Customer Reviews

St Ives [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charles Bronson shows the crittics that he can act in a more
complex murder/mystery than his usual tough guy revenge films
and do an outstanding Job. Bronson Plays Ray St.Ives a famous
crime reporter turned author who is in finacial trouble takes
a job offered to him by his lawyer to act as a go between and deliver a huge sum of money to those who have stolen incrimanating ledgers from a devious, eccentric old crime kingpin(John Houseman)So after failed attempts to deilver the money for the ledgers the exchange does get transacted but their are four pages missing from the ledgers than Bronson blackmails Houseman to take him on the mission to find the missing pages putting himself in danger. This is definalty one of the best films of the seventies and certainly one of the best films
Charles Bronson has ever done. Here he plays a smart,cool type
of indivdual who uses more words than his fists. Great cast
includes Jacquline Bisset a red head beauty just at the start
of her carrer played the femme fatele to a T. I'ts a shame Bronson didn't do more of these type of films because the man can
act beyond his usual tough guy exploits and he proves that in
this film.

I first saw this film in a theatre in Summer, 1976, and have since watched it on TV several times, awaiting the day the DVD would be issued.

It is easily said that this is not only one of my favorite Bronson films, but just one of my favorite films in general. There is an ambience or quality to this film that just reaches out to me. Everything just works.

The other reviews listed here sum up the movie pretty well. But I will say I am surprised that only one reviewer mentions in passing one role that helps make this movie, and that is the one played by Dana Elcar. Elcar plays a detective on the police force who is not only friendly to St. Ives, but somewhat protective by the latitude he offers. At the ending, it is of course natural that Dana Elcar's character is called in by St. Ives to help tidy up the messy details. Dana Elcar was a supreme actor both in the movies and on TV, and it is true tragedy that he ended life going blind.

If you enjoy Bronson movies, or laid back, cool detective movies this one is for you. Now, if I can just locate that great looking cafeteria in this movie I will be all set. Ray St. Ives sure knew where to eat, but never learned not to bet on the Los Angeles Rams!

Semper Fi.

It's King of Kings Charles Bronson time again. When my son recently put on the tape of 'St. Ives' and I heard the great score by Lalo Schifrin during the opening credits, I just had to run into the living room. I remember this score from 'St. Ives' being used by the ABC sports channel on many an occassion in the late 70's/Early 80's.
Another Bronson film theme that used to be used very often on TV and in other places was the great score from 'Breakheart Pass'. Both these films' themes are to die for.
This is one cool film reminiscent of the great mystery films of the 1940's. It's well acted, well directed, well scored and very entertaining.
Watch it and you will see what I mean.

...because this is a very funny movie, if you just give it a chance. My brothers taped this years ago, and took to watching it again. The first few times, the cheap 70s look it had made me beat a trail out of the room, but then one day I sat and watched it. And was surprised at how entertaining it is!

Bronson is a failed crime writer who, because he IS so down on his luck, accepts a job as a bag man to deliver a sizeable amount of money to those who have stolen the notebooks of a legendary old crime planner, John Houseman. He's an odd bird who sits in the dark sobbing at old silent movies while his pseudo mistress Jackie Bisset saunters about the mansion wearing the most appalling moumous. Houseman's doctor Maximillian Schell is on hand as well in the mansion, well characterized with a perpetual runny nose that must be blown. Things should go off smoothly, except that by the time Bronson appears at the laundromat drop off point, someone has stuffed a corpse in a dryer. Poses some difficulties, you might say, especially when the police just happen along and take Bronson in for questioning. And that's just the start of it. There will be a few more murders, a sexy scene or two with Ms. Bisset, and an exciting chase scene with Mr. Houseman through a drive-in movie as cattle stampede continuously across the screen. That's one of the details I like the movie for, incidentally: you can rewind it all you want, and you'll only see cattle on the screen, never any cowboys.

What makes "St. Ives" appealing is that despite its cheap look, every single performer is delivering a good performance. Nobody is walking through their part. There are some great lines too, as when Houseman is being somewhat confidential with Bronson towards the end, talking about how he disagrees with psychologists who equate a fear of death with a fear of impotence: "Besides, I've always BEEN impotent, so why should I fear it?"

