A man who loves games and theater invites his wife's lover to meet him, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.A man who loves games and theater invites his wife's lover to meet him, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.A man who loves games and theater invites his wife's lover to meet him, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 5 wins & 11 nominations total
Alec Cawthorne
- Inspector Doppler
- (credit only)
John Matthews
- Detective Sergeant Tarrant
- (credit only)
Eve Channing
- Marguerite Wyke
- (credit only)
Teddy Martin
- Police Constable Higgs
- (credit only)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSir Michael Caine was so very much beside himself to be working with Lord Laurence Olivier that he didn't even know how to address him. Eventually, he broke down and just asked. Olivier replied "Well, I am the Lord Olivier and you are Mr. Michael Caine. Of course, that's only for the first time you address me. After that I am Larry, and you are Mike."
- GoofsWhen Wyke "shoots" Tindle in the head at contact range with what is supposed to be a blank cartridge, Tindle simply faints from fright. In fact, the hot gases, explosive particles, wadding and minuscule barrel debris from a blank-cartridge shot to the head at point-blank range would certainly have given Tindle quite a serious wound, possibly even a fatal one.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Milo Tindle: Andrew... remember... be sure and tell them... it was only a bloody game.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 51st Annual Academy Awards (1979)
- SoundtracksJust one of these things
Words and music by Cole Porter
Featured review
Brilliant film about two men (Oscar nominees Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine) who meet at Olivier's house and go over an elaborate scheme to keep Olivier's fortune when his wife (about to divorce him to be with Caine) leaves him by staging a robbery performed by Caine. The strangeness does not stop there though as the two men each have personal motives and the twists and turns become dizzying as the movie progresses. Laurence Olivier is truly magnificent here, as he almost always was. Michael Caine, only 39 at the time, holds his own and that is far from an easy thing to do in a production like this. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's brilliant direction makes a film that could have been very dull into a stunning cinematic experience that stands tall against other films from the 1970s and all other decades for that matter. 5 stars out of 5.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Mord mit kleinen Fehlern
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,081,254
- Runtime2 hours 18 minutes
- Color
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