Once a Thief

1965 "always a target, for either side of the law!"
6.5| 1h47m| NR| en
Details

Ex-convict Eddie and his wife, Kristine, attempt to build a new life for themselves and their daughter Kathy in San Francisco, but police officer Mike Vido is determined to send Eddie back to prison.

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Reviews

Konterr Brilliant and touching
Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.
Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
JLRMovieReviews Alain Delon has a record as a thief, despite the fact the police do not have enough against him to keep him in stir. So Alain lives and works and struggles like other people with a wife, played by Ann-Margret and a daughter. But a robbery gone bad (or did it!) implicates Alain, with one person dead. When the law goes to his work to question him, he loses his job and has to find another one. Jack Palance is good as his ex-con brother and has one last heist to retire on, and he needs Alain to pull it off. Alain won't do it. He comes to find out that his own brother was framing him for that robbery/murder just so he would help him. What a brother! When Alain can't find another job, he resorts to what he said he would never do again. Van Heflin is also good as a police detective, who has his agenda in putting Alain away. It seems Alain shot him years ago during a robbery, but the circumstantial evidence wasn't good enough; but Van Heflin knew Alain did it. What starts as a promising and interesting film with Alain and Ann-Margret's chemistry culminates to a very depressing end. In fact, I liked the film on the whole up until the last 5 or so minutes. Granted, any film about ex-cons or people on the run never has a "good ending." But some are better than others. It could have had an ending with integrity and a hope for a better day. But no! You've been warned. Some people just exist and…..
MartinHafer The casting for this film was pretty weird. French actor Alain Delon plays an Italian and Jack Palance(!) plays his brother! The two look and sound nothing like brothers and I suppose they chose Delon since apparently Sidney Poitier was not available!! Delon is an ex-con who is married to lovely but often hysterical Ann-Margaret. They have a young daughter but are struggling economically--partly because it's hard for a hot-headed idiot like Delon to keep a job. In fact, there are just way too many scenes where he barks and gesticulates and broods so much you'd swear he's off his meds. Because he acts like a moody jerk through much of the film it's hardly possible to care about him--and this is a major problem with the film. Most caper films, to a degree, you like the crooks and even want to see them get away with the crime---such as in good caper films like "Rififi" or "Bob le Flambeur". With this film, however, you just want it to end. There's more to the plot and there's a parole officer played by Van Heflin, but frankly...who cares?! In addition to Delon's acting, while Ann-Margaret is also a decent actress, you might not think so seeing this film. In particular, pay attention to her at about the 53 and 86 minute marks as she goes off on a bizarre tirade that just seems way overdone. Where was the director? Did they actually WANT this sort of terrible performance?! And, for that matter, who wrote this dialog?! After all, even a film novice might find that scene extremely silly.So what did I like about this film? Well, not much, since I'd seen so many better and less shrill caper films. However, the blond psycho in the gang was a pretty cool character and Palance wasn't bad at all--and was good as a heavy throughout the 50s and 60s. These, however, are not enough to make the movie worth seeing.
azignon I am living in France now and have seen repeats of this film on TV. Alain Delon and Van Heflin keep getting better and better each time I see the film. Ann Margaret is soooooo bad and gets worse and worse. The little girl is obnoxious. It is all predictable but Delon and Heflin make it worthwhile. I wish I had seen the film in the sixties. It would have been interesting comparing my reactions to the film in different time periods.
Jonathan Doron Swift opening sequence has nothing to do with the pace of the movie, and that's a shame. The movie is way too slow, not very original (ex-con drawn to one last crime, police detective off the case-still determined to get his guy; I for one, do not believe Jack Palance and Alain Delon are Italian brothers, does anyone?), some tolerable '60s cuts and point-of-views, but if you get to the heist you are rewarded -not by the crime itself, but the outcome. The finale is well put together. Alain does have better ones, preferable in French.