''Deadfall'' is a 1968 British

neo noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

based on Desmond Cory's 1965 thriller of the same name. The film was written and directed by

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2 ...

and stars

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...

Giovanna Ralli Giovanna Ralli, (born 2 January 1935), is an Italian stage, film, and television actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Ralli debuted as a child actress at 7; at 13, she made her theatrical debut, entering the stage company of Peppino De Fili ...

and Forbes's wife

Nanette Newman Nanette Newman (born 29 May 1934) is an English actress and author. She appeared in nine films directed by her husband Bryan Forbes, including ''Séance on a Wet Afternoon'' (1964), ''The Whisperers'' (1967), '' Deadfall'' (1968), ''The Stepfor ...

, with music by John Barry in his final collaboration with Forbes. Barry also plays a musical conductor in the film. The film's theme song, "My Love Has Two Faces", was performed by

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

. The film was shot in and around

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, Spain.

Plot

Cat burglar Henry Clarke checks himself into a Spanish sanatorium for alcoholics under a false pretence. His true motivation is to get closer to a wealthy patient named Salinas and then rob his magnificent house. Clarke is approached by Fé Moreau and her much older husband, Richard, to form a criminal alliance. As a test run before the real robbery, they break into another stately home. After risking his life on a ledge, Clarke becomes so angered by Richard's failure to crack the safe that, with great effort, he drags the entire safe and its contents out of the house. Fé and Clarke begin a romantic affair, which Richard, who has a young male lover, does not discourage. Fé buys a new E-Type Jaguar (known as XK-E in the USA) convertible for Clarke and tells him the safe contained jewels worth at least $500,000. Before the time comes to rob Salinas's mansion, Fé travels to

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

without letting Clarke know she was leaving. Richard then tells Clarke a harrowing tale of how he once betrayed his male lover to the Nazis and later impregnated the man's wife. Their baby was Fé, but, choosing not to tell her that she was his daughter, Richard married her. A contemptuous Clarke decides to break into Salinas's mansion on his own. Fé returns and is shocked when a suicidal and depressed Richard reveals the truth about their relationship. She races to the Salinas mansion and inadvertently alerts a guard, who shoots Clarke coming out a window. He falls to his death. Fé attends a funeral. Afterwards, she is led off by police while Richard's homosexual lover drives off in Clarke's car.

Cast

as Henry Clarke *

as Fé *

as Moreau *

as The Girl *

Vladek Sheybal Vladek Sheybal (born Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal; 12 March 1923 – 16 October 1992) was a Polish character actor, singer and director of both television and stage productions. He was well known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaste ...

as Dr. Delgado *

Emilio Rodríguez Emilio Rodríguez may refer to: * Emilio Rodríguez (cyclist) (1923–1984), Spanish professional road bicycle racer * Emilio Rodríguez (actor) (died 1988), Spanish policeman and actor * Emilio Hector Rodriguez (born 1950), Cuban artist * Emil ...

as Police Captain (as Emilio Rodriguez) *

David Buck David Keith Rodney Buck (17 October 1936 – 27 January 1989) was an English actor and author. Biography Buck was born in London, the son of Joseph Buck and Enid Marguerite (née Webb). He starred in many television productions from 1959 unti ...

as Salinas * Carmen Dene as Masseuse *

Geraldine Sherman Geraldine Sherman (born Geraldine Judith Schoenmann) known as Dena Hammerstein, is a British actress and writer, and theatre producer. She was the third wife of James Hammerstein, and after his death became president/CEO of James Hammerstein ...

as Receptionist *

Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series '' Rising Damp'' from 19 ...

as Fillmore * Reg Howell as Spanish Chauffeur * John Barry as Orchestra Conductor * Renata Tarragó as Solo Guitarist (as Renata Tarrago) * Carlos Pierre as Antonio * Santiago Rivero as Armed Guard

Reception

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

gave the film a mostly-positive review in ''

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', writing:

I've lived more than four decades without getting any closer to a cat burglar than reading about Murph the Surf in the newspapers. However, if one is to believe the movies???--and I always want to, cat burglary is one of the world's most popular and lucrative professions, if not quite the most exciting.

In the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'',

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing:

hefilm should have either been about the burglary or about romantic intrigues, not about both. That was one trouble with '' The Thomas Crown Affair''. Another distraction in ''Deadfall'' is Gerry Turpin’s photography. He's constantly changing the focus so you first see something in the foreground, and then you see something in the background... If directors would only be content to make a good, simple thievery movie, how happy we could be.

Box office

According to Fox records the film required $5,350,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $2,575,000 so made a loss to the studio.

Soundtrack

* "My Love Has Two Faces," Music by John Barry, Lyrics by

Jack Lawrence Jack Lawrence may refer to: * Jack Lawrence (songwriter) (1912–2009), American songwriter * Jack Lawrence (artist) (born 1975), British comic book artist and animator * Jack Lawrence (bluegrass) (born 1953), American bluegrass guitarist * Jack Law ...

, Sung by

* "Romance for Guitar and Orchestra," Composed and conducted by John Barry, Performed by Renata Tarragó * "Beat Girl," Composed by John Barry

References

External links

* * * * {{Bryan Forbes 1968 films 1968 crime drama films 1968 romantic drama films 1968 LGBTQ-related films 1960s heist films British crime drama films British romantic drama films British heist films Films based on British novels Films directed by Bryan Forbes Films with screenplays by Bryan Forbes Films scored by John Barry (composer) Films shot at Pinewood Studios LGBTQ-related romantic drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films British LGBTQ-related films LGBTQ-related crime drama films English-language crime drama films English-language romantic drama films bg:Примка de:Deadfall nl:Deadfall