Deadfall *** (1968, Michael Caine, Giovanna Ralli, Eric Portman, Nanette Newman) – Classic Movie Review 2421

Writer-director Bryan Forbes’s plush and alluring British 1968 French Riviera crime caper with dark psychological and sexual overtones is brought to life by capable character studies from Michael Caine, Eric Portman and Nanette Newman.

The once fashionable style of plot, based on a 1965 novel by Desmond Cory, has cat-burglar jewel thief Henry Clarke (Caine) falling for the pretty, much younger wife Fé Moreau (Giovanna Ralli) of his gay partner Richard Moreau (Portman), who is having a fling with young Latin lover Antonio (Carlos Pierre). Between all the sexual shenanigans, Clarke and the Moreaus are planning a gem heist on the home of ultra-rich Salinas (David Buck).

They break into another stately home as a test run before the real robbery but Richard fails to crack the safe and Henry drags it and its contents out of the house. With things going wrong around him, eventually Henry decides to break into Salinas’s mansion on his own.

The thriller plot seems messy and rather over-complicated and the movie is staggeringly paced and overlong at two full hours. But it’s still involving, well acted and strikingly filmed in Majorca and Spain, with a pretty, highly appealing score from John Barry, who also appears as the symphony conductor. Some dated attitudes, particularly to homosexuality, have alas faded its charm and allure a little. The highlight is a tense extended robbery sequence, played out without dialogue.

Also in the cast are Leonard Rossiter, Emilio Rodriguez, Vladek Sheybal, Philip Madoc, George Ghent, Reg Howell, Santiago Rivero, Antonio Sanpere, Geraldine Sherman, Renata Tarrago and Carmen Dene.

The theme song My Love Has Two Faces is performed by Shirley Bassey.

One of the most important figures in the British film industry, Bryan Forbes died on May 8 2013 aged 86.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2421

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