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The Squeeze
A retired safe cracker is recruited by a young conman to return to the "business" for a million dollar heist.
Release : | 1978 |
Rating : | 5.2 |
Studio : | |
Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction, |
Cast : | Lee Van Cleef Karen Black Edward Albert Lionel Stander Robert Alda |
Genre : | Action |
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I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Absolutely the worst movie.
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
I think that people such as Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin must have passed on this film before the producers got to Lee Van Cleef. In The Squeeze Van Cleef plays a retired safecracker who apparently quit at the top of his game over a decade earlier. Edward Albert son of an old friend lures him back with a job offer to steal some diamonds.Seeing them and folks like Karen Black as a ditzy hippe chick, Lionel Stander as a pawnbroker friend of Van Cleef's, and Robert Alda as a police inspector always a step of two behind is always nice. His employers want to betray Van Cleef, but he didn't survive as long as he has by being stupid.The Squeeze has some dull patches and an annoying soundtrack of some of the worst 70s music. It's also a sad commentary on the human condition, nobody can trust nobody with one exception.
Lee Van Cleef plays an ex burglar who comes out of retirement from his ranch at the request of the son of a friend to do one more last job. Things don't go as planned. It sounds a standard kind of film but a few things lift it above mere ordinariness.It is mostly filmed in New York and the city does look atmospheric, lively but seedy as befits the plot. The plot itself has surprising twists and turns and your suspension of disbelief is mainly determined by the acting, principally the kookiness of Karen Black and the charm of Edward Albert. If you believe in their characters then the ending of the film packs quite a wallop. It did me anyway. The two veteran actors, Lee Van Cleef and Lionel Stander ease into their roles very well. Van Cleef was not a great film actor but in this kind of film is fine. He is very creditable as an ex-criminal as the God of Cinema blessed him with a villainous looking face.
I fell asleep watching this movie but admittedly only for the last ten minutes. The storyline is not explained well, it was only today I discovered what the value of the theft was and the background. The start was terrible, I thought I had missed something. The parts where characters stare at each other for long periods does not improve the tension or the plot... just made me lose interest. Is worth a watch if you are drunk however as it provides plenty to laugh about. I have seen the end and it did not improve the movie for me. Having bought this for £5 in a box set of "20 Great Action Adventure Movies" I do not feel ripped off, I feel I have obtained A useful tool for entertaining myself and my friends... but not in the way the director intended. I will not advise people to avoid this. The story is good but the way it has been put across to the audience is poor and maybe some more time could have been taken. There is a hint that there was some talent behind this movie as the shots of New York are beautifully gritty and not all glossy. Do watch this, even if just for a quick laugh before moving onto something better.
Lee Van Cleef at his most facially challenged plays a retired safeman, who comes back from Mexico to New York to do one job for a friend's kid.Includes most of the cliches one would expect from a "last gig"- film, but redeems itself with nice NY locations, comedy (some intentional) and Lee Van Cleef. Recommended as a time- passer.Released on video in Finland in the eighties.