Once a Thief (1965 film)
Once a Thief is a 1965 crime film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin and Jack Palance. It was written by Zekial Marko, based on his novel.
| Once a Thief | |
|---|---|
 Original movie poster | |
| Directed by | Ralph Nelson |
| Produced by | Jacques Bar |
| Written by | Zekial Marko |
| Based on | Scratch a Thief by Zekial Marko (as "John Trinian") |
| Starring | Alain Delon Ann-Margret Van Heflin Jack Palance Tony Musante |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Robert Burks |
| Edited by | Fredric Steinkamp |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States France |
| Language | English Italian |
| Box office | 749,282 admissions (France)[1] |
The movie was known in France as Les tueurs de San Francisco.
Nelson won the OCIC award at the 1965 San Sebastián International Film Festival for the film.[2]
Plot
Ex-convict Eddie Pedak (Delon) tries to lead a normal life in San Francisco with a loyal wife (Ann-Margret), a daughter and a steady job. Much to his chagrin, he also has a police detective (Heflin) and brother (Palance) complicating his life.
The cop, Mike Vido, remains bitter over being shot by Eddie during a robbery. He promptly has Eddie unjustly arrested again for another theft, but is forced to drop the charges and turn him loose.
Eddie nonetheless loses his job because of the arrest. His wife Kristine must take a job at a dingy nightclub. In desperation, Eddie finally accepts the offer of his persistent brother Walter to participate in a big heist. Walter has a pair of accomplices, Sargatanas and Shoenstein.
The thieves get away with $1 million in stolen goods except for Walter, who is killed. Eddie alone has the truck with the heist's haul, so Sargatanas decides to abduct Kristine and keep her until he gets his hands on the merchandise.
Vido investigates and becomes convinced that Eddie was framed for the original job that left the cop wounded. When he arrives to help Eddie in a showdown with the other thieves, Eddie ends up dead trying to protect him.
Cast
- Alain Delon as Eddie Pedak
- Ann-Margret as Kristine Pedak
- Van Heflin as Mike Vido
- Jack Palance as Walter Pedak
- John Davis Chandler as Sargatanas
- Tony Musante as Shoenstein
- Jeff Corey as Lt. Kebner
- Steve Mitchell as Frank Kane
Production
The story was based on the personal experiences of screenwriter Zekial Marko; he had written the novel The Big Grab, which was adapted into Any Number Can Win, a big hit for Delon. Once a Thief was based on Marko's novel Scratch a Thief and this was his first screenplay. Marko had a small role in the film and spent time in jail on criminal charges during the shoot.[3]
Critical reception
A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote that the film was not as good as similar genre pictures, but praised the accuracy of its gangster dialogue:
The melodrama may be tough, laconic and filled with a sense of doom, but it is hardly an innovation or an improvement on the gangster-with-a-heart-of-gold fare that has preceded it..... [The screenwriter] provided a generally terse, hard-bitten script whose language sounds like that used by the gunmen, narcotics addicts and hipsters of San Francisco's lower depths.[4]
The film was not a success at the box office.[5]
See also
References
- French box office information for film at Box Office Story
- Once a Thief (1965) – Awards
- Nelson, Ralph (17 October 1965). "'Once a Thief'---Nightmare in the American Dream". Los Angeles Times. p. q6.
- "Original". New York Times review. Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- Thomas, Kevin (Dec 18, 1965). "New Dream for Alain Delon". Los Angeles Times. p. a12.
External links
- Once a Thief on IMDb
- Once a Thief at AllMovie