1 review
Two professional con artist, good-looking but selfish Arturo (Stephen Boyd), and beautiful and charming brunette Carla (Marisa Mell) attempt to seduce and blackmail each other, unaware of their real identities. Once they realize they're of the same kind, they join forces to do a number on an older rich man called Luis (Fernando Rey) and a younger beautiful blonde called Lola (Sylva Koscina). But then Lola falls for Carla, who decides to play hard to get in order to avoid actually becoming intimate with a woman in any way, which frustrates Lola. ... not since "the sting" has there been a smo-o-o-other rip-off ...!
This is a thriller - although in most categorizations it is labeled as Giallo - with a multitude of incidents, betrayal, nudity, romance with continuous deceptions and some psychological components. All of the roles play games of deceit with one another and things get more and more risked, as a result a sudden death occurs which changes the playing field a bit, and they decide to use this to take advantage. ¨The Great Swindle¨ is one of the three psychological melodramas-thrillers Stephen Boyd made with Spanish director José Antonio Nieves Conde, along with ¨Marta¨ and ¨Casa Manchada¨, they were shot in double version in co-production con Italy , currently produced by José Frade. Stars handsome but tarnished actor Stephen Boyd who gives a passable acting. And gorgeous Marisa Mell as a seductive woman gets involved in relationships with several people . The movie's leads, Marisa Mell and Stephen Boyd, started a passionate affair while shooting the movie. The third party in this love triangle is the equally beautiful and seductive Sylvia Koscina, who performs most of the nude scenes and has a steamy lesbian relationship with co-star Marisa Mell. Along with them, a good support cast with various Spanish players who were prolific actors in the sixties and seventies, appearing in all kinds of film genres, such as Fernando Rey, Simón Andreu, María Martín and the Italian ones Howard Ross and Massimo Serato.
This is a so-so and obscure film with fine sets from production designer Eduardo Torre de la Fuente, alongside evocative cinematograpy by cameraman Antonio L. Ballesteros. Shot on attrractive locations in Asturias, Madrid, Spain and Lisbon, Estoril, Portugal averagely directed by Jose Antonio Nieves Conde , a director of great quality and with penchant for social denounce and dramas plenty of luminous sensibility. His films debuts were three crime drama : ¨Senda Ignorada¨, ¨Angustia¨ and ¨LLegada De Noche¨. He went on to direct a successful religious movie : ¨Balarrasa¨. He was expert in filming all kinds of genres , as thought-provoking and brooding dramas : ¨Surcos¨ , ¨El Inquilino¨ ; religious cinema : ¨Balarrasa¨, ¨Cotolay¨ ; passionate story : ¨Casa Manchada¨ , ¨Mas Alla del Deseo¨ , ¨Marta¨ , ¨Historia una Traicion¨ ; Comedy : ¨Don Lucio and Hermano Pio¨ , ¨Prohibido Enamorarse¨ , an anti-communist movie : ¨Legion del Silencio¨ ; anthology picture as the co-production : ¨Jack El Negro¨ and even Terror : ¨Sounds of horror¨. Rating : 5/10 . Mediocre film , well worth watching for fans of the three main actors who were once world-renowned: Stephen Boyd, Marisa Mell and Sylva Koscina.
This is a thriller - although in most categorizations it is labeled as Giallo - with a multitude of incidents, betrayal, nudity, romance with continuous deceptions and some psychological components. All of the roles play games of deceit with one another and things get more and more risked, as a result a sudden death occurs which changes the playing field a bit, and they decide to use this to take advantage. ¨The Great Swindle¨ is one of the three psychological melodramas-thrillers Stephen Boyd made with Spanish director José Antonio Nieves Conde, along with ¨Marta¨ and ¨Casa Manchada¨, they were shot in double version in co-production con Italy , currently produced by José Frade. Stars handsome but tarnished actor Stephen Boyd who gives a passable acting. And gorgeous Marisa Mell as a seductive woman gets involved in relationships with several people . The movie's leads, Marisa Mell and Stephen Boyd, started a passionate affair while shooting the movie. The third party in this love triangle is the equally beautiful and seductive Sylvia Koscina, who performs most of the nude scenes and has a steamy lesbian relationship with co-star Marisa Mell. Along with them, a good support cast with various Spanish players who were prolific actors in the sixties and seventies, appearing in all kinds of film genres, such as Fernando Rey, Simón Andreu, María Martín and the Italian ones Howard Ross and Massimo Serato.
This is a so-so and obscure film with fine sets from production designer Eduardo Torre de la Fuente, alongside evocative cinematograpy by cameraman Antonio L. Ballesteros. Shot on attrractive locations in Asturias, Madrid, Spain and Lisbon, Estoril, Portugal averagely directed by Jose Antonio Nieves Conde , a director of great quality and with penchant for social denounce and dramas plenty of luminous sensibility. His films debuts were three crime drama : ¨Senda Ignorada¨, ¨Angustia¨ and ¨LLegada De Noche¨. He went on to direct a successful religious movie : ¨Balarrasa¨. He was expert in filming all kinds of genres , as thought-provoking and brooding dramas : ¨Surcos¨ , ¨El Inquilino¨ ; religious cinema : ¨Balarrasa¨, ¨Cotolay¨ ; passionate story : ¨Casa Manchada¨ , ¨Mas Alla del Deseo¨ , ¨Marta¨ , ¨Historia una Traicion¨ ; Comedy : ¨Don Lucio and Hermano Pio¨ , ¨Prohibido Enamorarse¨ , an anti-communist movie : ¨Legion del Silencio¨ ; anthology picture as the co-production : ¨Jack El Negro¨ and even Terror : ¨Sounds of horror¨. Rating : 5/10 . Mediocre film , well worth watching for fans of the three main actors who were once world-renowned: Stephen Boyd, Marisa Mell and Sylva Koscina.