In the 1990s we had Steven Seagal movies. We had been prepared for that thanks to 1980s Chuck Norris movies. In the 1970s, often regarded as the Golden Age of cinema, we had Charles Bronson movies. Such films—action-oriented thrillers relying solely on the charisma of their lead—were that period’s equivalent of the straight-to-video films of today. They were low budget but made with solid craftsmanship and, unfortunately, hardly distinguishable from one another. St. Ives, a 1976 thriller directed by J. Lee Thompson, is one such example.
The protagonist of this film is Raymond St. Ives (played by Charles Bronson), a former crime reporter and would-be book writer who suffers from compulsive gambling. To improve his financial situation, he accepts an offer from Abner Procane (played by John Houseman), a Beverly Hills eccentric, to use his street knowledge and mediate the return of some important stolen documents. A simple exchange becomes complicated with a couple of murders, and even more so when St. Ives realises that Procane is actually one of the most successful criminal masterminds in Los Angeles.
Good connoisseurs of 1970s cinema will experience a great deal of déjà vu watching St. Ives. The film has a rather complicated conspiracy plot, as many 1970s thrillers did (with Barry Beckerman’s script somehow managing to squeeze it into a 90-minute format). The directing style of J. Lee Thompson mimics other, more successful crime thrillers through the use of shaky camera work and very dark photography. Lalo Schifrin as composer provides some good atmosphere with his recognisable style. The acting, on the other hand, is sub-par, with Bronson—and almost everyone else—sleepwalking through their roles. Bronson doesn’t even have many scenes that capitalise on his charisma as an action star. His lack of chemistry with Jacqueline Bisset as his alleged romantic interest is almost palpable. John Houseman and Maximilian Schell, on the other hand, bring some fun, playing their characters in very campy, almost parodic styles. The biggest pleasure, however, comes when viewers start recognising future big stars and important players like Jeff Goldblum, Robert Englund, Harris Yulin or Michael Lerner, all in minor but interesting roles. All in all, those who miss St. Ives wouldn’t miss a thing, but those who watch it won’t miss an hour and a half of their lives afterwards. RATING: 5/10 (++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on December 11th 1999)
==
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ Cent profile https://beta.cent.co/@drax Minds profile https://www.minds.com/drax_rp_nc
Brave browser: https://brave.com/dra011
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/37626-st-ives?language=en-US Critic: AA
