Rough Cut

Don Siegel assembled a good cast together and did a terrific job directing Rough Cut. Especially with Burt Reynolds doing a bad Cary Grant imitation for Lesley Anne Down setting the stage. He reminded me of Cary and she of Grace Kelly from To Catch A Thief. Add David Niven to the mix and this film is a winner.

Niven is a chief inspector for Scotland Yard and de for retirement and a rocking chair. But before he goes he's going to get Reynolds a known thief he hasn't been able to touch because Reynolds is so darn clever. But he has a libido and Niven blackmails another jewel thief Lesley Anne Down to keep tabs on him. She does in every way she can.

Nice location cinematography in London and Amsterdam One interesting moment was when Niven at a low moment appears drunk and disheveled. Highly unusual for that most unflappable of actors.

And the ending, a complete surprise. he closest I can think of is Joe Mankiewicz's western There Was A Crooked Man, a western with some dark comedy moments, a considerably darker film than Rough Cut. But the endings are similar and this one will floor you.

This one is a real delight.