift gets the microfilm, he sees that the information is of little value. He turns it over to Kruger who admits a desire to see him defect. Clift refuses and is returned his passport, good for exit the following day. Meril becomes suspicious of the circumstances and tries to get him out of the country by running the frontier. After much hardship, he makes good his escape. Opatoshu doesn’t give up and plans for Kruger now to defect to the west, get in good with Clift, and then send back needed information. Kruger does join Clift in the west, planning to get him to America, but a truck runs him down crossing a street and he dies with the words, “Maybe it’s better this way.” X-Ray: Suspense and intrigue go hand-inhand in this entry that lays emphasis on the cold war between opposing forces in east and west Germany. Interest is held pretty much on high throughout. There are one or two se¬ quences wherein the story falters a bit, and the length is slightly on the excessive side. On the whole, however, it should entertain most audi¬ ences who go for the espionage type of thriller. The acting is good, and the direction and pro¬ duction values are acceptable. Incidentally, this is Montgomery Clift’s last film, and what¬ ever following he had might be interested in seeing it for this reason as well. The use of color provides a worthy assist. The screenplay is by Robert Guenette and Raoul Levy, based on the novel, “The Spy,” by Paul Thomas. Ad Lines: “An American Scientist Is Trapped In East Germany With Vital Infor¬ mation”; “An Espionage Thriller About An American Scientist Trapped In East Ger¬ many.” FOREIGN All The Other Girls Do 90M. Harlequin International (Filmed abroad) (English titles) Estimate: Good import on younger gen¬ eration abroad. Cast: Rosemarie Dexter, Jacques Perrin, Folco Lulli, Magali Noel, Bice Valori, Amoldo Foa, Alberto Bonucci, Mario Scaccia, Gina Rovere, Luisa Della Noce. Directed by Silvio Amadio. Story: Teeners Rosemarie Dexter and Jacques Perrin are in love and going steady, \ but they were too young to get married. They face the problem of trying to get by with adults, the parents of the girl, and the worldly father, Folco Lulli, of the boy. Her parents are interested in breaking them up while Lulli wants his son to experience the pleasures that can be found with a variety of women before tying himself down. They allow the engage¬ ment to stand, but Lulli takes Perrin on a tour of the red light district. Though he is stimu¬ lated, he refuses to indulge, which causes Lulli to worry about his offspring’s manhood. Per¬ rin’s passion for Dexter is now fully aroused, and she is concerned by his apparent unusual interest in sex. There is a break, but they get together again. He and his friends have a bachelor apartment at their disposal, but Perrin has never used it. He tries to get Dexter to go there, and she eventually agrees to go to bed with him in an effort to hold him. The experience solidifies their relationship. Though she is willing to repeat the experience later if he insists, he prefers that they wait until they are married. X-Ray: Young love and some of the ob¬ stacles it must overcome is the featured theme, and it is well executed. This should give spe¬ cialty and art house audiences pleasure as they witness good performances, fine direction, and attractive production values. There is one scene of the young lovers in bed shown in shadowy detail, which adds spice and explosive exploitation possibilities. This may limit the entry to adult audiences. Otherwise, it’s a film that could receive a wider playoff with more general audiences. Interest is well maintained. It is understood that a dubbed version will also be available. Ad Lines: “Young Lovers Face A World Of Adult Cynicism”; “They Were Going Steady — So Where Should They Stop?” Cul-De-Sac Sigma III (Filmed abroad) Drama 104M. Estimate: Off-beat entry for off-beat audi¬ ences. Cast: Donald Pleasance, Francoise Dorleac, Lionel Stander, Jack MacGowran, Iain Quarrier, Geoffrey Sumner, Renee Houston, Wil¬ liam Franklyn, Trevor Delaney. Directed by Roman Polanski; produced by Gene Gutowski; executive producer, Sam Waynberg; a Michael Klinger-Tony Tensor Production. Story: Gangsters Lionel Stander and Jack MacGowran are both wounded and on the run from a job that has obviously not come off as planned. They are seeking some sort of shelter and find themselves not far from a castle atop a hill that is an island part of the time when the tide is in. Stander, wounded in the arm, investigates and finds its inhabi¬ tants are Donald Pleasance, a retired character who keeps chickens, paints, flies boxkites, and wears his wife’s nightgowns when he can’t find his pajama tops. His bride of 10 months is French Francoise Dorleac, who maintains a sloppy house, is not above romantic interludes with young male visitors, and has a rambling, insecure relationship with Pleasance. Stander phones for help to the boss of the outfit and then forces the others to help him get Mac¬ Gowran to the house. The latter dies soon afterwards and is buried in the nearby sand. Visitors arrive but are made to feel unwelcome and depart. Stander checks with his boss again, only to be told that he is gone, having left word that he and his associate are on their own. Dorleac prods Pleasance into revolt, after which she leaves with one of the younger men. Pleasance and Stander have a gun duel of sorts, with Stander killed and Pleasance obviously driven out of his feeble mind.