If you want to smile to yourself a lot while watching a movie, then put a copy of "St. Ives" in the machine and let it roll.

Charles Bronson is Ray St. Ives, an ex-LA cop, turned struggling writer. A man who could use a decent payday to help offset his gambling losses and alimony bills. Excentric Abner Procane (John Houseman), has had some valuable ledgers stolen, and offers St. Ives a job as the go-between in the ransom process.

Things get off to a rocky start, when at the rendezvous at a laundromat, a dead man turns up spinning in a washer and no exchange takes place. Others are interested in the ledgers too, and as St. Ives investigates, attempts are made to get him off the case, and more bodies start turning up as well. Eventually he does get the ledgers back, and then becomes involved in an off beat robbery scheme. The plot works well up to a point, and then credibility begins to fade. The ending does wrap up the loose ends, and features a surprise or two, and a teaser.

It is amusing to see the usually upright Houseman, as a criminal type, dressing up in a "cat burglar" outfit for nocturnal activities. The rest of the cast is also interesting. Jacqueline Bisset, is a former cop in charge of Procane's security, and Maximillan Schell is Procane's psychiatrist. Underrated Dana Elcar is St Ives's buddy on the force. Also appearing are Harry Guardino, and Daniel Travanti, and as young hoods, Jeff Goldblum and Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund.

Lalo Schifrin does some nice work on the score. And veteran J. Lee Thompson (Guns of Navarone) directs one of Bronson's better efforts. Worth a look if you get the chance.

Ross Thomas was one of America's great thriller/mystery/political skullduggery writers. He wrote 20 books under his own name and five as Oliver Bleeck. One would think he'd have been fertile ground for Hollywood to till. In fact, only one of his books made it to the screen, The Procane Chronicle under the Bleeck name. The movie St. Ives, directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Charles Bronson, is the result. We can see why Hollywood never tried again. It's not that St. Ives is a poor movie. With Thomas' clever, twisty plot largely in tact, the last half of the movie moves briskly along. However, Ross Thomas and Charles Bronson make highly unlikely partners. Bronson's stoic, strong, silent guy-who-can-take-care-of-himself is not a good fit for what remains of Philip St. Ives' (now renamed, for some reason, Raymond). The second and more important drawback is that a movie of reasonable length will have a hard time coherently taking us through the twists and corners, the under-handed dealings, the false leads and the intelligent style in a Ross Thomas plot.

Ray St. Ives used to be a big-time crime reporter. Now he's trying to be a novelist. He lives in the cheap Hotel Lido and brews chicory coffee in an old Bunn coffee maker. St. Ives gets an offer. The eccentric, wealthy, 65-year-old Abner Procane (John Houseman) had five brown, leather-bound ledgers stolen. The thieves want $100,000. For acting as a go-between, St. Ives will be paid $10,000. All Ray has to do is be at a certain laundromat at 2 a.m., give the money and get the ledgers. When St. Ives shows up, however, the only thing he finds, crammed into one of the dryers and slowly turning on the spin cycle, is a man with a broken neck.

So after he leaves the police station, he reports back to Procane with the money but with no ledgers. He meets once more Procane's zaftig assistant, Janet Whistler (Jacqueline Bisset), and Procane's friend and psychiatrist, Dr John Constable (Maximilian Schell).

By the time St. Ives goes through this one more time with the switch in a men's restroom, he's been Bronson-beaten and Bronson-victorious in an abandoned warehouse, gotten on poor terms with two cops, found another cop dead with an ice pick in the chest and finally returned those ledgers to Procane. St. Ives has also learned that Procane is not just an eccentric old gentleman who loves to watch The Big Parade. He is an elegant and supremely talented big-time thief. And one of the returned ledgers has had four pages torn out, the meticulous plans Procane developed to relieve some very wealthy business interests of $4 million. No spoilers here; this is just set-up for the main event.

