The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writer:

Alan Trustman (written by)

Release Date:

19 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | Romance

Tagline:

He was young, handsome, a millionaire - and he'd just pulled off the perfect crime! She was young, beautiful, a super sleuth - sent to investigate it!

Plot:

A debonair, adventuresome bank executive believes he has pulled off the perfect multi-million dollar heist, only to match wits with a sexy insurance investigator who will do anything to get her man.

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Heist | Insurance Investigator | Police | Boston

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Thomas Crown
Faye Dunaway	...	Vicki Anderson
Paul Burke	...	Lt. Eddy Malone
Jack Weston	...	Erwin
Biff McGuire	...	Sandy
Addison Powell	...	Abe
Astrid Heeren	...	Gwen
Gordon Pinsent	...	Jamie
Yaphet Kotto	...	Carl
Sidney Armus	...	Arnie
Richard Bull	...	Booth Guard
Peg Shirley	...	Honey
Patrick Horgan	...	Danny
Carol Corbett	...	Miss Sullivan
Tom Rosqui	...	Pvt. Detective

Also Known As:

The Crown Caper
Thomas Crown and Company

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | USA:TV-PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:R (M.P.A.A. Cert. No. 21612) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

85 Mt. Vernon Street, Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

Director Norman Jewison's use of multiple images was inspired by the Expo 67 film A Place to Stand (1967).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the first getaway scene in the picture, the driver is scene driving westbound on the Massachusetts Turnpike a mile or so into the highway from downtown Boston. He's then seen *entering* the Pike from I-93 which would have happened prior to already being on that road. Subsequently, he's seen further down the Mass. Pike, once again somehow traveling westbound on it as he was before.

Quotes:

Thomas Crown: [looks at Vicki, who is standing next to the chess table] Do you play?
Vicki Anderson: Try me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Twice in a Lifetime: Old Flames (#1.18)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

The Windmills Of Your Mind

Favored over the remake

The large number of reviews tossing this in the trash bin as an overwrought 1960s period piece, or inferior when compared to the Pierce Brosnan/Rene Russo remake caused me to find the DVD and take another look.

The problem with the 1967 film is that, unlike most films made today (including the remake), viewers need to think and connect the dots; and, there isn't always a "right" ending with all details neat and tidy. This is still a classic of the caper films, with McQueen giving the definitive performance of his absolute-cool image, and Dunaway as the Joan Crawford of the Virginia Slims generation.

The then-innovative parts of the film, including the multiple split screens and the repetition of the theme song with Noel Harrison look dated (and the split-screen is only effective on the big, big screens of the 1960s-era theaters), but the chess game is still the most-seductive bit of film where all the clothes stay on and nobody talks.

Listening to director Norman Jewison's commentary on the DVD is enlightening. The split screens were indeed a timely gimmick (Jewison and the producer saw the technique at Expo '67 in Montreal), and his explanation of the last scene in the cemetery gives a good insight as to how he aimed the film in general.