60'S FOCUS : SEVEN THIEVES .. 1960 ..

 20TH CENTURY FOX
Presents
SEVEN THIEVES
Starring

EDWARD G ROBINSON as Theo Wilkins
ROD STEIGER as Paul Mason

JOAN COLLINS as Melanie
ELI WALLACH as Pancho

ALEXANDER SCOURBY as Raymond Lemay
MICHAEL DANTE as Louis
BERRY KROEGER as Hugo Baumer
SEBASTIAN CABOT as Casino Director
MARCEL HILLAIRE as Duc Di Salins
JOHN BERARDINO as Chief of Detectives
ALPHONSE MARTELL as Governor
JONATHAN KIDD as Seymour

Assistant Director - Ad Schaumer
Art Director - Lyle R Wheeler & John De Cuir
Director of Photography - Sam Leavitt A.S.C
Music by Dominic Frontiere
Screenplay by Sidney Boehm
Based on a Novel by Max Catto
Edited by Dorothy Spencer

TIME FOR A TOAST!

Costumes by Bill Thomas
Produced by Sydney Boehm
Directed by Henry Hathaway

It was known as the robbery that rocked Monte Carlo! When Paul Mason is summoned to the French Riviera by an old friend, he soon learns he is asked to lead in the robbery of the Monte Carlo casino! Reluctant at first, he soon meets his accomplices and with the help of a glamorous stripper, Melanie, the scene is set for a daring heist! Where every move is a gamble, where the stakes are high for the Seven Thieves!

(c) 1960 20TH CENTURY FOX  102 MINS  B/W  REG 1 DVD / FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT .

FRENCH POSTER

THE STAKES ARE HIGH

ADVANCE POSTER

PAUL MEETS MELANIE & PANCHO

Although shot in 1959, "Seven Thieves" was released in B/W, probably to give it the look of a film noir. Joan plays the only female role in the film and she holds her own against a heavyweight Hollywood cast. Even though she was still getting over losing the role of "Cleopatra", she had found consolation in a new love by the name of Warren Beatty. For her role as Melanie, a stripper in a Parisian cellar cafe, she had to undergo many hours of classes in striptease from the legendary Burlesque star Candy Barr. But all her efforts were lost in the final cut of the film, as any of the 'Bump & Grind' she learned was left on the cutting room floor, along with her clothes presumably! Regarding clothes, Joan fared much better as the film was nominated for a Best Costume Design Award at the 1961 Oscars. The films costume designer Bill Thomas recalled.

JOAN  FITTED BY BILL THOMAS FOR THAT DRESS!

" Joan Collins has the best figure I've ever dressed. She has perfect proportions, with everything just where it should be, and the right size! The wardrobe for Joan in the film looks sensational on her. As a stripper Joan has to wear some highly interesting garments! When she attends the Governors Ball, on the night of the robbery, she has to look like a great lady. We ran the gamut of feminine attire and I enjoyed every minute of it. Her gown in the ball scene was named "Black Ice".It is jet black, bugle beads and sequins, designed to fit scales on a fish. We fitted the dress eleven times to get the really close tolerance I wanted."

JOAN ADDS A TOUCH OF CANDY!

The dress cost $2,500 to make and Joan loved it so much, she wanted to buy it after the film was completed. But she changed her mind whn it became apparent that it was impossible to sit down in!
The producer Sydney Boehm wanted realism in the film and actually employed real Beatnik's from Venice for the extras in the cellar cafe scenes.The stage that Joan preforms her sexy routines was previously used in the 1959 version of "The Blue Angel", which starred May Britt. After shooting the film, Joan commented to the New York Post...

JOAN IN BLACK ICE!

" I have two more years with Fox. I am not unhappy at all about that! In fact you may say, I look forward to the day!"

Joan's only positive things to say about the film were that she was glad of the oppurtunity to work with Edward G Robinson and she was the only female in the film, unlike previous films like "The Bravados", she was essential to the plot. After "Seven Thieves", Fox offered her the role of Clara in a production of D.H. Lawrence's novel "Sons and Lovers". But Joan decided not to do the film, even though she had gone through with the makeup and wardrobe tests for the film. It was set to be shot in England and it would have allowed her time she could have spent with her family. But it seemed Joan had let her heart rule her head and take advice from her new love Warren Beatty, who persuaded her not to do it. They were so smitten with one another, they could barely be apart! But Joan would soon come to regret turning down the film, as not only was it a big hit, but it was nominated for a clutch of Oscars, including a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the role she turned down! Joan was then offered another western called "Big River, Big Man", but Fox decided to cancel the film. Then it was another film she hated the script for called "Madison Avenue". She refused to do it and was glad as it was awful, that ended up starring Dana Andrews and Eleanor Parker. Viewed today "Seven Thieves" is ood old fashioned movie making, wih a great cast and certainly one of the better crime capers of the era!

(c) 2010    Mark McMorrow.