In his Oscar nominated makeup, Peter Falk looks like both Grandpa Munster and Mrs. Doubtfire, playing fictional brother and sister who utilize the illness of the fictional brother's wife to set up the robbery of a posh jewelry store. With the security tag of "Harry Winston", pretentious jewelry store owner Tom Courtney opens and closes the safe through the security phone system, and Falk figures out through continued visits the cleverest of ways to rob him. Beloved character actor Charles Durning is his partner in crime, posing as his chauffeur, and Wendy Hughes is delightfully sweet and beautiful as the antique store who falls in love with him.
With a delightful setup, a rather sweet nature to a crime caper story, some good background music (both original and vintage), this is enjoyable from start to finish, and Falk and Durning are terrific as partners. Too bad they didn't become the next Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.
Some gorgeous European location footage adds to the charm of a story where you really root for thieves. While the makeup may look artificial in standards of more than 30 years later, Falk creates great characterizations with the two personas he creates, and his old lady, with a bit of a continental flavor to her, gets some terrific lines that adds wit and intelligence to the script. For some reason, I've overlooked this one over the years, so if you've picked it up off the video store shelf then put it back, you might reconsider it. It is a completely charming delight.
With a delightful setup, a rather sweet nature to a crime caper story, some good background music (both original and vintage), this is enjoyable from start to finish, and Falk and Durning are terrific as partners. Too bad they didn't become the next Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.
Some gorgeous European location footage adds to the charm of a story where you really root for thieves. While the makeup may look artificial in standards of more than 30 years later, Falk creates great characterizations with the two personas he creates, and his old lady, with a bit of a continental flavor to her, gets some terrific lines that adds wit and intelligence to the script. For some reason, I've overlooked this one over the years, so if you've picked it up off the video store shelf then put it back, you might reconsider it. It is a completely charming delight.