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The Escape Artist
The young and self-confident Danny bluffs at the local police-station that he will escape from prison within an hour. What follows is a flashback showing his childhood with his uncle and aunt, who are 'vaudeville'-artists themselves.
| Release : | 1982 |
| Rating : | 6.1 |
| Studio : | Orion Pictures, American Zoetrope, Warner Bros. Pictures, |
| Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction, |
| Cast : | Raúl Juliá Griffin O'Neal Desi Arnaz Teri Garr Joan Hackett |
| Genre : | Drama Comedy Crime |
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Reviews
A Major Disappointment
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
This unheralded gem was produced by Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios. I give it 10 stars for the theme music alone. There are some very good performances by Griffin O'Neal (his debut) as Danny and Desi Arnez Sr (Lucille Ball's husband) as the crooked Mayor...but the best performances are Raul Julia as Stu, the slightly(!) unhinged son of the Mayor and Joan Hackett as Danny's Aunt Sibyl.Funny and understated performances by John P Ryan as Stu's sidekick Vernon and Teri Garr as Stu's dotty girlfriend Arlene (pure eye-candy) are also worth mentioning.There's even a couple of the original 'Dead-End Kids' in the mix, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell, plus the original Uncle Fester and silent screen kid actor, Jackie Coogan. I've just realised all the names I've mentioned bar O'Neal and Garr are all gone now. Sad.M.Emmet Walsh throws in a greasy, smirking performance as the Chief Jailer with corruption oozing from every pore. Walsh never disappoints, even in a cameo role. The ending just about pulls it all together but not quite, though it doesn't disappoint. Once again though...beautiful musicOne strange thing, Richard Bradford as Sam the City Treasurer is missing off the film credits. It took me two updates to get his name listed on IMDb as uncredited.
This is a truly wonderful movie experience. The magical score adds to the atmosphere perfectly. It is beautifully photographed by Stephen H Burum and perfectly directed by Caleb Deschanel. The central performance by Griffin O'Neil is very watchable as is a great support cast which includes Elizabeth Daly and the late great Raul Julia. This is THE movie that made me want to make movies. The haunting final shot combined with the beautiful music has stayed with me for years.
About legacy, and fathers and sons. Much better and deeper than the ratings on this board give it credit for, in my opinion. There is little violence, sex or break-neck action but much boils under the surface and there are powerful moments. This is a fine movie.
This is one of those odd movies which is much greater than the sum of its parts. Leonard Maltin is quite right that it is muddled, and the plot has tons of holes and inconsistencies. The casting is odd and quirky. But when the smoke clears, it stays with you. Maybe it's just the concept of a child prodigy magician. BTW, the contemporary reviews in 1982 were pretty much in accord with this opinion.
