The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973)

the audience applauded

Pretty Good

People are voting emotionally.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

amusing, nice cloth for crazy dreams, fresh and seductive. not a great movie and not part of cinema about thieves elite but very useful for relaxation. because all seems be clever and not very serious. because it is a comedy who use carefully the tension. and Ryan O Neal is really adorable. a film who reminds a lot of others from its period. but who has the science to be original in a nuanced manner. its basic trick - the innocence of a character who discovers in his hobby a form of life exploration. a charming movie. that is all. maybe silly, maybe unrealistic. but useful after a hard work day and as antidote against the blockbusters intoxication.

When Ryan O'Neal was in his prime, he dedicated and concentrated what acting talent he had to each endeavor he was involved in. His performance in "The Thief Who Came to Dinner" (1973) reflects that mature professionalism. He is especially generous with his co-stars here: Jacqueline Bisset, Charles Cioffi, Ned Beatty, and one of the truly great character-actors of all time, Warren Oates.The story is agreeable enough: Computer employee Mr. Straight abruptly quits his job and goes in for a stylish life of crime as a jewel-thief in, of all places, Houston, Texas.Walter Hill authored this script before beginning his own directorial career in 1975 with "Hard Times." Hill's work here takes on a slightly more ironic tone than the stone-cold serious nature of his other noteworthy 1970's accomplishments ("The Driver," "The Warriors," the screenplay for Peckinpah's "The Getaway"). But when Hill works tongue-in-cheek, as in parts of "The Long Riders" and all of "48 Hours," the results can be crafty, diverting in a singular way. The jokes don't always work, but one can still appreciate the attempt, and understand the intelligence at work behind the small jabs at comedy.What's missing here is a director--or at least a director competent enough to bring out the suspenseful element. Here, Bud Yorkin, completely falls down on the job. Yorkin, known primarily for his association with Norman Lear in his "All In The Family" heyday, here, displays his pedestrian talent for setting up various visual gags. In almost all cases, however, there is really no payoff. Where the film clearly calls for a howl of laughter, there is only a chuckle. Yorkin's experience in sit-com does achieve some TV-style levity, but he's clearly not a man with that special, distinguishable "cinema" eye that marks all great directors.Not that "The Thief Who Came..." needed a great genius behind the camera. It's just that some style, some flourish, even when not really needed, even just a hint of self-gratuitous "artiness" would have added some much-needed gloss. In short, this movie should have been a great deal better than it turned out.Philip Lathrop photographed, using the same murky blues and greens that he would later employ in Peckinpah's "The Killer Elite" (1975).

A movie I finally got to see the whole way thru. Warren Oates made this flick. VERY 70s but still lots of fun. Slow and sappy at times but fun to watch to identify all the actors and try to place them in other flicks they've done. Great cast and just plain fun. Did I mention fun?

Ryan O'Neal was so clever and seductive in this movie, I wanted to go to bet with him too. The focal point of the movie is the fascinating love story -- not between O'Neal and Bisset or between O'Neal and Jill Clayburgh -- both of which were quite entertaining, but the cerebral symbiotic linkage between Warren Oates and O'Neal. This has to be Oates' best performance of all time. Young Ned Beatty and Charles Cioffi are very good --leading a quite capable supporting cast. Very enjoyable movie.