The Silent Partner
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Movie Reviews of The Silent Partner
Movie Review: One of the best movies you've never heard of.
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember seeing this movie back in 1980 on HBO and was so surprised that I had not recalled seeing it on the theatre marquee, or in fact never even heard anything about it.
This movie is probably one of the most underrated, under publicized and best movies one could possibly stumble upon.
The Silent Partner has it all, suspense, intrigue and drama all wrapped up in a cast of well thought out players ranging from a sociopathic murderer, to a thoughtful opportunistic bank teller who turns the tables on his tormentor time after time.
Elliot Gould plays reserved bank teller Miles Cullen who turns the tables on would be bank robber Harry Reikle played by Christopher Plummer. The movie begins with Cullen finding a discarded deposit slip on which a hold-up note has been written but for some reason has not been given to the teller to complete the robbery. Cullen decides to keep the theft note for some reason and begins ponderring on it. One day at one of his breaks Cullen notices a mall Santa ringing his bell collecting donations for the poor. What grabs Cullens attention is the lettering on Santa's sign matches the stick-up note that he had previously found. Putting two and two together Cullen decides that this is the would be robber and that he is in fact casing the bank and will be back to finish the job. What follows then is a masterful job of timing on Cullens part whereby he figures out when the Santa-robber will attempt the robbery and takes a very large deposit and actually pockets it for himself. When the robbery happens Cullen gives the Santa clad Reikle only a fraction of the actual deposit and ends up blaming Reikle for boosting the entire deposit.
What then follows is a very serious cat and mouse game being played between Reikle and Cullen, with the cat and the mouse changing roles as the movie progresses. Reikle is a very dangerous man bent on revenge, but we also find out Cullen is nobody to play games with as well.
The story builds to a suspensful climax and an ending that I won't give away but will close the story with no doubts.
As much as I love this flick I cannot for the life of me wonder what in the world is going on with the cover art for the DVD. Apparently whoever did the cover artwork never saw this movie before and just slapped this together.
If you enjoy grown-up, suspensful movies that you will watch time and time again, by all means buy this cheap DVD. You won't be dissapointed.
Movie Review: Criminally underrated movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Mild-mannered Miles Cullen (Elliot Gould) gloms on to a robbery in its formative stages at the bank where he works as a teller. He fetches his old "Superman" lunch box and ingeniously foils the would-be robber, who still manages to escape while Miles pockets the money for himself.
With his unexpected boldness, Miles wins a temporary celebrity status, and a newfound sex appeal to use on his love-interest, Julie (played by Susannah York.) Unfortunately, Miles must come down to earth when he realizes that he has attracted another admirer, the psychopathic robber Harry Reikle, who is thoroughly enraged by the fact that Miles has thwarted him.
Elliot Gould is terrific as the nerdish but canny Miles, playing him with an abundance of smirks. Susannah York sparkles as the perky professional Julie, who shares Miles' despair over a boringly repetitious existence.
But Christopher Plummer is the scene-stealer as the viciously jealous Reikle, a particularly nasty combination of derangement, sexual kinkiness, and cunning.
An added bonus is the appearance of Celine Lomez as the ravishingly beautiful Elaine, who lavishes her attentions on Miles before meeting an untimely end. Lomez could have been a star if she had showed up a couple decades later, when Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, and Penelope Cruz escorted "Latino chic" into the movies. See if Celine Lomez doesn't make your heart flip-flop.
Altogether, "Silent Partner" is a first-rate chiller in the Hitchcock vein. It's peculiar, cross-dressed kinkiness preceded Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill" by a few years, and IMHO, "Silent Partner" is a better film than "Dressed to Kill".
"Silent Partner" was shot entirely in Toronto, Canada, and features a sweet film score by that city's native jazzman, Oscar Peterson.
Five stars.
Movie Review: Beware of Santa's intention!
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Silent Partner" (1978) is a very smart suspense Canadian film and quite underrated IMHO.
I think the affectivity of the story is based on a great script from Curtis Hanson (also writer and director of "L.A. Confidential" (1997) his best up to today). The plot is full of twists and surprises in a crescendo that keep you glued to the screen until the end.
