How to Steal a Million (1966) - Wyler and stars win with Paris-set cinematic cream puff

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Amoral behavior, sexy stars and stylish fun allure on this poster for William Wyler's How to Steal a Million

The daughter of a major art counterfeiter in Paris worries incessantly about his practices, and when a fake Venus sculpture gets donated to an art museum, where it will undergo technical scrutiny, she joins forces with a burglar to lift the fake from the museum.

How to Steal a Million is written by Harry Kurnitz (Goodbye Charlie (1964)), based on the short story Venus Rising by George Bradshaw from his anthology Practice to Deceive (1962), and directed by German-born American master filmmaker, William Wyler (Lazy Lightning (1926)), whose 43th feature it was.

Many clear colors and smart, funny lines speak in favor of this enthusiastic swindler romcom, which also runs on its star duo, who most will naturally be inclined to want to follow to see what they're up to: Audrey Hepburn (Sabrina (1954)) and Peter O'Toole (Kidnapped (1959)) look bloody good together and have a bubbly chemistry to boot.

Wyler seems to have taken a pleasurable European recess here with How to Steal a Million, a film with a liberating aloofness to the fashions and trends of the 1960s. With a neat score by John Williams (Stepmom (1998)), and Hugh Griffiths (Gone to Earth (1950)) funny as the grand forger father. How to Steal a Million is a successful, sweet and sparkly, entertaining soufflé. (Although the title is somewhat misleading.)

 

Related posts:

William Wyler: Top 10: Best epic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Ben-Hur (1959) - Perhaps the greatest epic film of all time
The Big Country (1958) - A big western gift  

The Desperate Hours (1955) - Wyler's top-drawer true-crime home-invasion thriller 

Top 10: The best B/W movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Top 10: The best adventure films reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Roman Holiday (1953) - Wyler takes us to marvelous Rome on an unforgettable romantic adventure 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 6.4 mil. $

Box office: Reportedly 10.45 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.63 times its cost)

[How to Steal a Million premiered 13 July (Los Angeles) and runs 123 minutes. Hepburn was paid 750k $ for her performance in the film. Shooting took place from July - September in France, including in Paris. The film reportedly made 4.4 mil. $ in North-American rentals and 10.45 worldwide, according to Fox records, which list that its break-even point would have been 12 mil. $. Wyler returned with Funny Girl (1968). Hepburn returned in Two for the Road (1967); O'Toole in The Bible: In the Beginning ... (1966). How to Steal a Million is fresh at 100 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of How to Steal a Million?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) - Leone ends his poncho trilogy with certified classic

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Kept in mostly earthy tones, this hand-painted poster for Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a masterwork

Three gunslingers in the West fight each other in a fierce search for a fortune in buried Confederate gold around the time of the American Civil War.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is written by Agenore Incrocci (Spaghetti House (1982)), Furio Scarpelli (Celluloid/Celluloide (1996)), Luciano Vincenzoni (Count Tacchia/Il Conte Tacchia (1982)) and co-writer/director, Italian master filmmaker Sergio Leone (The Colossus of Rhodes/Il Colosso di Rodi (1961)). It is the final film in Leone's Dollars trilogy, which also contains A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965).
An impressively grand work, this spaghetti western is a complete joy: An epic with big sets, twists, great storytelling and Ennio Morricone's (The Repenter/Il Pentito (1985)) classic legendary score and theme, which returns probably around 20 times through the film without ever getting tiring.
Clint Eastwood (The Bridges of Madison County (1995)) is the clench-jawed Clint we know and love from these films; whereas Eli Wallach (The Toe Tactic (2008)) as Tuco ('the ugly') is especially good in the film, filling out his mischievous and unpleasant yet charming character with bravado.
The desert scenes and the cemetery finale are incredibly handsome pieces of cinema, (cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli (Lovers & Liars/Viaggio con Anita (1979))). The story of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is very uncomplicated, and at its length Leone operates in a space somewhere between grandeur and at the cusp of delusions of grandeur. However that space is wonderful to be in with him here.

