Themes: Unlikely Criminals, Cons and Scams, Bank Robbery
Main Cast: Warren Beatty, Goldie Hawn, Gert Fröbe, Robert Webber, Scott Brady
Release Year: 1971
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Originally billed as merely $, Dollars stars top box office draws Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn. Beatty plays a security whiz, employed in Hamburg, Germany. He devises a clever method of robbing the secret bank vaults of notorious criminals, reasoning that the crooks will never turn to the cops. The notion that the crooks may have a few words to say to him does not dissuade Beatty as he and gold-hearted hooker Hawn work out their carefully calculated, meticulously timed robbery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
After the success of Bullitt, crime movies felt the need to include high-velocity audience grabbers. The same year as The French Connection, $ (Dollars) featured a bizarre, laughably long -- it lasts more than twenty minutes -- chase scene with almost no dialogue and a rather shrill score by Quincy Jones. Was this a comment on the trend? More likely, it was director Richard Brooks' attempt to catch up with the times. Brooks had made a number of important Hollywood movies (Blackboard Jungle, In Cold Blood) and was probably feeling pressure from the new wave of young filmmakers weaned on a French disregard for rules. $ was his attempt at the "avant-garde," which may also account for the film's wild swings in mood and tone. Regardless, Warren Beatty's charm and Goldie Hawn's winsome good looks help make the movie a pleasant bit of 1970s fun. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Arthur Brauss - Candy Man; Elizabeth Ashley; Françoise Blanc - Stripper; Howard Duff; Christopher George; Robert Herron - Bodyguard; Horst Hesslein - Bruno; Wolfgang Kieling - Granich; Wolfgang Kuhlman - Fur Coat; Christiane Maybach - Helga; Monica Stender - Berta; Robert Stiles - Army Major; Hans Hutter - Karl
Credit
Olaf Ivens - Art Director, Tom Shaw - First Assistant Director, Richard Brooks - Director, George Grenville - Editor, Quincy Jones - Composer (Music Score), Robert Drasnin - Composer (Music Score), Mark Fisher - Songwriter, Joe Goodwin - Songwriter, Quincy Jones - Songwriter, Larry Shay - Songwriter, Petrus Schloemp - Cinematographer, Mike J. Frankovich - Producer, Olaf Ivens - Set Designer, Guy Sheppard - Set Designer, Richard Tyler - Sound/Sound Designer, Arthur Piantadosi - Sound/Sound Designer, Jack Haynes - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Brooks - Screenwriter
