The Master Touch (1972)
"Un uomo da rispettare" (original title)

A just released from prison professional thief decides to do one last high-risk heist, which could settle him for life or land him behind bars again.

Director:

Michele Lupo

Writers:

Roberto Leoni (story), Franco Bucceri (story),

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Giuliano Gemma, Florinda Bolkan

Cast

Credited cast:
Kirk Douglas	...	Steve Wallace
Giuliano Gemma	...	Marco
Florinda Bolkan	...	Anna
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Miller
Reinhard Kolldehoff	...	Detective Hoffman (as Rene Kolldehoff)
Romano Puppo	...	Miller's Lieutenant
Bruno Corazzari	...	Eric
John Bartha	...	Murdered Security Guard
Allen Stanley
Vittorio Fanfoni
Luigi Antonio Guerra
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Herbert A.E. Böhme	...	Captain Hansmunsen
Peter Kuiper	...	Gustav
Paul Muller	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

A just released from prison professional thief decides to do one last high-risk heist, which could settle him for life or land him behind bars again.

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Plot Keywords:

trapeze artist | racism | caper | master criminal | heist movie | 

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Taglines:

To split a car in half... seduce a safe with music... send a city wild !

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Man to Respect

Filming Locations:

Hamburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount-Orion Filmproduktion, Verona Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 95 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the chase, one of the cars keep changing back and forth from a 1958 Plymouth two door to a 1960 Dodge four door with slightly modified tail fins.

User Reviews

Scoring by Morricone

It may interest some to know that the score was composed by spaghetti-western and crime flick master Ennio Morricone. For some reason this goes unlisted on the DVD I own but is stated on the beginning credits (and the IMDb file).

The scoring often follows a somewhat formulaic approach that has been taken to quite a few of these films (i.e. recapitulate the theme endlessly), but there are high points. An example would be long scene preceding the film's conclusion, when Wallace is running through a coal factory.

The film itself is fairly entertaining, if not for the antiquated technologies regarded as cutting edge, and Douglas' sharp suits. Features some fairly hairy car-chases esp. considering the lack of special effects but long (and decidedly cheesy) romantic interludes with Anna.

Not spoiling ANYTHING, the movie actually has a great twist and is fairly suspenseful as the characters plan to execute the biggest heist in town.