The Split (1968)

Thieves fall out when over a half million dollars goes missing after the daring and carefully planned robbery of the Los Angeles Coliseum during a football game, each one accusing the other... See full summary »

Director:

Gordon Flemyng

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel), Robert Sabaroff (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Brown, Diahann Carroll, Ernest Borgnine

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jim Brown	...	McClain
Diahann Carroll	...	Ellen 'Ellie' Kennedy
Ernest Borgnine	...	Bert Clinger
Julie Harris	...	Gladys
Gene Hackman	...	Detective Lt. Walter Brill
Jack Klugman	...	Harry Kifka
Warren Oates	...	Marty Gough
James Whitmore	...	Herb Sutro
Donald Sutherland	...	Dave Negli
Joyce Jameson	...	Jenifer
Harry Hickox	...	Detective
Jackie Joseph	...	Jackie
Warren Vanders	...	Mason

Storyline

Thieves fall out when over a half million dollars goes missing after the daring and carefully planned robbery of the Los Angeles Coliseum during a football game, each one accusing the other of having the money.

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Plot Keywords:

football game | corrupt cop | death | colosseum | torture | 

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Taglines:

No wonder they're happy. They just stole a half-million dollars in front of a hundred-thousand witnesses... But watch what happens when it's time for The Split!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Partilha

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Spectrum

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was the very first theatrical release to receive an R rating from the then-new MPAA's film rating system.

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Quotes

Dave Negli: Listen, Marty, the last man I killed I did it for $5000. For $85,000 I'd kill you 17 times.

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Connections

Referenced in Parker (2013)

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Soundtracks

"It's Just A Game, Love"
Music by Quincy Jones
Lyrics by Ernie Shelby
Sung by Arthur Prysock

User Reviews

Twisty yarn.

Near the beginning of this film, there is a fistfight, but it's not exciting because we don't know why the two men are fighting. A little later, there is a car chase, but it's not exciting either, because we don't know who's chasing whom or why. Later still, we find out the answers to those questions, but two potentially good action scenes have been wasted. And then the movie turns into a standard heist flick....thankfully only for a while. The focus here is not on the actual heist, but more on the aftermath. And it's there that the movie finally goes in unexpected directions.

There is, for example, the bizarre scene in which a man gets off on shooting someone with a machine-gun. There is the memorable image of a white sheet that gradually "absorbs" the blood of the body that's underneath it, and red spots start appearing on it. And there some neat plot twists along the way, mostly involving a character (I won't say which) that enters the picture when you least expect him to.

If the whole movie was as good as its final 30 minutes, I'd give it one more star, but for now this gets a ** rating.