St. Ives (1976)

Abner Procane, top L.A. burglar, finds that somebody stole his plans for next ambitious heist. He hires Raymond St. Ives, crime books writer, to negotiate the return of those documents.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Ross Thomas (novel), Barry Beckerman (screenplay)

Stars:

Charles Bronson, John Houseman, Jacqueline Bisset

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Raymond St Ives
John Houseman	...	Abner Procane
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Janet Whistler
Maximilian Schell	...	Dr. John Constable
Harry Guardino	...	Det. Frank Deal
Harris Yulin	...	Det. Carl Oller
Dana Elcar	...	Lt. Charles Blunt
Michael Lerner	...	Myron Green
George Memmoli	...	Shippo
Dick O'Neill	...	Hesh
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Eddie (as Elisha Cook)
Jerome Thor	...	Chasman
Val Bisoglio	...	Finley Cummins
Burr DeBenning	...	Officer Fran (as Burr De Benning)
Daniel J. Travanti	...	Johnny Parisi

Storyline

Abner Procane, top L.A. burglar, finds that somebody stole his plans for next ambitious heist. He hires Raymond St. Ives, crime books writer, to negotiate the return of those documents.

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Plot Keywords:

reluctant hero | action hero | justice | suspense | tough girl | 

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Taglines:

He's clean. He's mean. He's the go-between.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 1976 (Japan)

Also Known As:

St. Ives' Last Score

Filming Locations:

Arden Villa - 1145 Arden Road, Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Wider Screenings' has called this movie a "detective 'film noir' homage" which "features a dense detective plot in the manner of classic 1940s 'film noir' private eye stories."

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Connections

References NFL Monday Night Football (1970)

User Reviews

more enjoyable than it should be...

St. Ives was the first of a run of movies Charles Bronson made with veteran British director J. Lee Thompson, and – with a few notable exceptions – pretty much set the tone for both his movie persona and story content for the rest of his career. In this one he plays Raymond St. Ives, introduced to us in a curiously disconnected opening scene that informs us, thanks mostly to his agent who disappears for the rest of the film, that he is a former crime writer turned failed novelist with a broken marriage behind him and a bad gambling habit. No doubt, then, that we're in the domain of the American anti-hero here, although St. Ives' status as such is a little ill-defined: he might be a loser, but he is without doubt the guy wearing white, no matter how hard scriptwriter Barry Beckerman tries to muddy the waters. More in the style of Sam Spade than Harry Callahan, you get the impression as you watch that St. Ives allows himself to be drawn into the plots of arch-criminal Abner Procane (John Houseman) simply to see what will happen next. He casts an appreciative eye over Janet Whistler (Jacqueline Bisset) Procane's ravishing protégé, but makes no effort to bed her, allowing her, instead, to make the first move. It's a gratuitous encounter, filmed no doubt more for the trailer than for any plot development, but it supplies a brief diversion for both St. Ives and the audience from a rather far-fetched and convoluted plot.

Bronson's St. Ives kills time losing money on rash bets as he waits for yet another publisher's rejection slip to present itself, so is in no position to refuse when he's offered the position of go-between for Procane, owner of five stolen – and incriminating – ledgers, and the thieves who are demanding $100,000 for their return. St. Ives succeeds in recovering the ledgers, but pages detailing super-criminal Procane's next heist are missing. St. Ives throws in his lot with Procane and his delicious colleague, Janet Wheeler, in a plan to steal from those who stole from Procane.

John Houseman is a curious choice for the part of Procane, although he seems to be enjoying himself. He's about twenty years too old for the part, even with what little hair he has dyed an alarming shade of red, and his delivery is vaguely reminiscent of the older Ray Milland. He heads a fine supporting cast for a Bronson film – in fact the story is a little overcrowded with characters, and it seems as if they are queueing up to get knocked off at times. Harry Guardino's in there as a cop, partnering the ever-dependable Harris Yulin; Dana Elcar broods around, barking loudly with his hands in his pockets as the duo's boss; Maximilian Schell plays Procane's psychiatrist in one of the film's cheesier aspects. He plays it like he thinks he's making a spoof film, and you expect him to starrrrt rrrrrolling his rrrrrr's at any moment and ending hiz pluralz viz a zee. Even 40s gunsel Elisha Cook Jr. puts in an appearance as the sleepy doorman at St. Ives' rundown hotel. And 'stars' of the future, Robert 'Freddy' Englund and Jeff 'twitchy' Goldblum get small roles as a couple of thugs.

Overall, St. Ives is an acceptable movie that isn't quite as absorbing as its convoluted plot suggests it should be. The central character wanders around with apparently little real concern about what is going on, and even less about who keeps trying to kill him, and consistently fails to ask the questions you would expect a person in his position to ask. While not quite falling into the 'typically cheesy 70s movie' category, this one strays perilously close at times. Its only truly memorable scene is the final one, which is an absolute pearler, and which Dana Elcar plays to perfection…