Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine Execute a Gambit

Shirley MacLaine as Nicole.

This review contains a spoiler. 

In  the first 29 minutes of Gambit (1966), we see art thief Harry Dean (Michael Caine) execute the perfect heist with the aid of dance hall girl Nicole (Shirley MacLaine) and his partner Emile (John Abbott). Of course, it turns out that the entire sequence is merely Harry describing his plan to Emile. When it comes time to actually pull off the robbery, almost nothing works out as Harry envisioned.

In Harry's plan, he and Nicole, disguised as a wealthy British businessman and his wife, are met at the airport by the hotel's limo. They are given the royal suite and invited by the hotel's reclusive owner to dinner in his rooms. Later, Harry steals the most valuable piece in the hotel owner's art collection.

Michael Caine as Harry.

When it comes to execute the caper for real, there is no limo (the hotel no longer sends one for VIP guests), they don't get their desired suite, and the hotel's owner--already suspicious of them--invites them to lunch on his yacht. Furthermore, Harry's target, an invaluable bust, is protected by a new electronic security system.

A playful caper film, Gambit has plenty of twists, so knowing the first one doesn't negate the enjoyment of the others. Still, it's the first twist--the 29 minute "planning" sequence--that the film is known for. It has fooled me both times I watched it (albeit my viewings were several decades apart). And there are plenty of clues that something is amiss during the sequence. First, Shirley MacLaine's character doesn't speak a word of dialogue, which struck me as peculiar. Secondly, it's apparent that Harry isn't a first-class thief, so it seems odd that everything goes so smoothly.

The most amusing part of Gambit is the role reversals between the plan and the execution. In Harry's plan, he is totally in charge and Nicole follows his every instruction. During the execution, Nicole's quick thinking and knowledge of art saves Harry and his plan on multiple occasions.

Herbert Lom as Shahbandar.

Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine are a delightful duo. It's a shame that this was their only movie together (other than a few scenes in the anthology Woman Times Seven). However, the unheralded star of Gambit is Herbert Lom, who plays the reclusive art collector. Lom was a highly versatile performer, appearing in horror films (The Phantom of the Opera), historical epics (Spartacus), and comedies (A Shot in the Dark). His surprising flair for physical comedy resulted in his best-known work, as Peter Sellers' nemesis, Chief Inspector Dreyfus, in the best Pink Panther films.

On of Nicole's gowns.

Gambit was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Set Design, Best Costumes and Best Sounds. The film, Shirley MacLaine, and Michael Caine were all nominated for Golden Globes. MacLaine lost to Lynn Redgrave for Georgy Girl while Alan Arkin nabbed Best Actor in a Comedy with The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.

The screenplay for Gambit was based on a story by Sidney Carroll, who penned scripts for The Hustler and A Big Hand for the Little Lady (which also features a famous twist). The Coen Brothers adapted Carroll's story for a 2012 version of Gambit starring Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, and Alan Rickman.

Billy Wilder's Irma la Douce

Irma and her dog Coquette.

After ill-advisedly arresting eighteen Parisian prostitutes, the well-meaning Nestor Patou (Jack Lemmon) is fired from his job as a policeman. He takes an interest in one of the streetwalkers, Irma la Douce (Shirley MacLaine), and defends her honor when her "manager" starts to get too rough. To everyone's surprise--including Nestor's--he wins a brawl against Irma's bad-mannered pimp.

Impressed with Nestor defending her honor, she takes him to her apartment and they become lovers. She also convinces Nestor to become her new manager. He's uncomfortable with the arrangement and considers getting a job, but Irma won't have it. She explains: "You don't want the other girls to think I can't support my man."

Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon.

Determined to find a way to keep Irma off the streets, Nestor and a friend hatch a scheme. Nestor disguises himself as a wealthy British client, known as Lord X, who pays Irma $500 to play cards with him for two nights a week. She is thrilled with the arrangement! Nestor is pleased with the outcome, but now has to work secretly to earn the money to pay Irma. As his friend tells him, this is not a "sustainable economic model."