Related posts:

Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dynamite/Giù la Testa, Coglione!/Duck, You Sucker (1971) - Sergio Leone's cinematic cornucopia 
For a Few Dollars More/Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (1965) or, Return of the Poncho Killer A Fistful of Dollars/Per un Pugno di Dollari (1964) or, Killer in a Poncho
 

Watch a clip from the movie here with Van Cleef

Cost: Estimated 1.2 mil. $
Box office: 25.1 mil. $ (North America only)
= Mega-hit (returned more than 20.91 times its cost)
[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly premiered 23 December (Italy) and runs 177 minutes. United Artists reportedly put up 0.5 mil. $ of the budget, following the success of the two previous Dollars movies in Europe especially, (all three were not released in North America until 1967.) Eastwood reportedly negotiated his salary up to 250k $, a Ferrari and 10 % of the US profits. Shooting took place in Spain, including Madrid, and in Italy, including Rome, around July 1966. The cemetery set was built by Spanish soldiers in 2 days. The film is said to have grossed 6.3 mil. $ in its initial North-American release. It was released slowly to more countries into the 1970s and has had many re-releases. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this review. IMDb's users have voted the film in at #9 on the site's Top 250, sitting between Pulp Fiction (1994) and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Leone returned with Once Upon a Time in the West/C'era una Volta il West (1968). Eastwood returned in The Witches/Le Streghe (1967); Lee Van Cleef (Shotgun Slade (1961, TV-series)) in Death Rides a Horse/Da Uomo a Uomo (1967); and Wallach in Batman (1967, TV-series) and theatrically in The Tiger Makes Out (1967). The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is certified fresh at 97 % with an 8.76/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

Film Excess' 5th birthday movie masterpiece: Hunger/Sult/Svält (1966) - Oscarsson leaves you breathless in Carlsen's impressionist masterpiece

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Per Oscarsson lifts his hat for us on this ominously discolored poster for Henning Carlsen's Hunger

A man by the name of Pontus is an aspiring writer, who is becoming increasingly desperate with hunger in Kristiania [now known as Norway's capital Oslo] in 1890. His Achilles heel, however, is also his own over-developed pride, which makes him give away the few kroner he acquires now and then to others in need.

Hunger is an adaptation of Norwegian master writer Knut Hamsun's (Pan (1894)) semi-autobiographical, same-titled 1890 novel, written by Peter Seeberg (Hjulet (1967), based on his novel) and Danish master co-writer-director Henning Carlsen (A Happy Divorce/Un Divorce Heureux/En Lykkelig Skilsmisse (1975)). It is a complex and serious film that can be seen again and again. It is equally amazing every time.
Pontus is a miserable wretch, and you can't help but feel for him in the guise of Per Oscarsson (Polisen som Vägrade Ta Semester (1984), miniseries): At turns highly sensitive and going mad, he tries to uphold his dignity but the painful starvation drives out his polemical side and hallucinations. Oscarsson's performance here will leave you breathless; it stands tall as one of the all-time greatest actor's performances in cinema. You are not likely to ever see anyone portray the effects of hunger with more potency than he achieves here.
Hunger is shot stunningly in B/W by Carlsen himself, and its atmosphere and beautiful lighting are beyond reproach. Hunger is a striking, deeply affecting impressionist major work of art as well as a high-point in Scandinavian film, a masterpiece of the highest integrity.

Related posts:


Henning Carlsen: Memories of My Melancholy Whores/Memoria de Mis Putas Tristes (2011) - Carlsen signs out with a dubious adaptation

Previous Film Excess birthday movie masterpieces: Film Excess' 4th birthday movie masterpiece: From Here to Eternity (1953) - Zinnemann, Taradash and Jones' Hawaii-set classic
Film Excess' 3rd birthday movie masterpiece: Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - The courtroom movie to rule them all
Film Excess' 2nd birthday movie masterpiece: The King's Speech (2010) - Hooper's soaring, royal masterpiece about overcoming human frailty

