Thursday, January 14, 2021

Movie review - "Kaleidoscope" (1966) **

 Remarkable how dull this film is. It should be fun - Warren Beatty is a playboy-burglar-gambler who is blackmailed into helping detective Clive Revill bust gangster Eric Portman, while shacking up with swinging bird Susannah York, who is Revill's daughter.

But the film muffs it. There's little suspense or action, it takes over 40 minutes for Beatty to be blackmailed when that could have happened within 15 minutes, the story lacks any decent twists, it seems cheap (I think the budget went on a location shoot to Monaco, the last act is a few people hanging out in a castle), it feels as though there aren't enough characters (Portman is crying out for a henchman, the others could do with a sidekick), Beatty does this robbery but we don't see him rob again, there's a card game that goes on far too long, Revill saves the day at the end not Beatty.

It was a jolt to see Beatty in a fight scene. He's charming and attractive but lacks that drive and intensity of a top level star - after this and Promise Her Anything you could imagine him going the way of George Hamilton but he had Bonnie and Clyde coming up next.

Nice colour and York looks pleasing, in a series of attractive gowns.

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