A truly international production, Giuliano Montaldo's riveting 1967 heist film involves three continents and a mix of American, Italian, German, Austrian, and Argentinian actors. Casting a net that wide represents the risk of a disjointed muddle, but Montaldo (Machine Gun McCain, Marco Polo) manages to pull it off.
Though Edward G. Robinson (Two Weeks in Another Town) and Janet Leigh (The Manchurian Candidate) provide the marquee names, the entire cast makes an impression. Robinson's Rio de Janeiro-based Professor Anders, a recent retiree, sets the plot in motion when he assembles a team of four men of contrasting skills and backgrounds to penetrate the Grand Slam 70, the intimidating alarm system attached to a safe filled with $10 million in diamonds. While the streets are filled with Carnival revelers, the cops will presumably be too busy to notice the skullduggery going on in their midst.
The men, all selected by Anders's schoolfriend-turned-gangster Milford (Thunderball's Adolfo Celi), set up shop on a houseboat where they come up with a plan and rehearse their roles. Hotheaded ex-Nazi Erich (Klaus Kinski, For a Few Dollars More) provides tactical expertise, while pretty-boy lothario Jean-Paul (Robert Hoffmann, The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe) sets out to seduce Leigh's Mary Ann, a diamond company secretary with a key to the vault.
The two face significant challenges, but their assignments pale in comparison to Gregg (George Rigaud, All the Colors of the Dark), the distinguished older safecracker, and Agostino (Riccardo Cucciolla, Montaldo's Sacco and Vanzetti), the young electrician with eyes for the bikini-clad beauty in the neighboring houseboat. Before they launch their plan, Jean-Paul has to get into Mary Ann's apartment in order to swipe her key, leading to a series of humiliating encounters until she finally falls for his persistent, if controlling charms (he criticizes her looks, so she changes her hairstyle and ditches her glasses to please him).
The actual heist, a labyrinthine affair, takes up a quarter of the film's run time. Prolific editor Nino Baragli, famed for his work with Sergio Leone, cuts between the silence of the safecrackers, who must evade security guards and laser sensors without making a sound over 14 decibels, and the street revelers, effectively ratcheting up the tension.
The pace only accelerates once the men start to disperse after the deed, only to face more formidable obstacles. Another frequent Leone collaborator, composer Ennio Morricone, provides the surprisingly jaunty score, recalling Herb Alpert's work on the original Casino Royale. Meanwhile, Montaldo ends the film with a twist that might encourage some viewers to watch the whole thing again.
Grand Slam offers much of the same appeal as expatriate American filmmaker Jules Dassin's European heist films, the Parisian-set Rififi and Istanbul-set Topkapi. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray includes commentary from film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson. Recommended for international crime and caper film collections.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Library programming involving heist and caper films could benefit from Grand Slam.
What kind of film series would this fit in?
Grand Slam would fit into a film series dedicated to Italian cinema of the 1960s and career retrospectives involving Edward G. Robinson, Janet Leigh, and Klaus Kinski. This would be of special interest to film studies professors and students, as well as anyone studying Italian culture.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Grand Slam would be suitable for action and adventure film collections at public libraries.