The Silent Partner

Miles, a teller at a bank inside a Toronto shopping centre, works out in advance that a robbery is coming. By the time the robber arrives dressed as Santa, Miles has already moved most of the cash into his own bag. The robber leaves with little and knows immediately who took him. Daryl Duke directed, from a screenplay by Curtis Hanson. Elliott Gould plays Miles, Christopher Plummer the robber, Susannah York the woman; John Candy appears in a small part. The balance is odd: the hero is a thief and the villain is genuinely dangerous. The game between them is built less like a bank job than a chess match. Plummer's character is very hard for the period, and some scenes are still unexpectedly violent. The score is by Oscar Peterson, and its jazz arrangements give the film its cool rhythm. It counts among the best Canadian genre films of the seventies. Who it is for: viewers who like cleverly plotted heist films. Who it is not for: anyone looking for someone to root for; nobody here is clean.