Duffy (1968)
1h 41m | PG-13
Half-brothers Stefane and Antony despise their biological father, callous millionaire Charles Calvert. Because Charles refuses to share his wealth with his sons, Stefane and Antony ask hip American thrill-seeker Duffy to help steal the money they believe is their birthright. When Charles decides to move a large portion of his savings from Morocco to France, Duffy has an opportunity to stage a daring burglary attempt at sea.
Director: Robert Parrish
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Crime, Comedy
Video: 720p
Cast
James Coburn
as Duffy
James Mason
as Charles Calvert
James Fox
as Stefane Calvert
Susannah York
as Segolene
John Alderton
as Antony Calvert
Guy Deghy
as Captain Schallert
Reviews
Though this takes quite a while to warm up, the actual heist caper stuff is quite fun to watch. James Mason "Calvert" is a bit of a crook. A sophisticate, but a crook nonetheless. He has two rather put-upon sons in "Stefane" (James Fox) and "Antony" (John Alderton). The sons are fed up with their permanently disappointed father and so when they learn that he is to move £1 million on a ship from North Africa, they engage the help of their pal "Segolene" (Susannah York) and of the man who can help them rob the ship at sea -"Duffy" (James Coburn). They put together and execute quite a meticulously planned theft that's got some dressing up; wigs; a priest and an helicopter - but can they get away with it? Mason features sparingly but for a change, York is quite competent as their never quite trustworthy cohort. It is John Alderton who really surprises here. He's always reminded me of a John Cleese-light kind of figure, but here he is quite decent as the brains behind the operation leaving Coburn to provide the muscle and the charisma. I didn't quite get the point of the ending, it all sort of trips over it's own cloak looking for the dagger; but it was an hell of a lot better than I was expecting and I did quite enjoy the middle bit.