It all starts to come together in a drive-in theater one evening where the $4 million will be exchanged, where the ones who stole Procane's plans will act on them, and where Procane, St. Ives and Janet Whistler will be waiting to interfere as much as possible. With the exception of a few deaths, a couple of betrayals and a lit pool with one person oozing blood and life, it all works out as planned.

Ross Thomas' books are such a pleasure to read because they are well and pungently written, we can savor the plot twists and we can enjoy the personalities of the characters that Thomas builds for us. Thomas also had a knack for coming up with memorable names. Some I enjoy are Otherguy Overby, Morgan Citron, Anna Maude Singe, Ben Dill and Velveeta Keats. His people are usually a bit cynical -- or at least supremely realistic -- about what they might encounter. The plots almost glow with the hypocritical nature of some of the people we meet. But try capturing that in a Hollywood movie without losing the intelligent style. The movie St. Ives proves it is just about impossible.

For those interested in value, The Procane Chronicle sold for $5.95 hardback when William Morrow & Company issued it in 1973. You can find, sometimes, a first edition in fine condition with dust jacket equally fine for about $280. If you collect first editions of Ross Thomas, the $280 is not bad.

Here's a mellow Bronson caper with nice subtle humor in the script, even if director J. Lee Thomson doesn't do much to highlight it. (Fortunately, "guest star" Maximillian Schell is along to really sell it with some witty line readings.) The movie doesn't put you on the edge of your seat, but it doesn't bore either and Jackie looks sensational and she has some cool action scenes.

(Spoiler alert - when an Oscar-winning best actor shows up for a glorified walk-on, he's likely to figure in the climax of the picture.)

As in Death Wish, Jeff Goldbum show's up as an unlikely street hood, who lets out a hilariously feminine shriek during a fight with Chuck.

Although little loved by fans of Ross Thompson's novel, St. Ives is an entertaining thriller with largely unrealised aspirations to being seen as a throwback to Warners' 1940s detective movies. Charles Bronson's the heavy gambler, retired crime writer and would-be novelist of the title, hired by John Houseman's gentleman crook to act as go-between to recover a series of stolen incriminating volumes only to stumble across dead bodies in tumble dryers and burglars who've taken the shortcut to the sidewalk via the window. It's not an action film, an elevator shaft fight and a climactic shootout that enables Jacqueline Bisset to show off her familiarity with handguns notwithstanding. Instead it's a slightly quirky number full of neat little touches, be it Houseman watching The Big Parade and Birth of a Nation because, as his analyst Maximilian Schell explains, "Films really are dreams, especially old movies, and Abner loves them. They're good dreams for Abner. They're splendid, splendid therapy," Elisha Cook (no longer billed as Jr.) turning up as a hotel clerk who can even sleep through a shootout in the lobby or an amusing scene where a drop-off in the toilets in Union Station turns into a quirky discussion of restroom idiosyncrasies. With some surprising faces popping up in the cast (Daniel J. Travanti, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Englund among them), it's an enjoyable 90 minutes that aims to be nothing more than a good night out at the pictures, and in this case that's enough.

Warners' DVD boasts an impressive widescreen transfer, original trailer and brief 4-minute behind-the-scenes short.

I'm nearing the end on a quest to see all of Bronson's flicks and just came to St. Ives. For reference, I consider his best films to be The Mechanic, Hard Times, and Death Wish 1. I only wish I would have seen this one sooner. Kinda throws you off to see Bronson cast as a reporter but rest assured, there are plenty of people getting killed, falling from buildings, car chases, fights and VERY witty one liners to boot. Great story, great acting, super supporting cast and another fantastic score by the great Mr. Lalo Schifrin. I wish Lalo had scored more Bronson films, particularly the Death Wish series. Bronson really proved he can act here and it makes one wonder why he chose the Death Wish-type stuff for the entire last ten of his filmmaking years. Really a fine film and highly recommended!! Just make sure you see this film BEFORE you see Breakout, Death Hunt, Death Wish 3/4/5 or Kinjite. Let's get this on DVD Warner!! Now off to find out about The White Buffalo, 10 to Midnight and Murphys Law....

I don't have to say more then Bronson really gives a great performance.
I am well and trult the biggest Bronson fan there is...

He's the king...