UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Leofwine_draca I really didn't care much for GAMBIT, a heist caper comedy which is so light-hearted as to be completely insubstantial and lacking in anything approaching depth or narrative. I couldn't stand Shirley MacLaine in it either, from her self-centred character to her stupid hairstyle, everything about her was repulsive. I'm a fan of Michael Caine but he acts little better than a clothes horse here and merely stands around looking vacant for long stretches of time. The reliable Herbert Lom is better but given little to do throughout. The plot tries to resemble the likes of CHARADE and ARABESQUE, two films I did enjoy, but it feels inferior at all times, and oh-so-dated.

secondtake Gambit (1966)I love both Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, and yet I went into the movie with low expectations. Maybe this was partly the dull poster art (which is all I had to go on), or just the fact I had never heard of the movie (and I see a lot of movies from this era).And it was really good! Yes, a fun, snappy, somewhat contrived but still engaging piece of very 1960s entertainment. It begins with a narrative trick, which I can't reveal, but the first twenty minutes is a kind of set-up or reference point for the next hour. Once you see it happen, it's a big laugh, and they actors play it out well, though with a slight bit of camp. Caine plays a thief and con man, and MacLaine is just a willing and slightly naive participant. At first.We are supposed to believe, as well, that these two young charming people are not made for each other (they act disinterested), but the love story becomes a small part of the situation. The third main actor is Herbert Lom, who plays an Arab connected to oil (this is several years before the oil embargo, and more than a decade before the first big Islamic uprising, the one in Iran in 1979). He happens to be the richest man in the world. And a target for this British man looking for easy success.Easy it is, if only things were what they seemed at first. Brightly lit, photographed with verve and acted with a kind of wink to the camera, the movie is just good fun. This isn't a drama, it's a comedy, and it will brighten your day even if you have to ignore the forced twists in the plot. Michael Caine had just finished filming the astonishing "Alfie" which is both funny and truly dramatic, and he was proving to be a complex and yet still caddishly likable leading man, very British. Shirley MacLaine (an American) had been making charming funny movies for some time, playing the cute and vulnerable "girl" over and over (as in "The Apartment" best of all, but see "Irma la Douce" too, where she is a prostitute). Together here they are really well matched and hold up the movie start to finish. Remember to make it through the "set-up" part of the movie, which will at first seem a little stiff. It makes sense later!

