Fictionalized account of the Greek shipping magnate, Theo Tomasis (Anthony Quinn) , Onassis lookalike , of humble beginnings , his wife, Simi Tomasis (Camilla Sparv) and his meeting and subsequent romance to the widow , Liz Cassidy/Jacqueline Kennedy (Jacqueline Bisset) , of assassinated U. S. president (James Franciscus). Theo dotes on his son, Nico Tomasis (Edward Albert) , a daredevil aviator , who he wants to follow in his footsteps in all aspects . Tomasis ends up divorcing Simi in order to marry his new lover . Then the distraught but vigorous widow of US President James Cassidy -who was assassinated while he and Liz were walking on a beach- marries the known playboy and shipping billionaire . Meantime, Tomasis and Liz Cassidy enjoying the high life in the process. He's one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. She's the beautiful wife of an American President. The world watched...She was the most famous woman in the world. He was a peasant, a pirate, a shark. What he couldn't buy with money he stole with charm
Fictitious semi-biography of the life of Aristotle Onassis, a Greek who rose to become one of the world's most wealthiest men , detailing his rise to power and unhappy marriages . Pointless fabrication to bring to life a known myth , dealing with the love story and marriage of Aristotle/Onassis and a certain president's widow . It seems to be a transparent depiction of the Onassis/Kennedy marriage done to a turn. The casting is formidable here for people so well known . Anthony Quinn gives a very nice acting in 'Zorba the Greek'-alike, including his popular dances , playing an aging Greek shipping magnate who works on his own moral code and eventually finds that money cannot buy happiness. Quinn is a good actor who captures the crude essence of Tomasis or Aristotles Onassis. While Jacqueline Bisset is awesome as the jealous and sweet Liz Cassidy/Jacqueline Kennedy. They are very well accompanied by a familar and international cast , such as : Marilù Tolo as Sophia Matalas or Maria Callas , Raf Vallone as Spiro Tomassis, the personal rival and alter ego of Aristotle's real life , Edward Albert , James Franciscus , Camilla Sparv , Charles Durning , Luciana Paluzzi , Robin Clarke as John Cassidy or Robert kennedy , Linda Thorson , Roland Culver and debut theatrical feature film of actresses Lucy Gutteridge and Cassandra Harris who married Pierce Brosnan , though she died early , at 49. These two powerful personalities , Onassis/Jacqueline , were so much alike their own passion . This ambitious film made for big screen in a co-production of ItalyUnited States and Greece follows the story of the two lovers faithfully . J. Lee Thomson made this spectacular film that puts the action in the places where the principals lived . The end result is a glossy look at that world of the ultra rich and famous people realized with great style and skillness enough. Overall this is worth watching because the subject matter is agreeable and the actors are first rate despite some physical differences and carried out in soap-opera style . A nice attempt to condense such an interesting man's life story that spans over twenty plus years of history into 107 min time capsule, though there's a DVD version running 112 minutes. Enjoyable and luxurious settings , charming musical score by Stanley Myers and colorful cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond in Technovision add only luster to tepid storyline . The motion picture was middlingly but professionally by the American craftsman J. Lee Thompson, though some critics even rate as good trash.
Other films about this famous figure are the following ones : ¨Onassis: The Richest Man in the World¨ (1988) by Warris Hussein Raul Julia as Aristotle Onassis , Jane Seymour as Maria Callas, Anthony Quinn as Socrates Onassis , Francesca Annis as Jacqueline Kennedy and Elias Koteas. ¨Callas e Onassis¨(2005) by Giorgo Capitani with Gérard Darmon, Luisa Ranieri , Anna Valle , Orso Maria Guerrini, Gabriele Ferzetti .
