With Robert Redford announcing his retirement after The Old Man And The Gun, hopefully another earlier film where he played a bank robber will get new attention. I remember seeing the ending to The Hot Rock (1972) and loved Redford’s walk to the jazzy score by Quincy Jones. Finally sat down and watched the whole thing. Like Clooney in the Ocean’s Eleven remake (which this is a precursor to in stylish humourous vibe), Redford sets the tone here with comic underplaying as Dortmunder, a thief recently released from prison and already talked into going back into the life by his wacky brother-in-law played by George Segal. In essence, this is a shaggy dog story about a quartet of thieves (including hothead driver Ron Lieberman and nerdy explosives expert Paul Sand) continually trying to steal a diamond and then losing it through a bad turn of luck – it’s one complicated heist after another. The film’s a funny caper with big gags as well as Zero Mostel in the mix as a crooked lawyer. Directed by Peter Yates (Bullitt, Friends Of Eddie Coyle) and based on the novel by Donald E. Westlake. Recommended.
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