Customer Reviews

Thief Who Came to Dinner [VHS]

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

 

 

Ryan O'neal plays a computer programmer who after a divorce decides he is tired of his programmed life and becomes a cat burgler, leaving chess moves at each robbery as his calling card. Warren Oates plays the insurance investigator obscessed with bringing him in. Jacqueline Bisset plays the love interest who tumbles to Ryans life of crime but loves him anyway. This film has aspirations of being in the same league as To Catch A Thief and How To Steal a Million but doesnt quite make it. However this film isn't without it's fair share of charm. Especially in the interplay of cat and mouse between O'Neal and Oates. But just which one is the cat, and which is the mouse? <g>

The opening scene is filmed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston showing buildings 5 (mission simulator) and 29 (centrifuge), and realistically portrays the kinds of things engineers there discuss and occasionally do.

I know because I was there. One intense intellectual guy suddenly quit to join the Hell's Angels. Another sailed around Latin America and married a Venezuelan woman half his age and hosted a strip club calendar shoot in his house. The recent incident in which an astronaut allegedly tried to kidnap a romantic rival wasn't unusual so much as it just got more media attention because an astronaut was involved.

Webster McGee is a Control Data employee (yes, they had Control Data computers onsite and a few employees) is tired of corrupt contracting at work and his corrupt accountant and is broke because his wife thought he was too boring and left him. A straight up guy, he's tired of the games and decides to become an "honest thief." He confronts the first guy he robs, admits he broke into his house, and asks to become his "friend." When the girl he meets asks what he does, he tells her he's a jewel thief. That's pretty honest.

David Riley, the overly serious insurance investigator, reminds Webster so much of his former self that Webster befriends him and helps him along by dropping clues. Still David cannot seem to quite catch Webster. Even the ex wife notices their similarity, which annoys David. Finally David realizes his own employer is corrupt. Eventually he is bound to get the drop on Webster. What path will David choose?

The ex notices the new Webster and feels cheated. How can she not have seen this exciting side of him? Webster says it was there all the time, deep inside. That's a pretty typical conversation between an engineer and an ex wife. Lots of guys I new at NASA got dumped by their wives in mid life for exactly this reason. They were reliable steady partners but their wives wanted to go wild. The wives never saw the true potential. In that respect this movie complements Something Wild in which wild girl Melanie Griffith spots the hidden rebel in Jeff Daniels right away.

Rocket scientists mess with the laws of nature for a living, and for fun. How can one expect they will not mess with the laws of society as well? And the laws of relationships? :D))

The movie is also filmed in Houston's posh River Oaks neighborhood, home to the execs who later cheated Enron's employees and shareholders out of billions. It accurately lays the foundation of the good old boy network that produced such excesses of corporate bad behavior. This seemingly superficial movie has a lot of stuff if you look for it, especially if you have ever lived in Houston. I just added a 5th star after reading my own review!

I discovered this movie back in the mid-1980s. It was playing on late night T.V. at the time. I watched it and loved it and went out of my way to watch it every time it was on T.V. Luckily, it later got a video release and I was able to buy a copy. Hopefully, it will come out on DVD sometime soon, too.

I've always thought Ryan O'Neal was underrated. The guy's great at comedy and drama. In this movie you get to see him do both. It's one of my favorite performances by him.

Also great in this movie is Warren Oates. Prior to seeing this, the only movie I'd seen him in was Stripes (he was Sarge Hulka.)

Even though he's sort of the bad guy in this, Oates is very likeable in his part. Plus, the relationship between his and O'Neal's characters is interesting. They're enemies, but they develop sort of a respect for each other. It's fun to watch.

I could see this movie being remade someday. Part of me would like to see that happen, but part of me hates the idea. This is one of those movies that is already perfect as it is. I can't see how a remake could even come close to the original.

I was introduced to this film in an odd way. I was a HUGE James Coburn fan and went to see The Last of Shiela several times at the local movie theater. It was on a double bill with Thief who came to Dinner. I'd see the last five minutes of Thief before The Last of Shiela started. If you see the last five minutes of the movie (only) the ending makes no sense. Finally, I got curious about the rest of the movie and came early enough to see it and really fell in love with the story and all the actors in the movie (favorites include Warren Oates and Austin Pendelton). Definite recommend.

The Thief Who Came To Dinner is one of the most inspiring movies I've ever seen. The movie is about people locked into roles, and how they can break out of them, redefine themselves and find the love and satisfaction and meaning they've been missing in their lives. It's a wonderful movie, and I don't think I could add much to the reviews that came before me, but to say this:

Many reviewers of this movie have expressed a desire to see it sold in DVD format. It turns out that in the US, this movie is only available in VHS videocassette format, and this too, only used. If you are reading this review, you may be delighted to discover that the movie is available in DVD (Region 2) format from Germany. The movie is in the original English, undubbed, though the cover carries the German title "Webster ist nicht zu fassen" ("Webster is not to be seized"). You can find copies of it on ebay, Amazon.UK, and other European shops. The prices are around $25.

Just keep in mind that the movie is for DVD Region 2, which includes Western and Central Europe; Western Asia; Israel, Iran, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho; United Kingdom, Turkey, French overseas territories (Wikipedia). DVD players/readers in other countries may not be able to view it, unless they are "unlocked". Check your own player (or DVD reader on your computer) before you spend any money.

In a world where everyone steals from everyone else, he wanted to be an honest thief. In effect, a modern day Robin Hood, he found a way to steal money that was already stolen and as a result could not be prosecuted. Light and fun movie, all the actors do a great job.

I bought this movie because I live in River Oaks in Houston, Texas which is featured in the movie. If you're from Houston, You'll be interested to see Houston 1973 including homes in River Oaks, Nasa, Ship Channel bridge (under construction), Albert Thomas Convention Center, Alley Theater, Jones Hall, and more. The movie is entertaining, too.