The Anderson Tapes (1971)

After ten years in prison, an ex-convict moves into the luxury apartment building of an old girlfriend (Dyan Cannon). He then masterminds an elaborate plot to rob the entire building. Based on the novel by Lawrence Sanders and directed by Sidney Lumet (DOG DAY AFTERNOON). Oy! A duller heist film I can't imagine. There's some minor (very minor) intensity in the movie's last half hour but the elaborate planning of the robbery as well as the Connery/Cannon "romance" that takes up most of the film's first hour is a big fat bore! Who are we supposed to attach ourselves to? The low life crooks? The Mafia? The Cops? With no one to invest our empathy with, all we can do is endure the tedium. The film's dated attitude toward homosexuality is just one of the movie's many problems. Even back in 1971, Martin Balsam's swishy queen is an embarrassment. I'm a big fan of some of the cast (Connery Cannon, Balsam, Ralph Meeker) but no one comes out looking good. Inexplicably, the film has its fans. Go figure! With Christopher Walken, Alan King, Margaret Hamilton, Scott Jacoby and Janet Ward.