Film Excess' 1st birthday movie masterpiece: Broadway Danny Rose (1984) or, Keep Your Heart

Watch the hypnotic opening scene of the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[Hunger premiered 11 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 111 minutes. It was the first co-production between Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Shooting took place in Oslo, Norway. Oscarsson starved himself and walked a very long distance to the shooting in order to get into character. Many of the streets shown in the film do no longer exist. The film reportedly sold a measly 3,951 tickets in Carlsen's native Denmark. It was released in the three producing countries, Finland, USA and Australia initially, but its box office performances are unlisted. Oscarsson won the Best Actor award in Cannes, and the film was Denmark's bid for the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars, but it was not nominated. The film additionally won a National Board of Review award, a Guldbagge (Sweden's Oscar) for Oscarsson and two Bodil awards (Danish film critics' awards). Carlsen returned with People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart/Människor Möts och Ljuv Musik Uppstår i Hjärtat (1967). Oscarsson returned as a guest in The D.T.'s/Myten (1966) and with real parts in Patrasket (1966, TV movie) and ABC Stage 67 (1966, TV-series) and theatrically in Here Is Your Life/Här Har Du Ditt Liv (1966). 2,359 IMDb users have given Hunger a 7.9/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Hunger?

El Dorado (1966) - Hawks, Duke and Mitchum's great western

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The classy, painted poster for Howard Hawks' El Dorado

QUICK REVIEW:

A gunfighter for hire and a drunken sheriff, who are old friends, help each other through heartaches and drinking bouts while rescuing the town of El Dorado from a malicious rancher.

El Dorado is written by Leigh Brackett (Rio Lobo (1970)), loosely based on Harry Brown's novel The Stars in Their Courses (1960) and directed and produced by Indianian master filmmaker Howard Hawks (His Girl Friday (1940)).
John Wayne (Rio Bravo (1959)) and Robert Mitchum (The Last Tycoon (1976)) are both delightful, and they are accompanied by a young, fresh-faced James Caan (Silent Movie (1976)) in this marvelous, classic horse opera. It's very simple: El Dorado is a joy of a western.

Related posts:

Howard Hawks: The Big Sleep (1946) - The sexiest noir carousel you will ever ride
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
Top 10: The best B/W movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Bringing Up Baby (1938) - A screwy gathering

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 4.6 mil. $
Box office: 12 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertainty (but at least a box office success)
[El Dorado was released December 17 (Japan) and runs 126 minutes. The film was shot in Arizona and Utah in October 1965 - January 1966. The release was delayed, so the film wouldn't clash with the Steve McQueen-staring western Nevada Smith (1966). The poem recited in the film, (mispronounced by Caan), is Edgar Allan Poe's Eldorado (1849). The film was cheered by audiences and critics, even though its plot is very similar to Hawks' also John Wayne-starring Rio Bravo. The plot is also very similar to the plot of the pair's Rio Lobo (1970), which is Hawks' last film. Roger Ebert has given the film a 3½ star rating, equal to Film Excess' 5 hearts. The international box office isn't known for the film, but it was popular in important markets like France and Spain, wherein more than 2 mil. paid admission in each country, so the film might rightfully rank as a big hit. El Dorado is fresh at 100 % with a 7.9 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of El Dorado?

Death Rides a Horse/Da Uomo a Uomo (1966) - John Phillip Law and Lee Van Cleef's macho stand-off in Petroni's stylish spaghetti western

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A 60s-stylish, colorful poster for Giulio Petroni's Death Rides a Horse that cries excitement and carnality

QUICK REVIEW:

As a boy, Bill Meceita witnesses his family get murdered, and 15 years later, he meets the man who will kick-start his quest for vengeance.

