If like me, Stephen Boyd and Yvette Mimieux ignite a sense of nostalgia then it's enough of a reason to watch this film.
As I did this review, I learned that Yvette Mimieux had died a few days before. Stars pass away each year, but this one hurt. I remember the effect she had on me as a 12-year old in 1960 when she played Weena in "The Time Machine". It's the sort of thing that stays with you.
Stephen Boyd also takes me back. He was the charming spy in "The Man Who Never Was", and Messala in "Ben Hur". The guy had presence. When you see how fit and agile he is in "The Caper of the Golden Bulls", it's hard to believe he would die of a heart attack 10 years later aged 45.
But there is another member of the cast that glows in this film: Giovanna Ralli. How did Hollywood let her go so easily? Maybe Claudia Cardinale got the roles. They look similar and both have those fabulous accents, but anyone seeing her here would ask the same question.
A crew of retired safecrackers led by Peter Churchman (Stephen Boyd) is blackmailed into pulling off one last job by Angela Tresler (Giovanna Ralli).
They break into a bank in Pamplona during "The Running of the Bulls" to steal jewels that are the centrepiece of the upcoming parade of giant figures during the Festival of San Fermín. Although Peter's girlfriend, Grace (Yvette Mimieux), is against the whole thing, she gets on board mainly to stop him becoming more involved with Angela.
There are subplots involving Walter Slezak's police chief and ex-members of the OAS (more relevant in 1967), but there is almost too much happening.
The director Russell Rouse was a well-regarded writer of Noir thrillers. This film was the last of his few directorial efforts. A more visually inspired director would have made more of the Spanish location, however it was probably a tricky shoot, especially as Boyd and other members of the cast actually ran with the bulls in Pamplona. Nevertheless the whole robbery sequence is exciting, and the shirtless Boyd impresses doing some of his own stunts.
Vic Mizzy's Mancini-like score sets the tone of this film. Although it isn't a spoof, it's lighter than a plate of frisuelos. But I find the combination of Stephen Boyd, Yvette Mimieux and Giovanna Ralli irresistible.
