CinemaSerf

When you hear the opening bars of the score to this, you immediately think of "Lawrence of Arabia" - it has the hallmark of Maurice Jarre long before anyone has to blow any bloody doors off! Thereafter, it's a fun, classy little crime caper which sees Michael Caine recruit Shirley MacLaine to help fleece reclusive billionaire Herbert Lom of a priceless bust from his burglar-proof penthouse suite. The story is fast paced with plenty of gadgets and some quite witty dialogue; MacLaine is great as the not so daft foil to Caine's crooked faux-aristocrat, but Lom steals this as the not so gullible mark. Arnold Moss and John Abbott also turn in good, if brief, performances with the latter definitely getting the last