Great Britain

In the cinema, style is something that is hard to define - and even harder to achieve, especially in the field of comedy-thrillers. Casts and scripts that look, on paper at least, like sure-fire winners, frequently turn out to be a leaden affairs by the time they reach the screen. Silver Bears (1977) is that relative rarity, a comedy-thriller that is nothing if not stylish. The polished and witty script is by Peter Stone, who won an Oscar for Father Goose and was also responsible for Charade and Sweet Charity, adapted from the novel by one-time president of a Swiss bank, Paul Erdman. A bevy of attractive stars - Michael Caine, Cybill Shepherd, Louis Jourdan, Stephane Audran, David Warner, American television comedian Tom Smothers and veteran character actor Martin Balsam - add their expertise to the playing of the leads. They work together to enliven the complex plot - packed with double, treble and quadruple crosses - that begins when Caine's sharp Las Vegas money expert is sent by the Mafia to supervise the running of the bank they have bought in Switzerland to launder their huge profits. But, when he arrives in Lugano, he discovers that the smooth but inept Prince di Siracusa (Louis Jourdan) has misappropriated the money for the purchase of the bank for his own disastrous scheme to make a killing on the world silver market. From then on the story becomes satsfyingly complex, defying synopsis but providing a highly entertaining picture of the assorted chicaneries of international banking. And, if its view of banking practices is less than reassuring, it certainly delivers a huge dividend in terms of light-hearted entertainment. In addition, director Ivan Passer has picked some very attractive locations in Switzerland and Morocco in which to place the action. Silver Bears is a splendid example of a comedy-thriller that succeeds in being light and easy viewing of a very sophisticated kind, thanks to the impeccable meshing of all the talents involved - both behind and in front of the camera. This one is made of sterling silver. ALAN FRANK