He is John Phillip Law (Thunder III (1988)) with the beautiful, cool, Mediterranean-blue eyes, and his gunslinger tutor is the always good Lee Van Cleef (For a Few Dollars More (1965)). Together the two blast through more than a few prickly situations here in Giulio Petroni's (Tepepa (1969)) keen revenge spaghetti western, written by Luciano Vincenzoni (Orca (1977)).
Death Rides a Horse is comparable to spaghetti western master filmmaker Sergio Leone's (Once Upon a Time in the West/C'era una Volta il West (1968)) films in quality, and the West is certainly as gritty and dirty here as in any of Leone's movies.
Quentin Tarantino (Jackie Brown (1997)) lifted quite a bit of inspiration from the classical vendetta story and style of Horse for his Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2003; 04).
The last half of the film, which runs 114 minutes in the US cut and 120 in the Italian cut, drags on a bit, but Death Rides a Horse is still a solid, well-photographed (by Carlo Carlini (Black Emmanuelle (1975))) and -scored (by Ennio Morricone (Duck, You Sucker/Giù la Testa (1971))) Euro-western.

Lee Van Cleef came up with the Italian title for the film, (which translates to 'as man to man'), since he disliked the original choice, which translated to Duel in the Wind

Lee Van Cleef, chewing tobacco in Giulio Petroni's Death Rides a Horse

John Phillip Law in one of the less enviable situations he finds himself in in Giulio Petroni's Death Rides a Horse

Watch the original US trailer for the film here, which shows how it is both a hokey, stylish, cool and funny film to watch, - that also has a really cool tag-line: 'When you've waited 15 years to find a man... It's a shame you can only kill him once!'

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[Spaghetti western fans embrace and love Death Rides a Horse, - critics in general are more lukewarm: The film only has a 5.2 rating on Rotten Tomatoes (though based on just 5 reviews), but a 7.2 user average on IMDb. The late film critic legend Roger Ebert was hard on the film back in 1969, dishing it a snooty, mere 1-star review.]

What do you think of Death Rides a Horse?
Seen other films by Giulio Petroni?
If so, how was/were it/they?

Cul-de-Sac (1966) - Edge-of-the-world island tale meanders at times, but is ultimately a winner

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Original Italian poster for Roman Polanski's Cul-de-Sac

QUICK REVIEW:

Two criminals in a car stall, both wounded by shots. One of them heads off and SPOILER finds a castle, but when he returns to the car, it is sinking in the tide. Soon his companion dies, and help never arrives.

Cul-de-Sac is a darkly humorous, absurd crime-dramedy with societal sting, which runs on a highly unusual and original plot thought up by Gérard Brach (The Name of the Rose (1986)) and its master director Roman Polanski (The Tenant (1976)), who made this as his third feature after a string of shorts. It is infused with a youthful freshness and an infectious experimental joy. It is also clear that Polanski was in a learning process at the time, because the film contains some mistakes which he wouldn't make just a little later in his formidable career. - Cul-de-Sac, which runs 112 minutes, could have been a bit tighter.
Bearish Lionel Stander (A Star Is Born (1937)) is fabulous as Dickie. Cul-de-Sac is a treat for anyone interested in Polanski or psychedelic wild-films. Some of what Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man (1995)) would go on to make decades later are reminiscent of this film, which also - quite in lieu with its time - criticizes the bourgeois.
The island where the film was shot is Lindisfarme aka. Holy Island off Northumberland, England, and the building and land can be toured today and reportedly still appears largely unchanged since the shoot.

Related reviews:

Roman Polanski: The Ghost Writer/The Ghost (2010) - A master at work 
Chinatown (1974) - Polanski's masterpiece 

Francoise Dorleac and Lionel Stander in Roman Polanski's Cul-de-Sac

German poster for Roman Polanski's Cul-de-Sac. The German title, Wenn Katelbach Kommt, [When Katelbach Comes] refers to the gangster boss (SPOILER who never comes)

Watch the original trailer here

Cost: 120,000 £
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[While I can find nothing on the film's commercial life, Cul-de-Sac did win the Gold Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and its cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (The Omen (1976)) was also nominated for a BAFTA for his job on it.]

