Gambit (1966 film)

Last updated

Gambit
Gambit (1966 film) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ronald Neame
Screenplay by
Story by Sidney Carroll
Produced byLeo L. Fuchs
Starring
Cinematography Clifford Stine
Edited by Alma Macrorie
Music by Maurice Jarre
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • December 21, 1966 (1966-12-21)(limited)
  • January 7, 1967 (1967-01-07)(United States)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.5 million (US and Canada rentals) [1]

Gambit is a 1966 American heist comedy film directed by Ronald Neame from a screenplay by Jack Davies and Alvin Sargent from the original story of Sidney Carroll. It stars Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine, with Herbert Lom, Roger C. Carmel, and Arnold Moss. The film follows a thief (Caine) who enlists a chorus girl (MacLaine) in an elaborate plot to steal a priceless antique bust owned by multi-millionaire Mr. Shahbandar (Lom). It was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Contents

A remake was released in 2012, with a script by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Plot

Cockney cat burglar Harry Tristan Dean and his sculptor friend Emile Fournier discover exotic Eurasian showgirl Nicole Chang in a crowded Hong Kong nightclub. She bears an uncanny resemblance both to the late wife of the world's richest man, an Arab named Ahmad Shahbandar, as well as to a priceless ancient Chinese statuette that he owns; Harry and Emile want to use her in a scheme to rob Shahbandar of it. Harry's mere explanation to Emile of the caper—in which Nicole meekly obeys instructions without even a single expression—is flawless.

Harry, Nicole (who initially resisted the offer), and Emile arrive in the Middle Eastern city of Dammuz; the former two assume the identities of Sir Harold Dean and Lady Nicole Dean and check into Shahbandar's hotel, where Shahbandar himself lives in the penthouse. Harry's plot does not at all follow his imagined scenario; Shahbandar himself discovers Harry's deceitfulness, and only plays along with Harry and Nicole to see what they are plotting. She is aghast when she learns what Harry wants to steal, but goes along because she is falling in love with him.

Shahbandar invites them to dinner; Harry refuses but persuades Nicole to accept, so she will occupy Shahbandar while he will steal the statuette. Nicole, however, realizes that Shahbandar suspects them, and slips away to warn Harry. Working together, they steal the statuette without triggering the alarm, but a misplaced impulse afterwards causes Nicole to accidentally trigger the alarm anyway. At Harry's insistence, Nicole flees to the airport to return separately to Hong Kong, while he hides from the guards; he watches as they also check a secret compartment in the wall of the room, where the real statuette is hidden: the one in Harry's hands is a copy.

Shahbandar then rechecks the secret compartment, finds the fake, and has Nicole arrested at the airport. At breakfast, he tells her that his agents have found Harry in Hong Kong; he too will be arrested unless the real statuette is returned. She is free to go with a dossier of Harry if she takes that message to him.

At Emile's workshop in Hong Kong, Harry reveals that he actually hid the statuette inside a Buddha statue Emile had sold Shahbandar, and left the hotel a telegraph of this while she was traveling. In the least, Harry only wanted to give the appearance that it had been stolen, as no one yet knows when Shahbandar will reverse that credibility. Emile, in fact, made an exact replica of the statuette as well as the decoy that Shahbandar had on display; with three prospective buyers already waiting, Harry and Emile must now sell the replica as the real thing.

Nicole proves unhappy at Harry's criminal lifestyle, so Harry smashes the replica to prove she is more important to him than his life of crime. She and Harry leave Emile supposedly disconsolate—until he receives a telephone call afterwards, happily starts making arrangements with a buyer, and takes one of several more replicas of the statuette.

Cast

Accolades

AwardYearCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Academy Awards 1967 Best Art Direction (Color) Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen and George C. Webb
Set Decoration: John McCarthy Jr. and John P. Austin
Nominated
[2]
Best Costume Design (Color) Jean Louis Nominated
Best Sound Waldon O. Watson Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy GambitNominated
[3]
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Michael CaineNominated
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Shirley MacLaineNominated
Laurel Awards Female Comedy PerformanceNominated

Remake

A remake of Gambit was released in 2012, starring Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz in the leads, with Diaz's character now a Texas rodeo performer who is coaxed by Firth into coming to England and attempting to con a billionaire played by Alan Rickman. The script for this adaptation was written by Joel and Ethan Coen.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coen brothers</span> American filmmakers

Joel Daniel Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen, together known as the Coen brothers, are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Their most acclaimed works include Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Many of their films are distinctly American, often examining the culture of the American South and American West in both modern and historical contexts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Caine</span> English actor (born 1933)

Sir Michael Caine is an English retired actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over a career that spanned eight decades and is considered a British film icon. He has received numerous awards including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. As of 2017, the films in which Caine has appeared have grossed over $7.8 billion worldwide. Caine is one of only five male actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting in five different decades. In 2000, he received a BAFTA Fellowship and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

<i>Barton Fink</i> 1991 film by the Coen brothers

Barton Fink is a 1991 American period black comedy psychological thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hired to write scripts for a film studio in Hollywood, and John Goodman as Charlie Meadows, the insurance salesman who lives next door at the run-down Hotel Earle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Lom</span> Czech-British actor

Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, known professionally as Herbert Lom, was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegant elocution saw him cast as criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men and nobles as he aged. Highly versatile, he also proved a skilled comic actor in The Pink Panther franchise, playing the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in seven films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger C. Carmel</span> American actor (1932–1986)

Roger Charles Carmel was an American actor. He originated several roles on Broadway, played scores of guest roles in television series, was a lead in the sitcom The Mothers-in-Law and appeared in motion pictures. He is most famous for his two appearances as the conniving Harry Mudd in Star Trek.

