THE SILENT PARTNER stars Miles Cullen (Elliott Gould) as a teller who gets wind of master criminal Harry Reikle's (Christopher Plummer) scheme to rob his bank. Cullen providently squirrels away $50,000 in a safety deposit ... more »box before Reikle strikes. After the robbery, the papers report the amount of the bank's loss. Reikle realizes that there's fifty thousand extra bucks floating around that he hasn't gotten his hands on. The soft-spoken but sadistic Reikle puts the screws on Cullen to fork over the dough...but Cullen has lost the deposit box key.« less
Donald R. Labonte Jr. | WALES, WI USA | 04/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first saw this movie on HBO back in 1982, and it struck me as the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made. The Silent Partner is a deft mixtue of suspense and humor, with enough twists to keep one guessing until the very end. I used to own it on LaserDisc, and the film was grainy and the colors rather faded. I am pleased to report that the film has aged well, and the colors on this dvd are far richer than they were on Laser or HBO. The grain is still there, but it is not a distraction. If you like suspense films and have not seen his movie, you owe it to yourself to see it.
One last word: I wish Amazon would not allow reviews for a product prior to its release. There are a number of reviews here that were written long before the DVD release ( April 3). The film is, in fact, presented in a widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio. The cover is terrible, and whoever designed it Obviously never saw the film, but what is contained within the case is well worth watching. I wish people had the sense and integrity to actually view a product prior to posting a review of it."
Excellent!
Tesla | La Jolla, CA USA | 09/14/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Silent Partner is a suspenseful, well done thriller with some interesting twists and turns. Guaranteed to hold the attention of the viewer throughout. Very original. Convincing performances by Gould as a milque toast bank manager "gone bad" and his nemesis Plummer, a masochistic killer and bank robber. Nudity and some shocking violence. Highly recommended, but for adult viewing."
Daylight robbery
Trevor Willsmer | London, England | 05/09/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"And the award for most misleading DVD cover of the year goes to Lions Gate for The Silent Partner, which scales new heights of dishonesty in its attempts to sell this very smart 1978 Canadian thriller as a Reservoir Dogs heist movie with its image of three black-suited robbers, smoking gun in hand, striding across a US hundred dollar bill, while below even the still of a huge open bank vault is from a completely different movie. By contrast, the film is set in a small shopping mall branch of a Toronto bank which Christopher Plummer's very unpleasant solo bank robber knocks off disguised as Santa Claus only to find that Elliott Gould's clued-in bank teller has pulled a fast one on him and kept $48,000 of the $50,000 haul himself, cuing an increasingly nasty game of cat and mouse where it turns out that the much underestimated Gould's cunning is more than a match for Plummer's cruelty as the stakes constantly rise. Half victim, half apprentice, Gould's boringly inconspicuous everyman finds himself surprisingly adept at crime, taking his lead from Plummer's tactics and excelling at using them against him, and not showing much more concern over any victims that fall violently by the wayside than his tormenter/inadvertent teacher. The nastiness is there but never overplayed in Curtis Hanson's smart screenplay and Daryl Duke's confident direction avoids showing off at the expense of the story. Ingeniously gripping stuff, its well worth checking out - but perhaps not recommended for any tropical fish lovers.
No extras, but a decent 1.85:1 widescreen transfer."
Rooting for a Thief?
Chuck | Corpus Christi, Texas United States | 08/21/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
""The Silent Partner" is one of those rare films I have enjoyed watching over and over again. Every clever detail adds to the suspense and enjoyment of this truly under-rated film. Elliot Gould is excellent in his portrayal of bank teller Miles Cullen. The viewer actually finds himself rooting for Cullen, who is not only a thief, but is stealing from his own employer! And Christopher Plummer is deliciously wicked as Cullen's twisted, off-centered "Partner", who will do anything to settle the score. The scene where he talks to Cullen through the mail slot is worth the price of admission alone..."
Criminally underrated movie
Peter Baklava | Charles City, Iowa | 05/02/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mild-mannered Miles Cullen (Elliot Gould) gloms on to a robbery in its formative stages at the bank where he works as a teller. He fetches his old "Superman" lunch box and ingeniously foils the would-be robber, who still manages to escape while Miles pockets the money for himself.
With his unexpected boldness, Miles wins a temporary celebrity status, and a newfound sex appeal to use on his love-interest, Julie (played by Susannah York.) Unfortunately, Miles must come down to earth when he realizes that he has attracted another admirer, the psychopathic robber Harry Reikle, who is thoroughly enraged by the fact that Miles has thwarted him.
Elliot Gould is terrific as the nerdish but canny Miles, playing him with an abundance of smirks. Susannah York sparkles as the perky professional Julie, who shares Miles' despair over a boringly repetitious existence.
But Christopher Plummer is the scene-stealer as the viciously jealous Reikle, a particularly nasty combination of derangement, sexual kinkiness, and cunning.
An added bonus is the appearance of Celine Lomez as the ravishingly beautiful Elaine, who lavishes her attentions on Miles before meeting an untimely end. Lomez could have been a star if she had showed up a couple decades later, when Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, and Penelope Cruz escorted "Latino chic" into the movies. See if Celine Lomez doesn't make your heart flip-flop.
Altogether, "Silent Partner" is a first-rate chiller in the Hitchcock vein. It's peculiar, cross-dressed kinkiness preceded Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill" by a few years, and IMHO, "Silent Partner" is a better film than "Dressed to Kill".
"Silent Partner" was shot entirely in Toronto, Canada, and features a sweet film score by that city's native jazzman, Oscar Peterson.