The story is as follows: there is a small bank branch at a mall in Toronto, Christmas is nearing and lots of Santa populates the shopping center. One of them is a potential bank robber. Miles Cullen, one of the bank cashiers, discovers imminent assault and decides to fox the burglar ... and the bank in his own benefit.
When the assault occurs he gives the robber only 2,000 bucks and hides 48,000 for himself.
Soon the thief (also a sadist & dangerous criminal as it will be soon discovered) realizes thru TV notices that he has been outsmarted and starts to harass and intimidate Miles.
Cullen soon recovers from intimidation and applies the same medicine to his tormentor.
From this point on until the end of the film a thrilling competence take place among these two stubborn guys.
Main actors and actresses in the film perform greatly.
Elliott Gould, as the bank teller, is able to express and transmit his progressive "awakening" from a introverted solitary to a daring and scheming "fox".
Christopher Plummer, as the wicked and cunning crook conveys to the viewer all the subtleties of the character without overacting.
IMO Celine Lomez, showing her dark beauty, delivers a more enticing performance than Susannah York as the co-worker bank employee.
This is a very good and underestimated thriller from the `70s that has aged well. Enjoy!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Movie Review: The Most Satisfyingly Effective Psych-Thriller Ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this so-called "B" movie when it was released in 1978 and, prior to buying the DVD, I seemed to remember being floored at how good it was then. I puchased it, unsure if it would stand up to the somewhat towering impression it had on me some 30 years ago. I was both somewhat shocked and relieved to find it as good, or even better, than I remembered! Air-tight script with a good number of twists. Holds up well in denoument. I can only wonder how this treasure fell through the cracks - the only thing bad about this movie must have been the distribution.
Everyone here is very good and this is one of Christopher Plummer's most memorable performances.
The DVD transfer on this disc is less than stellar, but still very good. The colors and contrast are fine, but (uncharacteristically, in respect to more recent DVD re-releases), the resolutuion is a bit soft, but, not fatally so. There's only one disc in the clam-shell box, it is anamorphic 1.85 to 1, and the run time is stated as 101 minutes. Some have claimed the DVD has been cut for some of its violence, but, I'm pretty sure I can tell you (and perhaps warn you) it has not. The sound is unexceptional, but intelligible, mono. Except for a single choice of subtitles (Spanish), there are zero extras. As it is, for myself, I'm more than pleased to finally have an un-cut, properly-framed, anamorphic, DVD version of this far-too-long, unavailable movie. Beg, borrow or..uh,..'steal' this movie.
It's simply an excellent yarn, well told. Subtly done with highly involving suspense and humor. Hitchcock would have been pleased.
Movie Review: One of my favorite flicks. Very overlooked late 70s thriller.
Summary: 5 Stars
When this movie came out, I'd seen Siskel and Ebert's "At The Movies" review (the first show of its kind) and both enthusiastically endorsed it. I had a limited, but definite appreciation for Elliott Gould. So I took it in. Suspenseful, clever, and well conceived plot and script with enough mental and physical terror to keep you on your toes is performed by a very capable cast. I loved it. It made me even more a Gould fan, and Christopher Plummer is perfect as the angried, sadistic bank robber. Some of the content is very dated. The mall design reminded me of the passe architecual designs of the 70s. And the constant bubbling between bankers after the robbery about how they'd fullfill their many fantasies if they had $50 thousand like the bank robber made away with. Kind of equal to "Austin Powers'" Dr. Evil threatening to destroy the world unless he receives $1 million! Those minor points aside, this is a legitimate thriller that actually won Canada's best picture award that year. A great cat and mouse game of wits that is pleasing to your brain as it keeps you intrigued from start to finish. Watch for a very young Canadian actor named John Candy, right about the period of his hugely successful "SCTV" late night comedy series. Also, the DVD reproduction is excellent in it's remastering. Much crisper and richer look than my mega-rewound VHS version of many years, which begs the questions- what took them so long to get this movie on DVD?