Deadfall   Starring: Michael Caine, Clarke Giovanna Ralli, Eric Portman, David Buck and Leonard Rossiter Optimum Home Entertainment RRP: £19.99 OPTD2047 Certificate: 12 Available 31 January 2011

Henry Clarke, an accomplished jewel thief, is posing as a recovering alcoholic in order to stay at a sanatorium and get closer to his next target Salinas, who is reputed to have a tempting wealth of diamonds. He is approached by Fé Moreau, who on her husband’s behest has come to ask for Henry’s help in the same heist. After some initial mistrust Henry joins the pair, though not for the chance of stealing the diamonds, but because he is falling in love with Fé. But things are not what they seem with the Moreau’s and Henry discovers that there are some truths that should remain hidden...

Deadfall (1968 - 1 hr, 54 min, 57 sec) is a somewhat confused movie, directed by Bryan Forbes (Whistle Down the Wind, The Stepford Wives) from the original novel by Desmond Cory.

I say that it is a confused film as it never really knows which part of the story it wants to concentrate on, the sexual intrigue or the theft, thereby watering down the both aspects of the film. Michael Caine plays Henry, a mid-to-late sixties man, so the presentation here is that of a laconic, slow talking man with measured and minimal movement. Great for Harry Palmer in the Ipcress File (1965), but far too inanimate for this role.

When he gets involved in the Moreau’s world he discovers a level of immorality outside of his own experience. His job as a jewel thief he compares to that of Robin Hood as an explanation to why the public don’t regard this profession in the same vein as bank robbers. It is this emotional naiveté which plays out in the second half of the film when he has to confront the morally bankrupt Richard Moreau (Eric Portman).

It is difficult to know whether the moral ambiguities inherent in the film were designed to shock a contemporary audience, homosexuality had only been decriminalised in Britain in 1967. But whatever the intent, the idea that Richard wants to sleep with Henry, who in turn wants to sleep with Fé, who turns out to be Richard's daughter and not his wife, is played out in such a way that few modern audiences would even bat an eye at such shenanigans.

So, what of the heist that started the whole film? Well this is where the movie gets a bit bogged down as focus is lost on this aspect to concentrate on the soap opera torrid relationships.

When we do get a bit of thieving action even this becomes a fractured event, as Henry breaks into Salinas’s house whilst his intended target is attending a concert. The soundtrack was provided by John Barry, a very talented film composer, with credits too numerous to mention. But don’t be surprised if the opening music for Deadfall bears a striking resemblance to most Bond films, even down to having a Shirley Bassey theme tune. However, the first theft is intercut with an orchestra engaging in playing a faux classical piece by Barry, nice, in and of itself it may be, but this homage to the master drains all the tension away from the theft.

For Caine fans it is a chance to see a rarely repeated film, which unfortunately sports style over substance, or even clarity of vision. Individually the actors all do a good job, but their talents were wasted with this script.

The only extra on the disc is a rather grainy trailer (2 min 03 sec) which makes the film look more exciting than it is. Although the colours are slightly washed out and the overall picture a little soft, the print is pretty clean and free from defects and dirt. It is a shame for Barry’s luxuriant soundtrack that the audio is only in 2.0.

So, it’s not a great film and possibly only for those looking to complete their collection.

4

Charles Packer