Gambit (1966)

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Jack Davies (screenplay) and
Alvin Sargent (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 January 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Shirley MacLaine raises Michael Caine!

Plot:

Harry Dean has a plan to pull off a major robbery and needs Nicole as a gambit and windowdressing. He...

Plot Keywords:

Stealing | Posing | Man Woman Man Relationship | Art Dealer | Unlikely Criminal

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Shirley MacLaine	...	Nicole Chang
Michael Caine	...	Harry Tristan Dean
Herbert Lom	...	Ahmad Shahbandar
Roger C. Carmel	...	Ram
Arnold Moss	...	Abdul
John Abbott	...	Emile Fournier
Richard Angarola	...	Colonel Salim
Maurice Marsac	...	Hotel Clerk

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Arabic

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:U

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Shirley MacLaine does not speak until 29 minutes into the film.

Quotes:

Nicole Chang: I'm sorry, Émile. It's for the best. I'm sure you can find something honest to do with all that old Mongolian clay.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991)

TWISTY FUN

Although perhaps not in the same top-flight league as "Rififi" and "Topkapi," "Gambit" is nevertheless an extremely entertaining heist movie that features consistently fine performances, an amusing and twisty script, and good production values. In this one, Caine hires MacLaine, who is working as a dancehall girl in Hong Kong, to assist him in the purloining of a priceless piece of sculpture, owned by Herbert Lom. This is not your typical heist film, however, and there is a twist right around the first half-hour mark that really had me chuckling out loud...and I'm not an easy person to make laugh out loud at movies, either. MacLaine plays one of her patented loveable kooks in this film, and is ever so appealing. Caine, in his first American production, plays it alternately cool and exasperated. Lom is surprisingly good as Shabhandar, one of the world's wealthiest men; his performance is both urbane and beautifully modulated. Good in smaller parts are two faces that classic "Star Trek" fans will recognize: John Abbott (an Organian) as the French art connoisseur, and Roger "Harry Mudd" Carmel as a hotel clerk. The heist itself is fairly suspenseful and, I suppose, high-tech for its day. Both Caine and MacLaine display surprising derring-do and quick thinking, and toward the finale of the film, the viewer is treated to at least three unexpected twists of plot. "Gambit," thus, offers good suspense, real wit, some romance, colorful locales, and fine acting. It is a real winner. If you're a fan of the heist movie, this one will not disappoint. It's good, light, well-done fun, and infinitely more entertaining than recent, "serious" caper films such as "The Score" and "Heist." Check it out!