The Anderson Tapes
| The Anderson Tapes | |
|---|---|
 Original movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Sidney Lumet |
| Produced by | Robert Weitman |
| Written by | Frank Pierson |
| Starring | Sean Connery Dyan Cannon Martin Balsam Alan King |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
| Cinematography | Arthur J. Ornitz |
| Editing by | Joanne Burke |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1971-06-17 (US) 1971-09-02 (Germany) |
| Running time | 95 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Anderson Tapes is a 1971 crime film. It was directed by Sidney Lumet and stars Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, and comedian Alan King. The screenplay was written by Frank Pierson, based upon a best-selling 1970 novel of the same name by Lawrence Sanders. The film is scored by Quincy Jones.
Revolving around a bold robbery, the film was prescient in focusing on the pervasiveness of electronic surveillance, from security cameras in public places to more discreet and underhanded methods, the first film to do so.[1] This theme would become a movie staple following the Watergate scandal a few years later.[2] It also addressed the lack of coordination between government agencies.
A remake has been announced, to be released in 2010.[dated info][3]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Burglar John "Duke" Anderson is released after ten years in prison. He renews his relationship with his old girlfriend, Ingrid. She lives in a high-class apartment block (1 East 91st Street) in New York City and Anderson, almost instantly, decides to burglarize the entire building in a single sweep — filling a furniture van with the proceeds. He gains financing from a nostalgic Mafia boss and gathers his four-man crew. Also included is an old ex-con drunk, "Pop", whom Anderson met in jail, and who is to play concierge while the real one is bound and gagged in the cellar.
Less welcome is a man the Mafia foists onto Anderson — the thuggish "Socks". Socks is a psychopath who has become a liability to the mob and, as part of the deal, Anderson must kill him in the course of the robbery. Anderson is not keen on this, since the operation is complicated enough, but is forced to go along.
Anderson has unwittingly entered a world of pervasive surveillance — the agents, cameras, bugs, and tracking devices of numerous public and private agencies see almost the entire operation from the earliest planning to the execution. As Anderson advances the scheme, he moves from the surveillance of one group to another as locations or individuals change. These include a private detective hired to eavesdrop on Anderson's girlfriend who is also the mistress of a wealthy man; the BNDD, who are checking over a released drug dealer; the FBI, investigating Black activists and the interstate smuggling of antiques; and the IRS, which is after the mob boss who is financing the operation. Yet, because the various federal, state and city agencies performing the surveillance are all after different goals, none of them are able to "connect the dots" and anticipate the robbery.
The operation proceeds over a Labor Day weekend. Disguised as a Mayflower moving and storage crew, the crooks cut telephone and alarm wires and move up through the building, gathering the residents as they go and robbing each apartment.
(The scenes of the residents being seized, and in some cases assaulted, are shown in contrast to them giving statements to the police after the robbery, which appears to indicate that it succeeded.)
However, the son of two of the residents is a paraplegic and asthmatic who is left behind in his air-conditioned room. Using his amateur radio equipment, he calls up other radio amateurs, based in Hawaii, Portland, Maine and Wichita Falls, who contact the police.[4] The alarm is thus raised, after some problems as to which side (callers or emergency services) should take the phone bill.
As the oblivious criminals work, the police array enormous forces outside to prevent their escape and send a team in via a neighboring rooftop.
In the shootout that follows, Anderson kills Socks, but is himself shot by the police. The other robbers are killed, injured or captured, but none get away with it. Pop gives himself up after letting the police believe that he is the real concierge for a while. Having never adapted to life on the outside, he looks forward to going back to prison.
In the course of searching the building, the police discover some audio listening equipment left behind by the private detective who was hired to check up on Ingrid. While organizing the robbery, Anderson met various people who were under similar surveillance for other reasons by various government agencies. To avoid embarrassment over the failing to realize what was going on and that some of the recordings were illegal, the agencies order the tapes to be erased.
[edit] Cast
- Sean Connery as John "Duke" Anderson
- Dyan Cannon as Ingrid
- Martin Balsam as Tommy Haskins
- Ralph Meeker as Captain Delaney
- Alan King as Pat Angelo
- Christopher Walken as The Kid
- Val Avery as "Socks" Parelli
- Stan Gottlieb as William "Pop" Myer
- Garrett Morris as Police sergeant
- Paul Benjamin as Jimmy
- Anthony Holland as Psychologist
- Richard B. Shull as Werner
- Conrad Bain as Dr. Rubicoff
- Margaret Hamilton as Miss Kaler
[edit] Cast notes
- This was the first major motion picture for Christopher Walken, as well as the last on-screen film appearance by Margaret Hamilton.[1]
- Sean Connery, Martin Balsam, and director Sidney Lumet were to work together again on Murder on the Orient Express. Connery had previously worked with the director on The Hill, and they would reunite the following year on The Offence, and again many years later for Family Business. Balsam and Lumet had worked together previously on 12 Angry Men.
- Sean Connery's performance as the likeable criminal Duke Anderson was instrumental in his breakout from being typecast as James Bond.[citation needed] It also restored him to the ranks of top male actors in the United States.[1]
- Two characters from the novel on which the film was based were merged for the film: "Ingrid Macht" and "Agnes Everleigh" became "Ingrid Everleigh".[5]
[edit] Production
The Anderson Tapes was filmed on location in New York City, on Fifth Avenue, at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Rikers Island Prison, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Luxor Health Club and on the Lower East Side. Interiors scenes were filmed at Hi Brown Studio[6] and ABC-Pathé Studio, both in New York City.[5] The production was on a tight budget, and filming was completed in the short period of six weeks, from mid-August to 16 October 1970.[1][7] The film was the first for producer Robert M. Weitman as an independent producer.[5]
Columbia Pictures was not happy with the planned ending of the film, in which Connery escaped to be pursued by police helicopters, fearing that it would hurt sales to television, which generally required that bad deeds not go unpunished.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Emily Soares "The Anderson Tapes" (TCM article)
- ^ Coincidentally, the film was released on 17 June 1971, exactly one year before the Watergate arrests. Emily Soares "The Anderson Tapes" (TCM article)
- ^ The Anderson Tapes (2010) at the Internet Movie Database[dead link]
- ^ There is an obvious error, as Wichita Falls is said to be in Kansas, not Texas. Obviously, the screenwriter confused it with Wichita, Kansas.
- ^ a b c TCM Notes
- ^ New York: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York - Richard Alleman - Broadway (1 February 2005) ISBN 0-7679-1634-4
- ^ The Anderson Tapes at the TCM Movie Database
[edit] External links
- The Anderson Tapes at the Internet Movie Database
- The Anderson Tapes at the TCM Movie Database
- The Anderson Tapes at Allmovie
