And bent prison warden Mr. Bridger (Noël Coward) is keen to get in on whatever scheme Croker takes on.
After being met at the prison gates by girlfriend Lorna (Margaret Blye), Charlie is driven to a hotel room, where he receives a message from an old colleague named Breckerman.
Following the message, he meets the widow Mrs. Breckerman (Lelia Goldoni), whose husband (Rossano Brazzi) was killed by the Mafia in what looked like an innocent car accident. But before he died, he left instructions for Croker with his wife.
Charlie watches a film reel made by Breckerman, where he outlines an elaborate plot to steal millions of dollars worth of gold bullion in the streets of Turin, Italy, right from under the noses of the authorities.
The screenplay, by Troy Kennedy Martin, is incredibly clever, with beautifully tight pacing, plenty of action and plenty of laughs. The characters are all clearly defined, with plenty of internal and external conflicts.
The music for this film was written by musical giant Quincy Jones. A lot of the music is actually classics of British music, written with new arrangements. However, there is a little bit of original score. The score - unfortunately - is rather cliched for the most part, however, given the tone of the film, this isn't necessarily entirely a bad thing; I think it works within its place. There are also two original songs, with music composed by Jones, in the film, and these are very well written and very well placed.
One of the best things about this film has got to be the numerous car stunts and car chases throughout. In fact, many people have described the cars in this film as being characters all of their own, and this is very true. Stunt car driver Rémy Julienne and his team are truly in their element here, and the things they are able to do are absolutely incredible.
Douglas Slocombe's cinematography is beautiful in every sense of the word. His use of light and dark, and his innovative and inventive camera angles are a wonder to behold, and even current-day film students could learn a lot from observing his work here, even fifty years after the fact.
The performances of the cast are very good, with Caine and Coward being the definite standout stars of the picture. There is also a great cameo from comedian Benny Hill as the computer expert of Croker's team.
Director Peter Collinson has made a wonderful film here, and has pulled off the delicate balance of heist movie and hilarious British comedy with flair.
(Note: This film was remade in 2003 with an all-new cast and, to be honest, an all-new script that bears little resemblance to this the original. In fact, the only similarities are a character named Charlie Croker and the use of Minis to pull off the heist. As such, I will also be reviewing this remake in the near future, as it does qualify as an entirely new film).
8 out of 10.
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