A just released from prison professional thief decides to do one last high-risk heist, which could settle him for life or land him behind bars again.A just released from prison professional thief decides to do one last high-risk heist, which could settle him for life or land him behind bars again.A just released from prison professional thief decides to do one last high-risk heist, which could settle him for life or land him behind bars again.
Reinhard Kolldehoff
- Detective Hoffman
- (as Rene Kolldehoff)
Lionel Vitrant
- chauffeur Citroen
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll entries contain spoilers
- GoofsDuring the chase, one of the cars keep changing back and forth from a 1958 Plymouth two door to a 1960 Dodge four door with slightly modified tail fins.
- Alternate versionsSome video prints run 95 minutes and full-frame, while the uncut version runs 112 minutes and in widescreen.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Cinemassacre's Top 10 Car Chases (2008)
Featured review
Merely Okay
There's a lot of other, similar, better foreign heist movies from this period, including the French AND HOPE TO DIE, and the Italian LAST CHANCE which I both found much more interesting than this work.
The main thing this one has going for it is once-huge American star Kirk Douglas in a very meaty central role as a super-suave master thief akin to Clooney's character in the recent "Ocean's 11" series. The supporting cast is also good, though underused, with Gemma as a trapeze artist who Douglas tries to recruit into the life of thievery. Wolfgang Preiss (the guy who always plays Nazi bad guys in war movies) plays the main mob boss with Romano Puppo in a satisfying role as his head thug. Puppo and Gemma have numerous fight and chase scenes which are fun to watch but add absolutely nothing to the plot. Speaking of plot, this one conveniently glazes over all the details of the heist, except on how Douglas deals with the security system's sound recorder. His preparations don't appear to be particularly well informed yet he seems unswervingly confident about the whole thing. Hmmm....
He also has a hot girlfriend/wife/lover/whatever Florinda Bolkan... who repeatedly tells him NOT to go through with the heist or she will leave him. These assertions make absolutely no impact on Douglas, who is single-minded in his pursuit of a big score... and then he is surprised later by all the double-crosses.
It's worth tracking down, but not exactly the most cerebral crime caper from the period. A little more realism would have done this film an immeasurable service.
The main thing this one has going for it is once-huge American star Kirk Douglas in a very meaty central role as a super-suave master thief akin to Clooney's character in the recent "Ocean's 11" series. The supporting cast is also good, though underused, with Gemma as a trapeze artist who Douglas tries to recruit into the life of thievery. Wolfgang Preiss (the guy who always plays Nazi bad guys in war movies) plays the main mob boss with Romano Puppo in a satisfying role as his head thug. Puppo and Gemma have numerous fight and chase scenes which are fun to watch but add absolutely nothing to the plot. Speaking of plot, this one conveniently glazes over all the details of the heist, except on how Douglas deals with the security system's sound recorder. His preparations don't appear to be particularly well informed yet he seems unswervingly confident about the whole thing. Hmmm....
He also has a hot girlfriend/wife/lover/whatever Florinda Bolkan... who repeatedly tells him NOT to go through with the heist or she will leave him. These assertions make absolutely no impact on Douglas, who is single-minded in his pursuit of a big score... and then he is surprised later by all the double-crosses.
It's worth tracking down, but not exactly the most cerebral crime caper from the period. A little more realism would have done this film an immeasurable service.
helpful•83
- Aylmer
- Aug 9, 2007
- How long is The Master Touch?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 52 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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