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).

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

They were after silver and they struck gold.

---

Genres:

Crime | Comedy

---

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

The last film of Nigel Patrick.

---

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.

---

Soundtracks

"Raffaella"
(uncredited)
Music by Franco Pisano

User Reviews

Delightful comedy with stellar cast

This is a movie I could easily have missed. It played at a theater I worked at, and was an unusually rare booking in that, as I recall, it actually played for less than a week (talk about filler).

Nevertheless, it really is a gem of a comedy. Years later, working in a video store, I would frequently put it on the store monitor to play, and almost never got through the whole thing, because invariably someone would see a bit of it and then want to rent it.

Contrary to another user's comment, it would be hard to claim that Jay Leno's role is third. He has a good part, but he could hardly be placed ahead of Louis Jourdan or Tom Smothers. Possibly ahead of David Warner.

This is not some people's idea of comedy, as there are no fart jokes or car crashes, but it's a movie you find yourself chuckling at all the way through. A collection of classy comedic performances from the stars and supporting cast members Joss Ackland, Charles Gray, Jeremy Clyde (of Chad & Jeremy fame), and Leno, among others.

Be warned if looking for it on home video, however. Though the first release of it was in SP mode, it was later released in a bargain-bin EP/SLP version, which will of course look like crap. If only someone would put this gem out on DVD.