Ladrón y amante

"Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round" is probably mostly of interest to us nowadays due to Harrison Ford's bit part as a bellhop. Apparently, after the movie bombed, a producer told Ford: "Kid, you ain't got it." Of course, Ford went on to star in the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" trilogies, so he clearly had lots of "it".

Anyway, the movie casts James Coburn as ex-con Eli Kotch, plotting a heist in LAX while the Russian prime minister is visiting. Coburn seems to be mirroring his Derek Flint character, right down to being surrounded by hot babes (specifically Camilla Sparv and Nina Wayne). The good ol' Cold War, when the US and USSR could play all sorts of tricks on each other, and there were plenty of beauties to go around.

Overall, "DHOAMGR" isn't a great movie, but it's worth seeing. You may notice that playing Mrs. Kirby is Rose Marie, better known as Sally on "The Dick Van Dyke Show".

Nina Wayne. Hubba hubba...

This film deals with a con-man named Eli Kotch, (James Coburn) who just gets out of prison and decides to lay out his ground work for a large bank robbery at the Los Angeles, California airport. Eli also knows that a Russian Prime Minister will be visiting Los Angeles and flying into the same airport which will distract the police force away from a bank holdup. Eli also meets up with a very sexy blonde named Inger Knudson, (Camilla Spary) who works for very rich people and cons her into doing all kinds of things, Eli even marries her with a fake ID. There is plenty of comedy and some tense moments in a police station. You will never be able to figure out how this picture will end. It will definitely surprise you. Enjoy.

This film is all in the how. Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round casts James Coburn as one ruthless and amoral ex-convict who has no plans to go straight by any means. In fact he's got a score lined up on the outside that some like James Westerfield thinks he's absolutely nuts to even try. Coburn's so anxious to get out he successfully uses and seduces his prison psychiatrist Marian McCargo to get an early release.

In earlier times the lead in a film like Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round would have been played by a charming rogue type like Tyrone Power, Robert Montgomery, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., even Errol Flynn whose real life persona as a seducer would have worked in the lead. One of the elements I found interesting was that James Coburn who has played some really deadly killers on the big and small screen only broke hearts in this film. But he's just as deadly with them as with heads.

Coburn's scheme is to rob the bank at Los Angeles International Airport while the Russian premier was arriving for a state visit. I believe the premier would have been Alexei Kosygin at the time of Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round. Of course that's going to bring law enforcement on all levels out in force at the airport. But that's the whole idea, Coburn's going to make all the extra security precautions work for him.

The whole last half of the film is the caper itself and it's one intricately plotted affair. Here's one big hint as far as the film goes. Remember some of James Coburn's early roles. As part of the plan he has to adopt the accent of a foreigner, a nationality he had played successfully on the screen before. He pulls it off beautifully.

I would also note the performance of Carmilla Sparv, the beautiful woman he actually marries and who he uses unwittingly to help case the airport before robbing it and of Robert Webber the very nervous State Department official who is truly relieved that its only a robbery taking place and not some incident involving a visiting head of a foreign government.

If you like intricately plotted caper films you will absolutely adore Dead Heat On A Merry Go Round.

Handsomely-produced, location-rich crime-drama with a light touch concerns a recently-paroled crook who gets right down to business upon his release: using a variety of aliases across the US while masterminding a complicated heist on the bank at Los Angeles International Airport. In the flashy leading role, James Coburn never resorts to mugging or other outrageous tactics; he's dry as a martini, but not above a little wily interplay with the ladies. Director Bernard Girard's own screenplay is complicated enough without the asides to the surveillance team surrounding the visiting Russian Premier, and a romantic subplot involving Camilla Sparv (which ties in to the finale) is as obtuse as the film's unwieldy title. Still--for Coburn buffs especially--there are several strong sequences building up to the tightly wrought finish, and the well-chosen supporting cast is solid. ** from ****

FIRST: Let us FOCUS on the Titles's Content and Context....´

In retrospect, I'll bet that when I bought this on DVD a few years ago, it had been re-released because of Harrison Ford's uncredited screen debut as a Bellboy (Although he was 23 when DEAD HEAT was filmed, he does look like a 19 year old "boy"!)

Ahhhh, There's the Rub! The FORD debut is precisely the reason I decided to purchase it! Well, also because I had seen it twice during its theatrical release at the age of 18 and enjoyed it immensely. Recently, I began compiling a list...."Movies that stand the test of time!", and I can assure you, most whole-heartedly, DEAD HEAT won't be on it!!!

This film is extremely dated, both in thematic and in stylistic terms. Even the dialog is peppered with terms you probably haven't heard in ages, like "The FUZZ", for example! (For those of you under 50, "The Police") Although, as usual, James Coburn's screen persona is delightful to watch, there are quite a few occurrences depicted here that stretch suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. Perhaps not so much way back in 1966, but certainly now, half a century later! Coburn's character, Eli Kotch, seems to be 100% impervious to Murphy's Law. Everything goes exactly his way, every single time! In Spanish we say, "Mucha Pelicula!", ...."Just TOO much Movie"!

Despite some real heavyweight talent in the cast, like Aldo Ray, Robert Webber and Rose Marie, the mostly lackluster dialog makes for rather non-memorable performances all around. DEAD HEAT does have a number of interesting moments sprinkled throught its 100+ minute duration, but for a 2015 viewing, I would hesitate to recommend it other than to viewers pining for a little mid-60's Nostalgia!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!