Jack Of Diamonds (1967)

Against the advice of his mentor (Joseph Cotten), a cat burglar (George Hamilton) continues to risk exposure not only by his daring robberies but his carelessness. However, he agrees to join forces with his mentor and a rival (Marie Laforet) and her mentor (Maurice Evans) in the most daring robbery yet! Directed by Don Taylor (ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES). Gentleman thieves have been a staple of movie going all the way back to RAFFLES (1930). Perhaps the benchmark for these films is Hitchcock's TO CATCH A THIEF. But George Hamilton is no Cary Grant or even a David Niven. Where charm needs to be, we get arrogance. The big jewel heist isn't particularly thrilling nor is it executed with any technique. The European locations are nice to look at but what the film is missing is style. Whatever merits the film may have had are undermined by a cheesy underscore by Peter Thomas. With Carroll Baker, Lilli Palmer, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Wolfgang Preiss.