BY LEE PFEIFFER
Alan R. Trustman wrote the screenplay for the 1968 version of "The Thomas Crown Affair", which presented Steve McQueen as a master crook who becomes romantically involved with Faye Dunaway as the insurance investigator who is trying to bring him to justice. In the 1973 film "Lady Ice", Trustman co-wrote the screenplay that presents Donald Sutherland as an insurance investigator who becomes involved with master criminal Jennifer O'Neill, who he is trying to bring to justice. Clearly, the acorn hadn't fallen far from the tree. "Thomas Crown" had been a major success but, alas, few remember "Lady Ice" in spite of- or perhaps because of the plot similarities between the two films. Nonetheless, it's a reasonably entertaining and stylish caper film directed by the often underrated Tom Gries.
O'Neill plays Paula Booth, who, along with her lover Eddie Stell (John Cypher) and her widowed father Paul (Patrick Magee), operate a daring, highly successful jewel theft operation out of Miami. The buy high end stolen gems and then convert them to unrecognizable pieces which are fenced to buyers at eye-popping prices. Sutherland is Andy Hammon, a mysterious and somewhat ethically challenged freelancer employed by insurance companies to thwart crimes and recovered stolen loot. He successfully retrieves a priceless necklace from a courier before he can sell it to the Booths. The mob in Chicago assumes the hapless man has stolen it for himself and assassinates him. Hammon makes it known to the Booths and Stell that he has the precious necklace and a cat-and-mouse game ensues in which we are never sure what Hammon's motivations or allegiances are. There are double crosses and shady characters in abundance, as the self-assured Paula carries on relationships with Eddie Stell and a secret lover in the smuggling racket, Peter Brinker (Eric Braeden), all the while flirting with Hammon. There are plenty of car chases, beatings and a driving 70s score by Perry Botkin Jr. The plot becomes a bit confusing and convoluted but it moves at a brisk pace and the locations in Miami, Chicago and Nassau are marvelously photographed by the great Lucien Ballard. Sutherland is always a joy to watch and he is well-tailored to the role he plays here. Jennifer O'Neill provides the glamour and a very good performance, which makes it all the more distressing that chaotic developments in her personal life largely compromised her promising career in feature films. One gripe: Robert Duvall is largely wasted in a bland, colorless role as a Miami police detective who butts heads with Sutherland.
The Scorpion Blu-ray is of superb quality. Bonus extras include a recent, interesting interview with composer Perry Botkin, Jr and a gallery of trailers for other Scorpion video releases.
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