Deadfall (1968)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Desmond Cory (novel)
Bryan Forbes (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 September 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Michael Caine plunges into the world of the adulterous... the treacherous... and the perverse!

Plot:

Cat burglar Henry Clarke and his accomplices the Moreaus attempt to steal diamonds from the chateau of millionaire Salinas. |

Plot Keywords:

Burglar | Break In | Mansion | Homosexual | Jewel Thief

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Henry Stuart Clarke
Giovanna Ralli	...	Fé Moreau
Eric Portman	...	Richard Moreau
David Buck	...	Salinas
Leonard Rossiter	...	Fillmore
Geraldine Sherman	...	Delgado's Receptionist
Carlos Pierre	...	Antonio
Vladek Sheybal	...	Dr. Delgado
Renata Tarrago	...	Guitar Soloist
Nanette Newman	...	Girl
Emilio Rodríguez	...	Police Captain
Carmen Dene	...	Masseuse
Reg Howell	...	Spanish Chauffeur
John Barry	...	Symphony Orchestra Conductor
Santiago Rivero	...	Armed Guard

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:R | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X

Filming Locations:

Spain

Company:

Salamander Film Productions

Trivia:

Both Freddie Jones and Maxine Audley were attached to this project at one stage

Bryan Forbes shoots, but John Bary scores!

Did you hear the one about the gay Nazi war criminal (Eric Portman), his lesbian wife (Giovanna Ralli) and the cat burglar (Michael Caine) who's pretending to be a drunk to get close to a millionaire he wants to rob? You'll love it - it's got robberies, incest and John Barry as well. Oh, and there's a great part for Nanette in it too and we can shoot it all in Spain with blocked funds.

That was probably Bryan Forbes' pitch for Deadfall, an enjoyable enough glossy thriller set in Spain before it raises the ante too much in the second half and loses its grip about the same time as Mrs Forbes, Nanette Newman, turns up to give a horrendously bad performance that'll bring your dinner up. Aside from Gerry Turpin's superb photography, its main distinction is the famous robbery sequence intercut with John Barry conducting his Guitar Concerto a la Bernard Herrmann in The Man Who Knew Too Much. Strangely the music doesn't always compliment the crime, as if they didn't get all the footage they need (some of the more dramatic musical passages are played over shots of the concert), although it's a good centrepiece to a fine score. It's not the only time Barry cameoed - he also appears in The Living Daylights and The Cool Mikado, though he constantly tries to hide his face in the latter (but then wouldn't you in a Michael Winner film?) - but it is his most substantial. Shame the final heist simply doesn't match the first.

Fox's new R1 DVD includes an interview with Barry as well as an isolated music and effects track that favors music over effects.