Irma la Douce (1963) and The Apartment (1960) share the same stars (Lemmon and MacLaine), director (Billy Wilder), and screenwriters (Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond). Although Irma was based on a French play and a successful Broadway musical, Wilder no doubt saw it as a likely extension of The Apartment. In his earlier film, Jack Lemmon's insurance worker loans out his apartment to his business colleagues in hopes of getting a promotion. That's not the same as a pimp, but he indirectly uses sex for financial gain. He becomes displeased with the arrangement only after learning that a woman he likes (played by Shirley MacLaine) is having an affair with one of the executives using his apartment.

Lemmon as Lord X.

Yet, while The Apartment was a superb sophisticated comedy-drama, Irma la Douce is a broad comedy that works reasonably well. Lemmon and MacLaine are still magical together and the best scenes--such as when Irma casually invites Nestor to share her bed--are the ones in which they share the screen. She earned an Oscar nomination as the streetwalker with a penchant for green (even her underwear is green) and who considers her job a profession. (Amazingly, she was Wilder's third choice after Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor dropped out). As in Some Like It Hot, Jack Lemmon essentially gives two performances, as Nestor and as Lord X (he is virtually unrecognizable, in appearance and voice).

James Caan as a client.

Lou Jacobi headlines the supporting cast as Nestor's unlikely friend, a bartender with experiences in pretty much every field of work. Look quickly and you can also spot a number of now-familiar faces: Bill Bixby, James Caan, Howard McNear (Floyd on The Andy Griffith Show), and Grace Lee Whitney (Janet Rand on the original Star Trek TV series).

If the great Billy Wilder had a flaw as a director, it was editing his own screenplays. Like several of his later movies, Irma la Douce is inflated at a whopping 143 minutes. Wilder could have easily trimmed a half-hour without losing any plot or characterization.  It's also puzzling that he chose not to include the musical numbers from the Broadway hit--especially once the multitalented MacLaine was cast as the lead.

Of course, Shirley MacLaine did get a chance to show her singing and dancing chops six years later in Sweet Charity (1969). Although she played a dancer-for-hire (or taxi dancer), her character was based on the titular heroine of Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria--who was a prostitute.

The Five Best Shirley MacLaine Performances

1. The Apartment (1960) - While Shirley MacLaine often played strong, independent women later in her career, her finest performance was as the vulnerable, lonely, and borderline-desperate Fran Kubelik in Billy Wilder’s classic comedy-drama. Fran is smart enough to guess that the slimy business executive, played by Fred MacMurray, has no intention of leaving his wife. Yet, the scene where she admits this to herself is poignant and tragic. It helps, too, that MacLaine and Jack Lemmon make a near-perfect onscreen couple, with her cynicism evenly balanced by his earnestness.

2. Terms of Endearment (1983) - After four previous Best Actress nominations, Shirley MacLaine won the Oscar for playing an independent-minded mother opposite an equally feisty daughter (Debra Winger) in James L. Brooks' popular hit. MacLaine has called Terms a "singularly difficult experience" in which "maybe the shooting circumstances contributed to its artistic success." She is referring, of course, to her on-set friction with Debra Winger. The on-screen result is an incredibly natural mother-daughter relationship that allows MacLaine to show the full range of her acting talent as a dramatic actress and (especially in her scenes with Jack Nicholson) as a comedienne.

Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine.

3. The Children's Hour (1961) - William Wyler's underrated drama stars Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine as two teachers who are accused of being in a lesbian relationship by a student. While it is untrue, MacLaine's character harbors unspoken love for her colleague and friend. The scene is which she openly admits her feelings for the first time is the most emotionally-wrenching scene in MacLaine's career.

4. Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) - I suspect many readers consider this is an odd choice. The reality, though, is that Shirley MacLaine may have been Clint Eastwood's best female co-star. She is certainly tough enough to go toe to toe with him and their interplay is the highlight of the film. Director Don Siegel once said that Shirley was "a hard, hard woman." Although she now speaks highly of Eastwood, MacLaine and Siegel routinely clashed on the set. Perhaps, this is another case of off-screen friction leading to on-screen success.

In one of her "roles" in Gambit.

5. Gambit (1966) - This may seem like another offbeat selection, but hear me out. It makes the list because it features what amounts to two delightful Shirley MacLaine performances. In the first half of the film, con man Michael Caine imagines a heist that features Shirley as an accomplice who doesn't have a word of dialogue. MacLaine's acting consists solely of facial expressions and gestures--and she's marvelous. In the film's second half, she plays a talkative accomplice who's much smarter than Caine's character. Her performances are masterful examples of light comedy and serve as a reminder she could have been a much bigger star if that was her goal.

Honorable Mentions: The Turning Point, Irma La Douce, Some Came Running, and Steel Magnolias.

Autobiographical Films: People Who Played Themselves in Movie Biographies

Many people have played themselves on film, but few have played themselves in film biographies. The reasons are obvious: the scarcity of motion picture biographies of living persons; the fact that “real” people do not necessarily make believable actors; and the image problem--it can look like you have a big ego if you portray yourself in a favorable light. 

Sports players dominated early film autobiographies, tracing the careers of baseball legend Jackie Robinson (The Jackie Robinson Story), track star Bob Mathias (The Bob Mathias Story), and football players Tom Harmon (Harmon of Michigan) and Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch (Crazylegs). None of these one-time actors went on to pursue an acting career (though Harmon’s son Mark eventually did). Boxer Joe Louis played a fictitious fighter in Spirit of Youth, although the character was clearly patterned after Louis. Irrepressible boxing legend Muhammad Ali once said: “When you’re as great as I am, it’s hard to be humble.” So naturally, he played himself in the modestly-titled biopic The Greatest (1977). 

Actresses Ann Jillian, Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine, Patty Duke, and Suzanne Somers all played themselves in made-for-TV biographies. MacLaine’s film was adapted from her best-selling autobiography Out on a Limb. Ray Charles also appeared as himself in 1964’s Ballad in Blue. To date, the best autobiographical film remains 1955’s To Hell and Back, in which Audie Murphy traced his own rise from farm boy to the nation’s most decorated soldier in World War II to movie star. 

Although not autobiographical, Will Rogers, Jr., played his father in The Will Rogers Story (1952) and Marie Osmond played her mother in Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family (1982). In the following list, the subject’s name is included in parentheses unless specified in the title: 

Spirit of Youth (1937)  (Joe Louis)
Harmon of Michigan (1941)  (Tom Harmon)
The Fabulous Dorseys (1947)
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
Crazylegs (aka Crazylegs, All American) (1953)  (Elroy Hirsch)
The Bob Mathias Story (aka The Flaming Torch) (1954)
To Hell and Back (1955)  (Audie Murphy)
Rock Around the World (aka The Tommy Steele Story) (1957)
Ballad in Blue (aka Blues for Lovers) (1964)  (Ray Charles)
Smash-Up Alley (aka 43: The Petty Story) (1972)  (Richard Petty)
The Greatest (1977)  (Muhammad Ali)
Out on a Limb (1987 TVM)  (Shirley MacLaine)
The Ann Jillian Story (1988 TVM)
Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980 TVM)
Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984 TVM)
Call Me Anna (1990 TVM)  (Patty Duke)
Keeping Secrets (1991 TVM) (Suzanne Somers)
Miss America: Behind the Crown (1992 TVM)  (Carolyn Sapp) 
Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story (1994 TVM)
Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story (1995 TVM)
Private Parts (1997)  (Howard Stern)

Reprinted with the authors' permission from the Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series.