Once a Thief (1965 film)

For other uses, see Once a Thief (disambiguation).

Once a Thief
Movie Poster
Directed by	Ralph Nelson
Written by	Zekial Marko
Produced by	Jacques Bar
Starring	Alain Delon Ann-Margret Van Heflin Jack Palance Tony Musante
Cinematography	Robert Burks
Edited by	Fredric Steinkamp
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	September 8, 1965 (1965-09-08)
Running time	102 minutes
Countries	United States France
Languages	English Italian
Box office	749,282 admissions (France)

Once a Thief is a 1965 film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin and Jack Palance. It was written by Zekial Marko, based on his novel.

The movie was known in France as Les Tueurs de San Francisco.

Nelson won the OCIC award at the 1965 San Sebastián International Film Festival for the film.

Plot

Ex-convict Eddie Pedak (Delon) tries to lead a normal life in San Francisco with a loyal wife (Ann-Margret), a daughter and a steady job. Much to his chagrin, he also has a police detective (Heflin) and brother (Palance) complicating his life.

The cop, Mike Vido, remains bitter over being shot by Eddie during a robbery. He promptly has Eddie unjustly arrested again for another theft, but is forced to drop the charges and turn him loose.

Eddie nonetheless loses his job due to the arrest. His wife Kristine must take what work she can get at a dingy nightclub. In desperation, Eddie finally accepts the offer of his persistent brother Walter Pedak to come in on a big heist. Walter has a pair of accomplices, Sargatanas and Shoenstein.

The thieves get away with $1 million in stolen goods except for Walter, who is killed. Eddie alone has the truck with the heist's haul, so Sargatanas decides to abduct Kristine and keep her until he gets his hands on the merchandise.

Vido investigates and becomes convinced that Eddie was framed for the original job that left the cop wounded. When he arrives to help Eddie in a showdown with the other thieves, Eddie ends up dead trying to protect him.

Cast

• Alain Delon as Eddie Pedak
• Ann-Margret as Kristine Pedak
• Van Heflin as Inspector Mike Vido SFPD
• Jack Palance as Walter Pedak
• John Davis Chandler as Sargatanas
• Tony Musante as Shoenstein
• Jeff Corey as Lt. Kebner SFPD
• Steve Mitchell as Frank Kane

Production

The story was based on the personal experiences of screenwriter Zekial Marko; he had written the novel The Big Grab which was adapted into Any Number Can Win, a big hit for Delon. Once a Thief was based on Marko's novel Scratch a Thief; this was his first screenplay. Marko had a small role in the film and spent time in jail on criminal charges during the shoot.

Critical reception

A.H. Weiler of The New York Times thought that the film was not as good as similar genre pictures, but praised its dialogue for its accuracy in portraying the gangster's speak.

The melodrama may be tough, laconic and filled with a sense of doom, but it is hardly an innovation or an improvement on the gangster-with-a-heart-of-gold fare that has preceded it..... [The screenwriter] provided a generally terse, hard-bitten script whose language sounds like that used by the gunmen, narcotics addicts and hipsters of San Francisco's lower depths."

The film was not a success at the box office.

See also

• List of American films of 1965

External links

• Once a Thief at IMDb
• Once a Thief at AllMovie