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

Merely Okay

There's a lot of other, similar, better foreign heist movies from this period, including the French AND HOPE TO DIE, and the Italian LAST CHANCE which I both found much more interesting than this work.

The main thing this one has going for it is once-huge American star Kirk Douglas in a very meaty central role as a super-suave master thief akin to Clooney's character in the recent "Ocean's 11" series. The supporting cast is also good, though underused, with Gemma as a trapeze artist who Douglas tries to recruit into the life of thievery. Wolfgang Preiss (the guy who always plays Nazi bad guys in war movies) plays the main mob boss with Romano Puppo in a satisfying role as his head thug. Puppo and Gemma have numerous fight and chase scenes which are fun to watch but add absolutely nothing to the plot. Speaking of plot, this one conveniently glazes over all the details of the heist, except on how Douglas deals with the security system's sound recorder. His preparations don't appear to be particularly well informed yet he seems unswervingly confident about the whole thing. Hmmm....

He also has a hot girlfriend/wife/lover/whatever Florinda Bolkan... who repeatedly tells him NOT to go through with the heist or she will leave him. These assertions make absolutely no impact on Douglas, who is single-minded in his pursuit of a big score... and then he is surprised later by all the double-crosses.

It's worth tracking down, but not exactly the most cerebral crime caper from the period. A little more realism would have done this film an immeasurable service.