JasparLamarCrabb A fun heist film with enough lowlifes & plot twists to make your head spin. Retired thief Lee Van Cleef is convinced to pull one more job by the son of a dead crony only to find himself on the lam with wacky Karen Black as his nursemaid. It's not without thrills and features a few exciting car chases, but the plot has far too many holes in it (scenes actually appear to be missing), they really hurt. Antonio Margheriti's direction is somewhat bland though he makes good use of the NYC locale. Van Cleef heads a decidedly quirky cast. In addition to Black, Edward Albert, Roy Brocksmith, Robert Alda and the always terrific Lionel Stander are in it too. The intrusive music score is by Paolo Vasile. Black & Brocksmith would also appear in Margheriti's KILLER FISH the following year.

hengir Lee Van Cleef plays an ex burglar who comes out of retirement from his ranch at the request of the son of a friend to do one more last job. Things don't go as planned. It sounds a standard kind of film but a few things lift it above mere ordinariness.It is mostly filmed in New York and the city does look atmospheric, lively but seedy as befits the plot. The plot itself has surprising twists and turns and your suspension of disbelief is mainly determined by the acting, principally the kookiness of Karen Black and the charm of Edward Albert. If you believe in their characters then the ending of the film packs quite a wallop. It did me anyway. The two veteran actors, Lee Van Cleef and Lionel Stander ease into their roles very well. Van Cleef was not a great film actor but in this kind of film is fine. He is very creditable as an ex-criminal as the God of Cinema blessed him with a villainous looking face.

Hitchcoc This is a pretty highly paced heist movie with lots of surprises. Maybe there are too many. Still, the acting is pretty good. The plot to steal a bunch of diamonds moves toward its natural end, with more than a few people interested in their location. Lee Van Cleef, whose name I know, but can't remember why, is the sober master safe cracker who is enlisted to do the heist. His associates are all greedy and no one can be trusted. He knows this and even when danger is around every corner, he seems to get there first. There are several good action sequences. The role played by Karen Black (whom I never could stand) is pretty dynamic. Unfortunately for her character, there is little motivation other than what is finally revealed, so it's all part of a grand plan. If you don't expect too much, this will keep you engaged.

bensonmum2 A retired safecracker (Lee Van Cleef) is lured out of retirement by the son of one of his buddies who is in trouble. The job - steal a load of diamonds from a warehouse safe. Things go terribly wrong. Van Cleef is wounded and everyone else is dead. Now, Van Cleef must elude the man who set-up the job, the man who owns the warehouse, and the police. It seems that Van Cleef's only ally is a crazy woman (Karen Black) who is the only other resident in an abandoned apartment building.Over the years I've noticed that when the material he's faced with isn't first rate, Lee Van Cleef can overact with the best of them. And that's what he does here. There are many scenes where Van Cleef makes some of the most ridiculous faces for no purposes other than overemphasizing his point. It get very distracting. But in The Squeeze, he's outdone by Karen Black. She chews scenery like her life depended upon it. I just had to laugh a couple of times (inappropriate times) because it was all too funny. I suppose that most of the blame for the acting weaknesses could be traced directly to the script. The characters are given some really lame lines.The story itself is quite nice. There's one double-cross after the next. The ending really caught me off guard. Just when I thought I had things figured out, I was hit with another loop. The plot is the primary reason I've rated this movie as I have. If you're a fan of heist films, much of The Squeeze will appeal to you.I would be remiss if, even in this short review, I didn't mention the soundtrack. The music is pure (bad) 70s disco. The main theme song is especially annoying and presents everything that was wrong with music from this period. Even worse, it's stuck in my head - Oh the Pain!