Rough Cut ** (1980, Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, David Niven) – Classic Movie Review 6787

Director Don Siegel’s 1980 penultimate movie stars Burt Reynolds as twinkling, sophisticated jewel thief Jack Rhodes, with one eye on the jewels and the other on the ladies. Reynolds is rightly compared to Cary Grant, for this is a rough-cut version of vintage Hollywood caper comedies, filmed in Britain at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, with David Niven as an old Scotland Yard man, Chief Inspector Cyril Willis, and a gallery of old chums chums from the UK acting fraternity.

Inspector Willis sends in lovely socialite kleptomaniac Gillian Bromley (Lesley-Anne Down) to pretend to be Jack Rhodes’s partner in crime and ensnare Rhodes via a concocted airborne gem robbery of $30 million in uncut jewels, but it soon emerges that all’s fair in love and crime.

Tough-guy movie director Siegel seems under the weather with the inconsequential screenplay for this rather slack crime caper comedy adventure, but the cast hams it up engagingly, with Reynolds, Down and Niven giving pleasant and polished performances as always, and Reynolds and Niven sharing some witty banter. Larry Gelbart’s screenplay is based on Derek Lambert’s novel Touch the Lion’s Paw.

It was a troubled production: Blake Edwards departed as director, Siegel rowed, and director Robert Ellis Miller later filmed some extra footage, while Larry Gelbart wrote the screenplay under a pseudonym, Francis Burns.

Also in the cast are Timothy West, Patrick Magee, Joss Ackland, Roland Culver, Al Matthews, Susan Littler, Isobel Dean, Wolf Kahler, Andrew Ray, Julian Holloway, Douglas Wilmer, Geoffrey Russell, Ronald Hines, David Howey, Alan Webb, Frank Mills, Roland Culver, Cassandra Harris, Sue Lloyd, Hugh Thomas, Peter Schofield, Stephen Moore, Ron Pember and David Eccles.

Rough Cut is directed by Don Siegel, runs 112 minutes, is released by Paramount, is written by Larry Gelbart, based on Derek Lambert’s novel Touch the Lion’s Paw, is shot by Freddie Young, is produced by David Merrick, is scored by Nelson Riddle, and is designed by Ted Haworth.

Siegel’s final film was another troubled production: Jinxed!

 © Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6787

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