<i>Intolerable Cruelty</i> 2003 film by Joel Coen

Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed, co-written and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, and produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. The script was written by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone and Ethan and Joel Coen, with the latter writing the last draft of the screenplay. The film stars George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer, Edward Herrmann, Paul Adelstein, Richard Jenkins and Billy Bob Thornton. It premiered at the 60th Venice International Film Festival and was released in the United States on October 10, 2003.

<i>How to Steal a Million</i> 1966 film by William Wyler

How to Steal a Million is a 1966 American heist comedy film directed by William Wyler and starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach, Hugh Griffith, and Charles Boyer. The film is set and was filmed in Paris, though the characters speak entirely in English. Hepburn's clothes were designed by Givenchy.

<i>The Road to Hong Kong</i> 1962 film by Norman Panama, Melvin Frank

The Road to Hong Kong is a 1962 British semi-musical comedy film directed by Norman Panama and starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, as well as Joan Collins, with an extended cameo featuring Dorothy Lamour in the setting of Hong Kong under British Rule. This was the seventh and final installment in the Road to … series and the only one made without the involvement of Paramount Pictures, though references to the others in the series are made in the film and shown in Maurice Binder's opening title sequence.

<i>Crimewave</i> 1985 film by Sam Raimi

Crimewave is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Sam Raimi, from a screenplay he co-wrote with the Coen brothers. It stars Reed Birney, Sheree J. Wilson, Paul L. Smith, Brion James, Louise Lasser and Bruce Campbell, with the latter also serving as a co-producer. An unusual slapstick mix of film noir, black comedy, Hitchcockian suspense, and B-movie conventions, Crimewave portrays bizarre situations involving a nebbish everyman (Birney) entangled in a murderous plot while pursuing his love interest (Wilson).

<i>Terror by Night</i> 1946 film

Terror by Night is a 1946 Sherlock Holmes crime drama directed by Roy William Neill and starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. The story revolves around the theft of a famous diamond aboard a train.

<i>No Country for Old Men</i> 2007 film by Ethan and Joel Coen

No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, the film is set in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. The film revisits the themes of fate, conscience, and circumstance that the Coen brothers had explored in the films Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), and Fargo (1996). The film follows three main characters: Llewelyn Moss (Brolin), a Vietnam War veteran and welder who stumbles upon a large sum of money in the desert; Anton Chigurh (Bardem), a hitman who is sent to recover the money; and Ed Tom Bell (Jones), a sheriff investigating the crime. The film also stars Kelly Macdonald as Moss's wife, Carla Jean, and Woody Harrelson as Carson Wells, a bounty hunter seeking Moss and the return of the $2 million.

<i>Burn After Reading</i> 2008 film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Burn After Reading is a 2008 black comedy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows a recently jobless CIA analyst, Osborne Cox, whose misplaced memoirs are found by a pair of dimwitted gym employees. When they mistake the memoirs for classified government documents, they undergo a series of misadventures in an attempt to profit from their find. The film also stars George Clooney as a womanizing U.S. Marshal; Tilda Swinton as Katie Cox, the wife of Osborne Cox; Richard Jenkins as the gym manager; and J. K. Simmons as a CIA supervisor.

<i>They Met in Bombay</i> 1941 film by Clarence Brown

They Met in Bombay is a 1941 American adventure drama film directed by Clarence Brown, and starring Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell, with Peter Lorre.

<i>Twist of Fate</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by David Miller

Twist of Fate is a 1954 British and American mystery film noir directed by David Miller and starring Ginger Rogers and Herbert Lom. In the UK it was released as Beautiful Stranger.

The 7th St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards were announced on December 20, 2010.

<i>Gambit</i> (2012 film) 2012 film by Michael Hoffman

Gambit is a 2012 heist comedy film directed by Michael Hoffman from a screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman, Tom Courtenay and Stanley Tucci. It is a remake of the 1966 film of the same name starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine.

The 21st London Film Critics Circle Awards, honouring the best in film for 2000, were announced by the London Film Critics Circle on 15 February 2001.

<i>Before I Go to Sleep</i> (film) 2014 British film

Before I Go to Sleep is a 2014 mystery psychological thriller film written and directed by Rowan Joffé and based on the 2011 novel of the same name by S. J. Watson. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Sweden, the film stars Nicole Kidman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, and Anne-Marie Duff.

Warner Bros. Museum, also known as the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Archive, is the only studio museum in the film industry of Burbank, California and is dedicated to Warner Bros. Opened in 1996, the 7,000 sq. foot museum brings together costumes, props, animation cells and letters collected from the history of Warner Bros. film-making and television programs.

<i>Rose Rose I Love You</i> (film) 1993 Hong Kong film

Rose Rose I Love You is a 1993 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Jacky Pang and starring Tony Leung, Kenny Bee, Simon Yam, Carina Lau, Veronica Yip and Charine Chan. The film is a sequel to the 1992 film 92 Legendary La Rose Noire, with Leung reprising his role from the predecessor, but features a new storyline. It was followed by another sequel, confusingly titled Black Rose II, released in 1997, also featuring a new storyline and cast.

References

  1. "Big Rental Films of 1967". Variety . January 3, 1968. p. 25.
  2. "The 39th Academy Awards | 1967". Academy Awards . Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  3. "Gambit". Golden Globe Awards . Retrieved May 21, 2024.