What do you think of Cul-de-Sac?
If you know whether or not the film was a hit or have some information on its theatrical run, please share it in a comment

Cathy Come Home (1966, TV movie) - Loach introduces national social issue in pungent kitchen sink drama

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A bleak poster for Ken Loach's Cathy Come Home, which is curiously credited to its story contributor Jeremy Sandford here

QUICK REVIEW:

Cathy Come Home is a TV movie, which was episode 72/171 in BBC's The Wednesday Play series.

The story of a major problem in England: Young couples who become homeless social clients due to lack of housing in London and other big cities. The issue is broached through a young couple, who because of lacking options and an increasing brood, disintegrates.

The issue at hand, which is the film's errand more than plot or anything else, is presented very accurately, and Cathy Come Home is therefore a very dispiriting acquaintance. It comes from Britain's public service station and is truly enlightening and effective, thus filling the organization's chief responsibility. It is also an early instance of what came to be known as the British 'kitchen sink realism', although that new turn for gritty, location-set realism wasn't as groundbreaking as some may have you think, as English directors had made precursors for the wave many years before, such as J. Lee Thompson's (Taras Bulba (1962)) early films like his Yield to the Night (1956) and Tiger Bay (1959).
Cathy Come Home comes from a story by Jeremy Sandford (Ladykillers (1980), TV), and is written and directed by great English director Ken Loach (Kes (1969)), who directed 10 Wednesday Play episodes in all and, impressively, continues to direct left-oriented, topical films to this day: Jimmy's Hall (2014) is his latest, and he is 78 now!

Watch the first 5 minutes of the TV movie here

Budget: Unknown
Box office: None (TV)
= Unknown
[Cathy Come Home is an immensely successful TV movie: It was originally seen by 12 mil. Englishmen (1/4 of the population)! It raised great concern and activity to alleviate the issues it presented of homelessness, unemployment and broken families. The documentary-like style of Cathy made many viewers believe it to be non-fiction, and it even inspired discussions in Parliament. Cathy Come Home has been voted Best Single Television Drama by Radio Times in 1998 and second best TV program ever by a 2000 BFI TV poll, (only bested by the comedy series Fawlty Towers (1975-79)).]

What do you think of Cathy Come Home?
Can you think of a social issue TV drama that has struck a chord with you?

Batman/Batman: The Movie (1966) or, Batman and Robin: Kapow!!!

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KAPOW! The poster for Leslie H. Martinson's Batman seems to scream it

QUICK REVIEW:

Batman and 'the boy wonder', Robin, are up against a terrifying enemy: A collective of Gotham City's four worst criminals, who among other things dehydrate world leaders! 

From the left, Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero and Frank Gorshin as the film's three male villains

They are The Riddler, The Joker, The Penguin and Catwoman, and they are all played with zeal and a speedy kind of mania by Frank Gorshin, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith and Lee Meriwether.
I found myself intensely wishing that Robin's (played by Burt Ward) mushy lips would do other things in Batman besides merely uttering idiocies. But alas. The very first Batman movie is a fatiguing, peppy, sexless, straight 60's-fantasy, which is completely relocated from reality and therefore lacks any kind of suspense. Still, it is worth a watch as a timely, stylish, psychedelic and über-enthusiastic entertainment production full of gags and yelling and noise of all kinds. It has a sensational amount of silliness and both the obligatory Batmobile, but also a Batcycle, a Batboat and a Batcopter ...!
And in case you're wondering, this is how Batman and Robin run through Gotham City in the film:

And this is how they climb tall buildings:

The film was released in the summer between the first and second season of ABC's Batman TV-series that feature almost all of the same actors, (Catwoman, however, was played by another actress.)
Batman is directed by Leslie H. Martinson (The Brady Bunch (1970-73)), a very productive mostly TV director.
Whether you'll enjoy the film depends mostly on your ability to experience the campy/innocent/silly dialog and production design as charming and funny. Ideally, Batman is experienced either with some kids, or under the influence of a joint.
Enjoy!

Watch the trailer here and at the same time enjoy Link Wray's classic theme here

Budget: 1.5 mil. $
Box office: Est. 1.7 mil. $ (US and Canada rentals)
= Uncertainty

What do you think of this the very first Batman movie?