Jack of Diamonds

1967 "From the rooftops of Paris to the penthouses of New York...he takes only the best jewels and the most beautiful women!"
5.2| 1h48m| NR| en
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The protégé of a famous cat burglar reluctantly agrees to join forces with a lesser criminal in the daring heist of several famous jewels from a seemingly impenetrable vault.

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Reviews

GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
JohnHowardReid Copyright 12 July 1967 by Harris Associates/Bavaria Atelier. New York opening at neighborhood theaters: 10 November 1967. U.S. release: 12 July 1967. U.K. release: 15 October 1967. Australian release: 15 February 1968. Running times: 107 minutes (US and Aust), 90 minutes (UK).SYNOPSIS: Although the international jewel thief known as the Ace of Diamonds has long been in retirement, his protégé Jeff Hill — appropriately dubbed the Jack of Diamonds — is rapidly building a reputation equal to his mentor's. After stealing a fortune in jewels from the New York apartment of Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jeff sets out to execute a robbery aboard a luxury liner. Although he encounters another cat burglar in one of the staterooms, he succeeds in escaping with the gems. Then, following the theft of Carroll Baker's jewels, Jeff flies to Munich and is visited by the Ace, who tries to persuade him to quit while he is still ahead of the game. But a chance meeting with a beautiful girl named Olga leads to Jeff's being introduced to the master thief of Europe, Nicolai. Even though he learns that Olga is the cat burglar he tussled with on the luxury liner, Jeff agrees to join forces with her and Nicolai in removing the fabled Zaharoff diamonds from an electronically-guarded bank vault in Paris. As the elaborate details of the crime are being worked out, Jeff cannot resist stealing the jewels of a third film star, Lilli Palmer. On the day of the Zaharoff job, however...NOTES: Location scenes filmed in New York City, Paris, Genoa, Munich, and the Bavarian Alps. Interiors at Bavaria Studios, Munich. COMMENT: A fairly exciting script, very capably acted by all concerned. A shame the comic elements were not played up more. At least one wisecrack is exceptionally hilarious, and the anti-climax itself is delicious; but generally the comedy is subdued in favor of the drama. In the less than inventive hands of director Don Taylor, the drama often seems too drearily self-conscious for true excitement. Taylor's pacing is too slow. Trimming the more heavy- handed passages by at least ten or fifteen minutes would be a distinct advantage. Provided the cutting was done with finesse, the U.K. version could well be the one to enjoy.
thinker1691 "The Jack of Diamonds" is a most enjoyable film, for fans of Mr. Hamilton. The story is that of a retired jewel thief (Joseph Cotton) who is known as "The Ace of Diamonds." Although he has long since retired, his new protégé George Hamilton has earned the reputation of a world class Cat Bugler and is so proficient he has come to the attention of international Insurance investigator Von Schenk (Wolfgang Presiss.) The insurance organization and the police are very interested in capturing him and the other two re-known jewel thieves like the King and Queen of Diamonds, (Murice Evans and Maire Laforte) and their aid Helmut (Karl Lieffen). They plan on going after the World Series of Jewels called the Hazerhoff Collection and will need all their collective skills to obtain it as it is not only well guarded, but the insurance company is waiting for them to try. Fun is an understatement, as the combined star power makes the film as interesting as the caper itself. A good film in any sense of the word. ****
whpratt1 George Hamilton, (Jeff Hill) learn his craft of becoming a master thief from Joseph Cotton, (Ace of Diamonds) and takes on some very risky assignments, especially the one that sexy Marie LaForet, (Olga) suggests he undertake. Jeff Hill even has a special place in his home to practice his climbing up and down the walls and sideways in order to practice his going through windows for precious gems. Jeff also has a very concealed room in his basement in order to cut up his diamonds in order to ship them to dealers undetected by jewelers. It is nice to see Joe Cotton in this film, he sort of played a very low key role and seemed like he was not too happy with this role. I almost forgot that Gabor was in this picture and made some remarks about a guy being Straight and not gay, it looks like this film was ahead of its time in raising this subject. Typical Cat Burglar film, something like " To Catch a Thief" with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
Poseidon-3 The makings of a classic, suspenseful heist film are in place here, but the film only partly succeeds. Hamilton plays the title character, a wall-climbing, scuba-diving burglar who specializes in nabbing priceless baubles and who was trained by a master, the Ace of Diamonds (Cotten.) Cotten's old pal Evans, along with Evans' step-daughter Laforet, convinces Hamilton to go in on a practically impossible job, removing a prized necklace and brooch from a virtually impregnable stronghold (after first obtaining a vault combination from the middle of Paris police headquarters!) The foursome plots and trains and plans until the big day arrives while Preiss closes in on them as fast as he can. Hamilton is quite fit and manages to be fairly convincing in his somewhat larger-than-life role. Cotten is less believable, though his character is in retirement, which helps. Evans is relatively amusing in his controlling characterization. Laforet is beautiful and surprisingly decent in a role that is substantially window-dressing. Some of the set pieces are tiresome (such as Hamilton's and Laforet's meet--cute on the ski slopes) but the big heist itself is pretty suspenseful and well-handled. Hamilton also has a neat home complete with a trapeze, an indoor pool and a secret compartment for jewel cutting. Three glamorous ladies appear as themselves (!) in utterly pointless cameos that do little to enhance the film except that they add a bit of feminine attractiveness (which Laforet handles rather nicely anyway.) Of the trio of Palmer, Baker and Gabor, only Gabor gets to say anything remotely interesting and even her presence is limited. (At this point, her negligible film career was already waning and she was basically doing guest shots, yet she is portrayed as a busy, successful actress who has a 6:00 call!) One thing that could divide a lot of viewers is the overbearing and exceedingly whimsical music score which features voices doo-dooing and whee-ing away continually. Some may get the humor, others will be lying on the floor with blood trickling out of their ears. It's a fanciful, stylish, but also rather undistinguished tale without a lot to recommend it unless one is a fan of Hamilton or of the genre in particular. The ground has been covered many times before and after and often in a better way.