In his Oscar nominated makeup, Peter Falk looks like both Grandpa Munster and Mrs. Doubtfire, playing fictional brother and sister who utilize the illness of the fictional brother's wife to set up the robbery of a posh jewelry store. With the security tag of "Harry Winston", pretentious jewelry store owner Tom Courtney opens and closes the safe through the security phone system, and Falk figures out through continued visits the cleverest of ways to rob him. Beloved character actor Charles Durning is his partner in crime, posing as his chauffeur, and Wendy Hughes is delightfully sweet and beautiful as the antique store who falls in love with him.

With a delightful setup, a rather sweet nature to a crime caper story, some good background music (both original and vintage),this is enjoyable from start to finish, and Falk and Durning are terrific as partners. Too bad they didn't become the next Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

Some gorgeous European location footage adds to the charm of a story where you really root for thieves. While the makeup may look artificial in standards of more than 30 years later, Falk creates great characterizations with the two personas he creates, and his old lady, with a bit of a continental flavor to her, gets some terrific lines that adds wit and intelligence to the script. For some reason, I've overlooked this one over the years, so if you've picked it up off the video store shelf then put it back, you might reconsider it. It is a completely charming delight.

This movie probably passed by the box office like a cocaine bag in the bronx. But it wasn´t that bad. What´s more: it was amusing to watch how Peter Falk and his partner steal a jewerly dressed as an old man. The acting was nothing out of this world, and the plot was just about fine. But the music theme was really sticky, I can still hear that anoying but entertaining tone. If you see this on T.V. it´s ok, but I wouldn´t rent it at a price higher than 2 dollars.

I'm a great fan of the movies of Claude Lelouch, a film maker who believes that a life of random incidents adds up to fate, He is a disciple of Julien Duvivier and his work might be described as part of the magical realism movement. His films are full of odd details -- seemingly odd until you realize they are glimpses into some one else's oddly patterned fate, as if each of us is a single tile in a vast mosaic. The effect is often lushly romantic.

What to make, then, of this American version of his LA BONNE ANNEE? Well, compared to the original, it's cut-down slop, as all the charming details are removed to concentrate on the caper -- everything after is treated as a throwaway. As a remake, it's a bomb.

As a movie on its own, it comes off as an oddly paced caper film with a badly edited love story added on. The caper is very good. The love story is butchered. Peter Falk plays his role with a great deal of charm. The result is something you might stare at for a couple of hours without much pain, but don't waste time looking for it. Watch the Lelouch original.