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''Rollover'' is a 1981 American
political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film directed by
Alan J. Pakula Alan Jay Pakula (; April 7, 1928 – November 19, 1998) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Associated with the New Hollywood movement, his best-known works include his critically acclaimed "paranoia trilogy": the neo-noir m ...
and starring
Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
and
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
. The film was nominated for a
Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzi ...
for Worst Actor for Kristofferson.


Plot

Lee Winters (Fonda) is the widow of the Chairman and primary stockholder of Winterchem Enterprises, a chemical company, who is attempting to obtain financing of the purchase of a processing plant in Spain while trying to determine why her husband was murdered. Apparently, her late husband discovered some damning information about an Account Number 21214, a secret
slush fund A slush fund is a fund or account used for miscellaneous income and expenses, particularly when these are corrupt or illegal. Such funds may be kept hidden and maintained separately from money that is used for legitimate purposes. Slush funds m ...
involving asset transfers. Respected financier Hubbell Smith takes over as president of Borough National Bank at the request of First New York Bank chairman Maxwell Emery (Cronyn), in an attempt to have Smith discover the financial status of Borough National. Smith discovers that the bank isn't just in trouble, it's essentially so insolvent that it can't even pay its next dividend. It needs to find a customer who needs to borrow a lot of money and either loan the money or act as broker in the deal in order to raise some quick cash and stave off intervention by the Federal Reserve. One of the largest customers of Borough National is Winterchem, but because of federal lending limits, the bank "can't loan them a dime" but conceivably could be involved in brokering a deal between Winterchem and some other lender capable of loaning the approximately $500 million needed to buy the plant, and the bank would receive a 1% finder's fee for making the arrangement. Later there are tense moments when Borough National are waiting for Arab oil money deposits to be renewed in a "roll over". The bank would be unable to refund the deposits, but at the last minute the roll over occurs, except for some money diverted to account 21214. Smith becomes involved, both financially and romantically, with Winters in her attempts to finance the purchase of the petrochemical plant and in the discovery of the mystery of account 21214. They finally do so by brokering a deal with some Arab investors who take control of her stock as security for the transaction. Smith later discovers that account 21214 is actually a slush fund where Emery is moving money belonging to the Arabs into gold as a safe haven against potential losses if the dollar collapses. The Arabs are extremely worried that if anyone finds out, their assets will vanish in a public panic as American currency becomes worthless. Winters also discovers the Arabs are behind account 21214, and wants her stock back in exchange for her silence; she has overheard part of Smith's conversation with Emery and mistakenly believes he was double-crossing her. A fake limo driver who is actually working for the Arab investors tries to kidnap her with the intent of killing her—as it turns out they did to her husband—to prevent her from disclosing what she knows, and when the attempt on her life fails, the Arabs panic and pull all of their money out of every bank in the United States,and possibly the entire world. The globe is gripped by panic and rioting as people discover all of their money is now worthless. Emery is shown in his office - dead, an apparent suicide. The economic crisis paralyzes the world, but by spilling over boundaries between east and west blocs, and between developing and industrialized nations, it also unites the world in common cause. In the penultimate scene, workers at Borough National stand idle while listening to a report of the growing economic crisis. As the camera pans across the trading floor of the bank, the viewer sees that it's now empty of workers, the lights off, the desks and machines covered - completely inactive. Only Smith remains. Winters joins him in the final scene. Smith tells her that he's looking for a way to start anew. Winters offers to become his partner.


Cast

*
Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
as Lee Winters *
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
as Hubbell Smith *
Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter and playwright. He appeared in many stage productions, television and film roles throughout his career, and garnered numerous accolades, includ ...
as Maxwell Emery *
Josef Sommer Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a German-American retired stage, television, and film actor. Early life He was born in Greifswald, Germany, and raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemens Sommer, a professor of Ar ...
as Roy Lefcourt *
Jodi Long Jodi Long is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Madame Ybarra on '' Cafe Americain'' (1993–1994), Mrs. Kim on the Margaret Cho sitcom ''All-American Girl'' (1994-1995), Ok Cha on '' Sullivan and Son'' (2012–2014), as wel ...
as Betsy Okamoto *
Macon McCalman Willis Macon McCalman (December 30, 1932 – November 29, 2005) was an American television, stage and big screen movie actor. Acting career Nicknamed "Sonny", McCalman helped form the Front Street Theatre in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. ...
as Jerry Fewster *
Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress and member of the Carradine family. She started her career as a teen actress in film before transitioning to adult roles on stage and screen. She has received several awards includ ...
as Miss. Fewster *
Norman Snow Norman Snow (March 29, 1950 – November 28, 2022) was an American character actor of stage, film and television, who is known for his role as Xur in the science fiction film ''The Last Starfighter'' (1984), among other roles. Early life and ed ...
as Hishan *
Paul Hecht Paul Hecht (born August 16, 1941) is an English-born Canadian stage, film, voice and television actor known for playing radio newsman Ross Buckingham in Howard Stern's ''Private Parts''. Early life and education Born in London, England, Hecht ...
as Khalid *
Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ...
as Naftari


Reception

The film opened the same weekend as ''
Buddy Buddy ''Buddy Buddy'' is a 1981 American comedy film based on Francis Veber's play ''Le contrat'' and Édouard Molinaro's film '' L'emmerdeur''. It is the final film directed and written by Billy Wilder. Plot To earn his long-awaited retirement, hitm ...
'' and finished at number one with a gross of $2,260,889 and eventually gross $10,851,261 in the United States and Canada. The movie was a box-office bomb as it lost money on its budget of $16 million. The film holds a 70% score on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
based on 10 reviews.
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
of ''
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 ...
'' called the film one "so badly bungled that it can't help but rivet the audience's attention" while citing its ineffective casting and direction.


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rollover (Film) 1981 thriller films American business films American political drama films Films set in Saudi Arabia Films set in New York City Films shot in Morocco American political thriller films Films about businesspeople Films directed by Alan J. Pakula Orion Pictures films Warner Bros. films Films shot in New York City Wall Street films Films scored by Michael Small 1981 drama films 1981 films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language political thriller films