| content | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $ | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster |
|
| Directed by | Richard Brooks |
| Produced by | M.J. Frankovich |
| Written by | Richard Brooks |
| Starring | Warren Beatty Goldie Hawn Gert Fröbe Robert Webber Scott Brady |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
| Cinematography | Petrus R. Schlömp |
| Editing by | George Grenville |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  17 December 1971 |
| Running time | 121 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
$, also known as Dollars and in the UK The Heist, is a 1971 American caper film made by Columbia Pictures. It was written and directed by Richard Brooks and produced by M.J. Frankovich. The film stars Goldie Hawn, Warren Beatty with Gert Fröbe, Robert Webber and Scott Brady. The film was partly shot in Hamburg, Germany which forms the primary location of the film.
Contents |
Plot
The film's title appears in the opening credits only in the form of a giant character, as would be used in a sign, being transported by a crane.
In Hamburg, West Germany, several criminals use safe deposit boxes in a German bank to store large amounts of illicit cash. The gang includes a local drug dealer known as the Candy Man, a Las Vegas mobster, and a crooked U.S. Army sergeant.
Joe Collins (Beatty), an American bank security employee of the large bank learns about their scheme and devises a clever way with a hooker with a heart of gold, Dawn Divine (played by Hawn), who the robbers all patronize, to steal the money.
Given that the criminals can't turn themselves in to the police, they attempt to steal the money back and a final chase scene through Hamburg and the German countryside ensues at the climax.
Cast
- Warren Beatty as Joe Collins
- Goldie Hawn as Dawn Divine
- Gert Fröbe as Mr. Kessel
- Robert Webber as Attorney
- Scott Brady as Sarge
- Arthur Brauss as Candy Man
- Robert Stiles as Major
- Wolfgang Kieling as Granich
- Bob Herron as Bodyguard (as Robert Herron)
- Christiane Maybach as Helga
- Hans Hutter as Karl
- Monica Stender as Berta
- Horst Hesslein as Bruno
- Wolfgang Kuhlman as Furcoat
- Klaus Schichan as Knifeman
Filming
Much of the film was shot in Hamburg, West Germany in 1971. Other filming locations included Malibu, California and Sweden.
The building depicted at the exterior of the bank was really the Kunsthalle, Hamburg's principal museum of art. The route followed in the chase scenes realistically takes the viewer through many of the city's unique locales.
Release and reception
The premiere of the film was on 15 December 1971 and it was released across cinema in the United States on 17 December 1971. It was released in Austria and West Germany on 17 February 1972, in Denmark on 10 March, and in Sweden on 27 March 1972
The response to the film by critics was received generally positively with many critics believing that the film was under-rated at the time of release. Critic Roger Ebert, on reviewing the film on 30 December 30 1971 gave it a positive review. He described the film as having a "premise that has a beautiful simplicity to it" despite having numerous twists and turns that resembles typical hiest films, yet described it as a "slick and breakneck caper movie that runs like a well-oiled thrill". 1
He praised the performance of Beatty, describing him as "the best con man in movies, certainly since Clark Gable died. He is filled with deals, angles, things he has to pull you over in a corner to whisper. He can make you rich tomorrow, and himself, too, one of these days. And he has an unusual kind narcissism — unusual for an actor. He isn't narcissistic about himself, but about his style; he's in love with conning people". 1 Ebert approved of his on-screen chemistry and unique relationship with Goldie Hawn describing them as "weirdly interesting together" 1and the way they successfully moved together and interacted throughout the film. He also approved in the dynamic nature of the script and directing by Robert Brooks stating that "Brooks never stops to explain anything, never lingers over a plot, never bores us with lectures and explanations. Instead, all his characters plunge ahead, obsessed with greed."1
A Channel 4 review of the film in the UK gave it 4/5, who, like Ebert, noted the pace of the directing and script by Brooks, describing it as "cutting more rapidly than usual, he kept the action moving fairly entertainingly for most of the movie, with includes a long and spectacular car chase".2 However, unlike Ebert, critic Christopher Null believed the following of the film tired after the first hour, remarking that, "Beatty and Hawn carry this fun little heist/comedy picture for the first hour, but then the whole affair gets a little tiring".3 He did, however, rate the film 3.5/5.
References
- ^ a b c d Ebert, Roger (30 December 1971). "$ (Dollars)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on September 2, 2008.
- ^ "Dollars Review". Channel 4. Retrieved on September 2, 2008.
- ^ Null, Christopher (2005). "$". Filmcritic.com. Retrieved on September 2, 2008.
External links
- $ (film) at the Internet Movie Database
- $ at Rotten Tomatoes
|
|||||
|
||||||||
