Impasse (1969)

Memorable, crazy movie

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It must have been a frustrating time for Burt Reynolds!! A good role in"100 Rifles" and then the lead role opposite Anne Margaret in "Sam Whiskey" before he made this low budget flick. Plot In A Paragtaph: Pat Morrison (Burt Reynolds) leads of group of salvagers to hunt for some hidden gold before World War II. Blackmail and betrayal soon follow. Burt Reynolds makes the most of his role and shows great promise for more important roles. He emerges the movies real star "acting wise" and he is the best thing about this flick. So often the case during Reynolds early movies. Reynolds fast-moving performance adds the movies only real excitement, and there is a surprise ending, which Hollywood would probably never pull now.

Burt Reynolds leads a group of vets, trying to find gold hidden on the island of Corregidor before WW II. Simple enough, Hollywood and Europe have made scores of these movies before 1968. So why did they screw up so badly on this one? First off Reynolds' girlfriend is the wife of his good friend who is essential to his plan. Another essential character gives racists and ugly Americans a bad name. And then there's the guy who has a bad heart. His daughter thinks he's dead so he has to sneak in to see her pro tennis game and he has a heart attack during the game. His daughter has a hippie fan who is stalking her. The daughter takes in this really annoying cliché hippie and mothers her. A disreputable reporter convinces her her father is alive but he wants money and sex before he will give her the details. She karates him out the door and this all happened in act one.In act two Reynolds learns the guy had a heart attack and disappeared. He falls for the daughter, Ann Francis and a lot of other character stuff happens and the young Burt Reynolds is the best actor in the group. In the entire 96 minute movie there's maybe 20 minutes of looking for the gold. AND... They get caught! Who thought this would sell? Who thought Ann Francis and Burt Reynolds had chemistry? Who ignored seventy years of movie making experience to invest in this piece of crap?

This movie isn't that bad as it is confusing. One wonders why three people were needed or why they didn't do it earlier in the first place. Do Indians really say "Ay Chihuahua?" This film doesn't even have the pleasures of a caper film, because of all the loose ends. The ending was pretty anti-climatic as well. I wonder why screenwriters allow these plots to be so flimsy. Watch only if you enjoy Far East scenery.

Burt Reynolds plays a leader of a salvage team attempting to recover gold treasures in corregidor hidden by the Japanese in world war II. Now in modern day, the ex-soldiers are sent to the Philippines to assist Reynolds in finding the gold. A lot of setbacks, kidnapping, blackmail occurs.The movie was actually filmed in 1968 to be released the following January for a TV audience.