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

'The New York Times' said that this movie had a central character which was ". . .the kind of private-eye role that Humphrey Bogart used to do."

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Connections

Featured in Bronson: St. Ives (1976)

User Reviews

Procane's Incriminating Diary

Reading some of the reviews here, I can see that a lot of folks aren't happy with Charles Bronson's interpretation of Ross Thomas's hero, Raymond St. Ives. Having not read any of the books I can't comment there. I'm happy enough with Charles Bronson in the part having no novel to measure it against.

I'm also very happy with the very excellent cast of supporting players that Bronson and J. Lee Thompson put together for St. Ives. There what really makes this film work for me.

Picture if Dr. Reifenschneider or Casper Guttman had kept a diary of all the criminal enterprises they had been involved with. That's what master criminal John Houseman as Abner Procane has done. But somebody's stolen it and wants some big bucks to get it back.

Enter Charles Bronson as Ray St. Ives, former crime reporter now trying to work on a novel. He knows the Los Angeles underworld and portals of entry therein like no one else, so Houseman hires him as a go between.

Bronson's 'between' all right, between a whole lot of people with agendas at cross purposes. In this stellar cast you'll find Jacqueline Bisset as the Charley's Angel like security for Houseman, Maxmilian Schell as Houseman's psychiatrist, Harris Yulin and Harry Guardino as a pair of on the make detectives, Dana Elcar as their superior, and Elisha Cook as the hotel clerk where Bronson stays.

Bronson's got his work cut out for him in this one. Figure he's the good guy, he's got some real problems telling just who the villains are.

Funniest scene, Bronson in his favorite bar/lunch counter place feeding Val Bisoglio and pumping him for information as Dick O'Neil cuts the corned beef. This might have been what got Bisoglio to thinking about owning a more upscale place because his best known role was coming shortly, as Danny who owned the place Jack Klugman and the cast of Quincy loved to kick back in.

Obviously purists of Ross Thomas's work have problems with St. Ives, but fans of Charles Bronson most definitely won't.