Kaleidoscope (1966)

Director:

Jack Smight

Writers:

Robert Carrington (written by) and
Jane-Howard Carrington (written by)

Release Date:

22 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

From London to the Riviera, a hair-raising tale of gallant love and truly desperate adventure!

Plot:

Romantic comedy which has Barney Lincoln and Angel McGinnis as a pair of amorous adventurers in the gambling places of London and the Riviera...

Plot Keywords:

Poker | Caper Comedy | Casino | Poker Player | Card Playing

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Warren Beatty	...	Barney Lincoln
Susannah York	...	Angel McGinnis
Clive Revill	...	Inspector 'Manny' McGinnis
Eric Porter	...	Harry Dominion
Murray Melvin	...	Aimes
George Sewell	...	Billy
Stanley Meadows	...	Dominion Captain
John Junkin	...	Dominion Porter
Larry Taylor	...	Dominion Chauffeur
Yootha Joyce	...	Museum Receptionist
Jane Birkin	...	Exquisite Thing
George Murcell	...	Johnny
Anthony Newlands	...	Leeds
Peter Blythe
Sean Lynch

Also Known As:

The Bank Breaker

Runtime:

103 min | Israel:107 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Hampstead, London, England, UK

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Sandra Dee was cast as the female lead but replaced

Enjoyable Chic Fluff

"Kaleidoscope" drifts through like a pleasant breeze. Even if you're in the mood for something heavy and serious, just allow yourself five minutes with this light fluff, and you're hooked.

Set in Swinging London and Europe of the 60's, this film was directed by an American, Jack Smight ("Harper," the "Banacek" TV series), in a style that deliberately calls attention to itself. The dialogue is flippant; the characters are so offbeat they exist only as abstractions. If a viewer feels distanced emotionally, then the film's creators have succeeded. It's all pretty much at the same level as that other quintessential Sixties caper, "Modesty Blaise" (1966), only a bit less refined and a tad more square.

Warren Beatty plays Barney Lincoln, a card-cheating playboy with romantic pretensions. Before "Kaleidoscope," Beatty had virtually no experience acting in film comedy. Here, he comes on a little heavy-handed at first, but he soon settles in with the other performers, including Eric Porter -- a fine hammy presence as a sociopathic Mr. Big with a dreadful Napoleon-complex.

There are times when one fears even this farce might fail to hold its own light weight. But the high notes arrive on cue: the climax is a high-stakes, winner-take-all poker game, and it's a highly suspenseful scene. Its resolution will leave you admiring the good, low-keyed humor of the whole affair. The film's denouement, a kidnap-and-rescue sequence, is almost as clever.

This film is not art -- not by any stretch of our good will or imagination. But there's nothing wrong with taking pleasure from a well-made caper, especially if we realize the genre's built-in limitations. "Kaleidoscope" is good fun because, like its gambler/hero, it doesn't always play by the rules.

With Susannah York as Beatty's chic companion, a Carnaby Street shopowner, and Clive Revill as her Scotland Yard inspector/father.