Silver Bears (1978)

Financial wizard "Doc" Fletcher (Michael Caine) is sent by crime boss Joe Fiore (Martin Balsam) to buy a bank in Switzerland in order to more easily launder their profits. When he arrives, ... See full summary »

Director:

Ivan Passer

Writers:

Paul Erdman (novel), Peter Stone

Stars:

Michael Caine, Cybill Shepherd, Louis Jourdan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Doc Fletcher
Cybill Shepherd	...	Debbie Luckman
Louis Jourdan	...	Prince Gianfranco di Siracusa
Stéphane Audran	...	Shireen Firdausi
David Warner	...	Agha Firdausi
Tom Smothers	...	Donald Luckman
Martin Balsam	...	Joe Fiore
Jay Leno	...	Albert Fiore
Tony Mascia	...	Marvin Skinner
Charles Gray	...	Charles Cook
Joss Ackland	...	Henry Foreman
Jeremy Clyde	...	Nick Topping
Moustache	...	Signore Bendetti
Mike Falco	...	Boston
Philip Mascellino	...	St. Louis

Storyline

Financial wizard "Doc" Fletcher (Michael Caine) is sent by crime boss Joe Fiore (Martin Balsam) to buy a bank in Switzerland in order to more easily launder their profits. When he arrives, Fletcher finds that the bank, acquired by his associate Prince di Siracusa (Louis Jourdan), consists of some shabby offices above a restaurant. To make up for this, the Prince suggests that Fletcher invests in a silver mine owned by Shireen and Agha Firdausi (Stéphane Audran and David Warner). This solves one problem, but the mine also attracts the attention of some of the most powerful people in the silver business. Fletcher must pull out all his wheeler-dealing skills in order to keep hold of everything he's worked for, in the process romancing a banker's discontented wife (Cybill Shepherd).

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Plot Keywords:

silver | silver mine | switzerland | caper | animal in title | 

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Taglines:

They were after silver and they struck gold.

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Genres:

Crime | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 1978 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Fool's Gold

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, Raleigh Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of three 1978 films that actor Michael Caine appeared in that year. The movies were The Swarm, California Suite and Silver Bears.

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Goofs

When Luckman (Tom Smothers) offers to buy the bank his hands alternate, between shots, from being in his pockets, to hanging loose by his sides.

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Soundtracks

"Raffaella"
(uncredited)
Music by Franco Pisano

User Reviews

Not Bad Caper Movie

I haven't seen this movie in ages but I remember liking it a great deal. The plot is one of those twisty turny types thats no where near as clever as it think it is. The film is a mindless time killer but not in a bad way.

The real curiosity is the fact that it stars Jay Leno in what is actually the third largest part in the film. Leno is good in his role, certainly much better than you'd expect from one of the current kings of late night TV. Certainly had this film been made now Leno would be billed near the top instead of eighth or ninth in the cast list. If you're dying to be able to one up your friends in useless trivia and to be able to see a film that they probably haven;t seen, but might want to for the curiosity factor, give it a shot.