"The Silent Partner" is a Canadian film and shows that the Canadian film industry of the 1970's possessed some major talent.
Like all English-speaking film industries, the Canadians have to compete with the 300-pound gorilla in the room, Hollywood. Of course, being right next-door, the Canadians probably have the toughest job in creating cinema that reflects their national identity, and which doesn't just blend in with the US product. However, their films do have a unique vibe that Canadians may not recognize as easily as an outsider can.
These days, we see quite a lot of Canadian material on cable in Australia and you can tell that it is Canadian even without seeing flags, police uniforms, or hearing the word 'about' pronounced as 'aboot'. After watching hundreds of American films, you can easily sense the change in locale.
"The Silent Partner" is a clever and stylish movie that would stand out in any cinematic company, although it doesn't seem to get too many mentions in overviews of the Canadian Film Industry.
Elliott Gould plays Miles Cullen, a bank teller who at bank closing time discovers a note that tips him off that the bank will be robbed the next day. Dissatisfied with his job and pretty much his life, he hatches a plan.
When the robbery takes place, Miles gives the robber a token amount of money, and causes him to flee when he trips the alarm. However, he has kept aside nearly $50,000 for himself. He then reports the total amount as stolen by the robber.
The only other person who knows what he did is the perpetrator. In a truly edgy performance, Christopher Plummer plays bank robber, Harry Reikle, who is not only a thief but also a sadistic psychopath – he comes looking for the rest of the money, and he and Miles play out a deadly game of cat and mouse.
The film has a fascinating cast including Susannah York who plays a co-worker with whom Miles has an on again, off again relationship, and John Candy in an early non-comedy role as a young colleague at the bank. And then there is Celine Lomez, an actress who was considered too sexy to be one of the leads in TV's "Charlie's Angels" – a backhanded compliment if ever there was one. She plays Elaine with whom Miles has an affair before discovering that she is not all that she seems.
As the story unfolds we find that Miles is made of stern stuff and doesn't give ground easily, which only makes Harry more excessive in the pursuit of the money.
The film ends as cleverly as it started, but not before one of Miles' beloved tropical fish is pinned to the wall with a knife and a human head ends up in the fish tank. "The Silent Partner" also features a sequence worthy of Hitchcock at his best when Miles must dispose of a body deposited on him courtesy of Harry.
"The Silent Partner" hasn't dated much at all, and is still one of the cleverest crime dramas you'll ever see. Although the film did well in Canada at the time, it failed to find an audience in the US, but one American critic rightly hailed it as " one of the best sleepers of the late '70s". It's still a great little discovery to make today.
Like all English-speaking film industries, the Canadians have to compete with the 300-pound gorilla in the room, Hollywood. Of course, being right next-door, the Canadians probably have the toughest job in creating cinema that reflects their national identity, and which doesn't just blend in with the US product. However, their films do have a unique vibe that Canadians may not recognize as easily as an outsider can.
These days, we see quite a lot of Canadian material on cable in Australia and you can tell that it is Canadian even without seeing flags, police uniforms, or hearing the word 'about' pronounced as 'aboot'. After watching hundreds of American films, you can easily sense the change in locale.
"The Silent Partner" is a clever and stylish movie that would stand out in any cinematic company, although it doesn't seem to get too many mentions in overviews of the Canadian Film Industry.
Elliott Gould plays Miles Cullen, a bank teller who at bank closing time discovers a note that tips him off that the bank will be robbed the next day. Dissatisfied with his job and pretty much his life, he hatches a plan.
When the robbery takes place, Miles gives the robber a token amount of money, and causes him to flee when he trips the alarm. However, he has kept aside nearly $50,000 for himself. He then reports the total amount as stolen by the robber.
The only other person who knows what he did is the perpetrator. In a truly edgy performance, Christopher Plummer plays bank robber, Harry Reikle, who is not only a thief but also a sadistic psychopath – he comes looking for the rest of the money, and he and Miles play out a deadly game of cat and mouse.
The film has a fascinating cast including Susannah York who plays a co-worker with whom Miles has an on again, off again relationship, and John Candy in an early non-comedy role as a young colleague at the bank. And then there is Celine Lomez, an actress who was considered too sexy to be one of the leads in TV's "Charlie's Angels" – a backhanded compliment if ever there was one. She plays Elaine with whom Miles has an affair before discovering that she is not all that she seems.
As the story unfolds we find that Miles is made of stern stuff and doesn't give ground easily, which only makes Harry more excessive in the pursuit of the money.
The film ends as cleverly as it started, but not before one of Miles' beloved tropical fish is pinned to the wall with a knife and a human head ends up in the fish tank. "The Silent Partner" also features a sequence worthy of Hitchcock at his best when Miles must dispose of a body deposited on him courtesy of Harry.
"The Silent Partner" hasn't dated much at all, and is still one of the cleverest crime dramas you'll ever see. Although the film did well in Canada at the time, it failed to find an audience in the US, but one American critic rightly hailed it as " one of the best sleepers of the late '70s". It's still a great little discovery to make today.