theowinthrop Any film with Shirley Maclaine and Michael Caine has real potential for being delightful. Add to it Herbert Lom as a powerful, but not really bad fellow for a change, and it is headed for being terrific. What carries it to the top is it's sense of spoofing. For GAMBIT came at the end of the first sequence of crime movies where a scheme for the big robbery or whatever was the crime involved was carefully, step by step, explained to the audience as it was done. The best known of these films were THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, RIFFIFI, TOPKAPI, THE KILLING, OCEAN'S ELEVEN (the original one with Frank Sinatra). Normally the schemes are flawlessly carried out, but some small error blows the game away (such as THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN or THE LAVENDER HILL MOB), or there are internecine jealousies that destroy the plan (RIFFIFI, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE), or outsiders destroy the plan (THE KILLING, OCEAN'S ELEVEN). But GAMBIT changes this deliciously.The movie is actually two films, one about thirty minutes long (interesting but mechanical) and the other about eighty minutes long which makes a total hash of the initial film. We see Caine and his partner, John Abbott, looking at Maclaine in the dance hall/bar she works at. She is important for some reason tied to her face. Soon after hiring her, they show her a file on the life of Shabandar (Lom) the world's richest man living in a country like Indonesia or Malaysia. He is a lonely man, ever since his one beloved wife died some twenty five years before - and she resembled Maclaine. They head for the city that Shabandar lives in, planning to check into the hotel that is his home and headquarters, as aristocrats. They know his secret police will bring Maclaine's appearance to Lom's attention. He is fascinated by her, and takes her out to dinner, while Caine explains he has to await for some phone calls. You see him doing some robbery in Lom's apartment (which is electronically protected - but he is able to handle that), to get at a rare ancient bust of a princess (which looks like the late Mrs. Shabandar and Maclaine). At a given timed moment, she excuses herself to go to the powder room, leaving her bag behind to allay suspicion, but gets a cab, which picks up Caine at the hotel, and takes them to the airport where they leave for London.And that half hour gives the whole scheme. As Caine explains it to Abbott it is perfect. Not a seam in it.Soon the seams begin to be shown here.First off, Caine imagines Maclaine is putty in his hand, doing what he wants without any questions. From the start she is nothing but asking questions. This drives him crazy, like when she questions whether Lom can be the richest man in the world or not (Caine shouts back, in desperation, "OKAY, HE'S NOT THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD...HE'S THE FIFTH OR THE FOURTEENTH! WHAT THE HELL DOES IT MATTER!!") It still would not be totally off-centered if Caine, in his research, had been more careful. Lom (as typical for Herbert Lom) is an exceptionally smart guy - and very modern. He later explains to a bemused Caine that years before he allowed his inner sanctum to be invaded by a reporter and photographer, and had dressed up like a religious Mohammadan, but that was just window dressing. Since Caine has based his scheme on the information from that same article, one can imagine his feelings.Even Abbott, who plays a small part in the robbery plans, has problems. He is supposed to call Caine "to tell him that he has to call back that night", to give added details for the sake of a naturally suspicious Lom. But instead of using a specific pay phone as planned, Abbott can't even get into the phone booth because of a belligerent local man who is angrily making a telephone call.As you can see from these examples, the second movie (the eighty minutes following the opening) is like a guide book to why planning can only be a failure. It is a welcome antidote to the idiotic flawless plans that are at the center of the other films. And the three leads (four with Abbott) are enjoying the joke. The film is not will the plan be a success, but will it succeed despite the flaws that nobody even thought could arise.Only in the Sinatra OCEAN'S ELEVEN was there a similar sense of fun - as the Rat Pack realizes the inanity of the film plot (there robbing the Vegas casinos on one night) with the lights of Dino, Sammy, Frank, Joey, and the others working with precision when they'd prefer being drunk. Here Caine and Maclaine try to keep to an impossible time table and scheme after realizing they are not dealing with a tradition bound millionaire but one who fully likes using anti-burglary devices based on modern electronics. Yet they do manage to get done in time, for the double (possibly triple) surprise at the conclusions of the movie.An absolute joy (particularly seeing Lom being really pleasant for most of the film - except for one moment, but it passes quite quickly). It certainly deserves the kudos it has received as a first rate adventure comedy

Neil Doyle MICHAEL CAINE was hot after appearing in THE IPCRESS FILE and SHIRLEY MacLAINE grabbed him for her leading man in GAMBIT. It's a highly entertaining and very clever crime caper and is Caine's first American film. It benefits from highly polished production values and Ronald Neame's expert direction, not to mention a story that has several unexpected twists.Aside from excellent performances by the two stars and Herbert Lom as the intended victim, the plot will keep you guessing until the final moments. Shirley is a knockout in her oriental disguise and delivers a wonderful performance as the girl who discovers she prefers an honest man to a thief, no matter how much she let herself be tricked into the role of a charming look-alike for Herbert Lom's former wife. The trick is to get into his lavish digs so she and Michael can see the layout and devise a plan to steal a prized sculpture. Herbert Lom is urbane and sophisticated as a man who is highly suspicious of his new acquaintances.If you like crime capers or jewel heists, this is for you. Diverting from start to finish with a particularly good opening sequence that sort of sets you up for a different kind of film than this actually is. But saying more than that would give too much away.My only complaint--Maurice Jarre's score is a skimpy one. He provides some light and catchy melodies for the lighter scenes but fails to deliver the goods for the film's darker moments. Maybe he figured the audience would just be holding their breath while silence accompanied the cat-like burglar approach rather than music. Whatever, the darker moments would have been heightened by a more suspenseful score.John Abbott is seen to advantage as a French sculptor devoted to his art.