''Jack of Diamonds'' is a 1967 film directed by Don Taylor filmed in Germany that was released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. It stars George Hamilton in the lead role of an international cat burglar and jewel thief.

Plot

A master thief known as the Ace of Diamonds decides it's time to retire before he gets caught, so he teaches everything he knows to Jeff Hill, his protégé. Jeff begins pulling off heists, singling out glamorous film stars like

Zsa Zsa Gabor Zsa Zsa Gabor (, ; born Sári Gábor ; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American socialite and actress. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor competed in the 1933 Miss Hungary pageant, where she ...

Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American former actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in t ...

and

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Glob ...

(portraying themselves in cameo roles) and stealing their precious jewels. On a luxury liner, Jeff, now nicknamed the "Jack of Diamonds", discovers he has a competitor aboard, another burglar pulling the same kinds of thefts. After the boat docks, Jeff goes to see the Ace, who advises him to do the same thing he did, quit while he's ahead. Jeff encounters a woman named Olga who introduces him to Nicolai, and after discovering that Olga was the other thief aboard ship, Jeff schemes with them to rob a bank vault in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. They are caught, but the Ace shows up and claims responsibility for the crime, sacrificing himself for Jeff and the others. The thieves agree to return the stolen jewels, but when Jeff and Olga decide to marry, Nicolai reveals he has withheld one gem to present to Olga as a gift.

Cast

* George Hamilton as Jeff *

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...

as the Ace *

Marie Laforêt Marie Laforêt (born Maïtena Marie Brigitte Doumenach; 5 October 1939 – 2 November 2019) was a French singer and actress, particularly well known for her work during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, she moved to Geneva, and acquired Swiss citize ...

as Olga * Maurice Evans as Nicolai *

as Herself *

as Herself

Production

The 1949 Paramount film about jewel thieves, ''

Copper Canyon Copper Canyon (Spanish: Barrancas del Cobre) is a group of six distinct canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the southwestern part of the state of Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico that is in size. The canyons were formed by six rivers tha ...

'', was originally known as ''Jack of Diamonds''. It is unclear whether this film has any connection with the George Hamilton film. The film was based on a story by the producer,

Sandy Howard Sandy Howard (August 1, 1927 – May 16, 2008) was an American film producer and television producer. Biography A native of the Bronx, New York City, Howard wrote short stories for publication in magazines like ''Liberty'', and worked as a public ...

, who said before filming that the movie "may be reminiscent of other films, but we feel, even though we have no releasing deal as yet, that it will be different in style and its budget – $1.3 million – makes it an honest and safe bet." The film was originally meant to be directed by

Herschel Daugherty Herschel Eldon Daugherty (October 27, 1910 – March 5, 1993) was an American television and film director and occasional actor. Early life and career Born in Clarks Hill, Indiana, to Charles Emerson and Blanche Eracene Daugherty (né Feerer ...

Oscar Homolka Oskar Homolka (August 12, 1898 – January 27, 1978) was an Austrian film and theatre actor, who went on to work in Germany, Britain and America. Both his voice and his appearance fitted him for roles as communist spies or Soviet officials, for w ...

was meant to play Nicolai but was replaced by Maurice Evans. The plan was to film in New York for a month and then 12 weeks in Europe in Paris, the Bavarian Alps, Genoa and a Munich studio. Producer Sandy Howard described George Hamilton before filming as "a fine actor, I'm convinced, and he's a hot commodity these days", due in part to the fact he was dating the President's daughter. Reports put his fee around this time at $100,000 a movie. He was drafted into the army but received a 3-A deferral notice on the grounds he was the sole financial provider for his mother. (Hamilton's draft deferment was highly controversial at the time because it was thought that his relationship with the president's daughter gave him preferential treatment.)

Reception

Reviews for the film were mixed to negative. In his review for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Bosley Crowther wrote, "Unless you have a particularly urgent reason for wanting to watch George Hamilton modeling a dazzling assortment of the most beautifully cut men's clothes...you may safely skip ''Jack of Diamonds'', which turned up in neighborhood theaters yesterday. It is strictly low-grade '' ''Topkapi'''' done up in expensive high-style. Roger Ebert wrote in his review, "''Jack of Diamonds'' is a harmless exercise in how not to make a suspense adventure. I can't think of any reason to go and see it, unless you're a George Hamilton fan. He's pleasant enough, I guess.

References

External links

*
''Jack of Diamonds''
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

* *
Review of film
at