The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writer:

Alan Trustman (written by)

Release Date:

19 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | Romance

Tagline:

He was young, handsome, a millionaire - and he'd just pulled off the perfect crime! She was young, beautiful, a super sleuth - sent to investigate it!

Plot:

A debonair, adventuresome bank executive believes he has pulled off the perfect multi-million dollar heist, only to match wits with a sexy insurance investigator who will do anything to get her man.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Heist | Insurance Investigator | Police | Boston

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Thomas Crown
Faye Dunaway	...	Vicki Anderson
Paul Burke	...	Lt. Eddy Malone
Jack Weston	...	Erwin
Biff McGuire	...	Sandy
Addison Powell	...	Abe
Astrid Heeren	...	Gwen
Gordon Pinsent	...	Jamie
Yaphet Kotto	...	Carl
Sidney Armus	...	Arnie
Richard Bull	...	Booth Guard
Peg Shirley	...	Honey
Patrick Horgan	...	Danny
Carol Corbett	...	Miss Sullivan
Tom Rosqui	...	Pvt. Detective

Also Known As:

The Crown Caper
Thomas Crown and Company

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | USA:TV-PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:R (M.P.A.A. Cert. No. 21612) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

85 Mt. Vernon Street, Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

Director Norman Jewison's use of multiple images was inspired by the Expo 67 film A Place to Stand (1967).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the first getaway scene in the picture, the driver is scene driving westbound on the Massachusetts Turnpike a mile or so into the highway from downtown Boston. He's then seen *entering* the Pike from I-93 which would have happened prior to already being on that road. Subsequently, he's seen further down the Mass. Pike, once again somehow traveling westbound on it as he was before.

Quotes:

Thomas Crown: [looks at Vicki, who is standing next to the chess table] Do you play?
Vicki Anderson: Try me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Twice in a Lifetime: Old Flames (#1.18)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

The Windmills Of Your Mind

Stealing With Style

Thomas Crown is a mysterious gazillionaire who is frankly bored with his life. What to do when you're a thirty something and have all the resources available. For a lark, plan the perfect crime.

So in The Thomas Crown Affair, Steve McQueen does just that. He recruits four people at random for the crime, none of whom know each other and pull off a really neat bank robbery.

It seems like Paul Burke and the Boston PD aren't getting the job done so the bank brings in Faye Dunaway as an insurance investigator. She does this for a 10% finders fee, not for a policeman's salary. She also doesn't have to follow the rules the way the cops do.

Dunaway is smart and she does figure out it's McQueen who's the mastermind. She baits him in some of the same way that Inspector Slimane baits Pepe LeMoko. Of course she really gets up close and personal in a way that Slimane couldn't. All this really does get to Paul Burke, whose performance is unfortunately overlooked in talking about The Thomas Crown Affair.

It's a battle of hubris between McQueen and Dunaway and the film does keep you in some suspense as to who will win out.

The Thomas Crown Affair garnered won Academy Award for Michel LeGrand's song, The Windmills of Your Mind. It's a stylishly done caper film and I guarantee you won't be able to anticipate the outcome.