Seven Thieves (1960)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

A so-so caper movie that somehow fails to take off despite a veteran cast and director. There's lots of casino glitz, a sexy Joan Collins, and an inherently suspenseful premise, but the elements never really come together. I agree with the reviewer who thinks Steiger miscast. His is the central role. Yet he's so humorless, his enforcer-leader fails to generate needed sympathy for the caper (I gather director Hathaway was also unhappy with the grimness). In fact, with Robinson's exception, none of the characters is particularly likable. As a result, viewers are not encouraged to engage with the caper, but instead to simply observe it. At the same time, ace director Hathaway films in uncharacteristically impersonal, uncompelling fashion.Nonetheless, the movie does have its moments. There's genuine tension when the Duc (Hillaire) tries to get Melanie (Collins) evicted from the casino, spoiling the heist. Instead, Melanie does some fast thinking and hangs in there. Then there's the very human last- minute-jitters that threaten to undo the elaborate scheme. But these moments of tension tend to remain isolated instead of tightening into a suspenseful whole, a failing perhaps of the screenplay.I think there's a reason these heist films were popular during the law-and-order 1950's. The best ones-- The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Killing (1956)— humanize crime in ways crime features to that point don't. Unlike most crime dramas of the period, ordinary people are seen as able to pool their talents into a cleverly profitable undertaking, at the same time, being daring enough to take big risks for big gains. Such qualities mirror the kind of commercial initiative ordinarily lauded by popular culture. Of course, heists are also criminal enterprises, but except for the key factor of legality, they show off the combined skills of ordinary people acting in effective and sympathetic light. And just as importantly, as long as it's only a bank or racetrack or casino that gets victimized, well, they can likely afford it. Without that key consideration of who's harmed, the ending of this film would be more morally questionable than it is.Anyhow, the movie's passable entertainment, and if it fails to scale the caper film heights, at least there are compensations.

Henry Hathaway is a very underrated director;think that his brilliant filmography includes poetic escapist movies ("Peter Ibbetson" ) adventures movies ("Lives of a Bengal lancer is the prototype of the genre)westerns ("Garden of evil" ) war movies ("13 Rue Madeleine" ) and of course thrillers : films noirs such as "Call north 777" or suspense stories like "23 paces to Baker Street" .He even mixed western with whodunit à la Agatha Christie in " Five cards stud"."Seven Thieves" belongs more or less to the thriller genre and Hathaway displays his extraordinary sense of suspense :the scene of the window and of the guy who gets dizzy or the moment when Wallach has to swallow a pill which might mean his death .We can also notice his perfect mastery of the wide screen: a shot shows on the right Joan Collins walking across the casino while on the left the Duc de Salins is talking to the detective."Seven thieves" is thoroughly enjoyable ,very well acted ,with actor's studio thespians such as Steiger and Wallach -but there is nothing intellectual in this film-,veterans like E.G.Robinson (his death predates the extraordinary sequence in Fleischer's "Solyent Green" (1974))Joan Collins is as good a night club dancer as she is a so called socialite (Madame de la Cruz).Nice shots of the Riviera and Monaco/Monte Carlo.

Usually films located on a place as lovely as the French Riviera, especially Monte Carlo get the full technicolor treatment like To Catch a Thief. But in Seven Thieves director Henry Hathaway opted for black and white because this is a noir and the key here is the plot of the caper and the relationships of the characters.Expatriate American academician Edward G. Robinson calls on a young protégé Rod Steiger to come over from America to help him heist a casino in Monte Carlo. He's recruited a gang and needs someone he can trust to keep them in line.Robinson's role is similar to that of Sam Jaffe in The Asphalt Jungle and Steiger it seems is his Sterling Hayden.That's how it seems at the start, but there's a whole lot more going on here as the characters reveal themselves bit by bit during the planning and execution of the caper.Coincidentally in the same year another caper film, Ocean's 11 about robbing casinos also came out. But this is definitely not as lighthearted as that Ratpack romp.What to watch for is the relationships between Robinson and Steiger and between Steiger, Joan Collins and Eli Wallach.Nicely done little noir classic.

"Seven Thieves" is an average but interesting little "rob the casino" caper, raised a level by the quality of the acting.Edward G. Robinson stars as "the professor" who masterminds a plot to rob a Monte Carlo casino. For Robinson, this represents his one last chance to make a major score before he cashes in. Rod Steiger plays on old acquaintance from the States whom Robinson tries to recruit in order to complete his team. Joan Collins, looking gorgeous, is the femme fatale and Eli Wallach as Poncho the Sax playing member of the group. Michael Dante, Alexander Scourby and Berry Kroeger round out the rest of the "Seven Thieves". Sebastian Cabot also appears as the casino director.Robinson in what amounts to a supporting role, is excellent as always. Steiger's method acting seems a little misplaced here, however under Henry Hathaway's direction, he does deliver a good performance. Collins was never more beautiful and performs a couple of provocative (for 1960) dances in a cabaret with Wallach."Seven Thieves" is always interesting but contains little in the way of physical action. There are a couple of surprises as well, but I thought the ending was a bit of a let down. Nevertheless, It is still an interesting film to watch if only see the performances of the stellar cast.