Fri 7 Jun 2019
A Movie Review by Dan Stumpf: KALEIDOSCOPE (1966).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[5] Comments
KALEIDOSCOPE. Wincast, UK / Warners, US, 1966. h Warren Beatty, Susannah York, Clive Revill, and Eric Porter. Written by Robert Carrington and Jane-Howard (Hammerstein) Carrington. Directed by Jack Smight.
A thing of no consequence, but a diverting time-killer, this comedy-caper film in the style of Charade and Arabesque never gets really funny and seldom exciting, but radiates enough style to carry it along.
Warren Beatty stars as Barney Lincoln, one of those characters you only see in the movies: rich, charming, virile, straight—and single. And if you can buy that, maybe you can accept the notion that he decides to cat-burgle his way into a playing-card factory and change the printing machines to mark the cards, then proceeds to tour the gambling palaces of Europe and win fortunes without getting banned and black-listed.
He also meets his female counterpart, gorgeous, bright and single Susannah York, whose father (Clive Revill, in a charmingly eccentric characterization) is a Scotland Yard man with a use for Beatty’s talents.
Enter Eric Porter in a splendidly over-the-top performance as Harry Dominion, master of a criminal empire, showy sadist with a Napoleonic complex and a nasty sense of humor. When he and Beatty go head-to-head, first at the card table, then at Dominion’s baroque castle, things pick up nicely for an exciting conclusion.
“Baroque†may be the best word to describe Kaleidoscope, which came out in the midst of that mid-60s resurgence of highly-embroidered rock posters, music and neckties. Director Jack Smight, who made this in between Harper and The Secret War of Harry Frigg, fills it with artsy camera angles, rococo sets and scenery, and somebody decided to shift scenes by having the image break up into kaleidoscopic patterns — nice job, that.
My theory is that after Dobie Gillis, Warren Beatty tried very hard to be a serious actor, and after the debacle of Mickey One, he retreated into lightweight stuff like this (originally slated to co-star Sandra Dee) and Promise Her Anything before bouncing back with Bonnie and Clyde.
Whatever the case, everyone involved treats Kaleidoscope with the seriousness it deserves (not much) and the result is a pleasant time-killer. Nothing more, but nothing less.
June 8th, 2019 at 7:49 am
Good review, Dan. I remember seeing it when it first came out – we saw a double feature almost every Friday – and the review brought back the good parts as well as the limitations. Forgettable but decent time waster. There were some more substantial things coming out then (1966-67) but also a lot worse.
June 8th, 2019 at 9:57 am
I had good memories of this but watching it on a bad copy about fifteen or twenty years ago was a real disappointment.
It always relied mostly on style but except for Susannah York and the opening credits I found it stale and the pop art style dated. And Beatty’s star power (for him) was pretty dimmed in retrospect.
Maybe I should try again on a better quality copy, if it’s available on more recent dvd.
My bad copy was a used VHS.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
Rick and Jeff
My opinion as well. Overall mediocre (stale and dated) but with just enough to the story line to keep me watching. But keep in mind I watched this within the last ten years or so. At the time, O can easily imagine it was cutting edge.
It is out now on DVD from Warner Archives.
June 8th, 2019 at 9:07 pm
The method of cheating at baccarat, however absurd, was the most interesting aspect of the film since it is otherwise almost impossible to cheat, and the method seemed much less clever seen by an adult who had actually played thirty years on. The novelization by Mike Avallone was fun as I recall, and any excuse for an hour or so with York is worthwhile.
It seemed much less impressive seen on television as an adult than when I was sixteen in a theater.
Damn fine cast for a bit of fluff though.
June 9th, 2019 at 2:25 am
Just watched the clips here of the poker game. And another clip on YouTube of the hero sneaking into the card factory. Found them unexpectedly gorgeous, in their sets, costumes, color and camera movements. Delightful! Will have to track down the whole film!