646f9e108c A man McClain is tasked with planning the robbery of a sports coliseum after a big game. He recruits four men. They pull the job without a hitch. When they ponder on where to keep the money McClain suggests they leave it with Ellie, his girlfriend. When she is killed and the money is gone. Everyone wonders what happened. And they assume that McClain knows where the money is but he doesn't. They rough him up but McClain escapes and tries to find out what happened. He thinks the cop investigating the robbery and Ellie's death knows more than he is letting on. Thieves fall out when over a half million dollars goes missing after the daring and carefully planned robbery of the Los Angeles Coliseum during a football game, each one accusing the other of having the money. An underrated actioner from the Swinging Sixties, ''The Split'' boasts an incredible cast. Though former football great Jim Brown gets star billing, the meaty parts go to such reliable performersJulie Harris, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Klugman,Gene Hackman, James Whitmore Warren Oates and Donald Sutherland. The story, about a well-planned and well-executed robbery (which takes place during a Football Game at the L.A Coliseum)is taut and mean.Hard-Bitten Harris and Career Criminal Brown hatch the plot, and it's up to him to round up a suitable group of thugs capable of pulling it off. And a nastier bunch has seldom been seen on screen. Donald Sutherland, in an early parta psychopathic sadist, really makes his presence felt,do Borgnine, Klugman and Oates (as usual.) As the leader of this group, Brown has a rather one note part. He's given little room for displaying anything much besides toughness. Diahann Carroll is wasted once again,his ex-wife, who still loves him, and though she's the only ''good'' character in the story,she's supposedly tainted by her association with Brown. On the sidelines are seedy landlord Whitmore, and crooked cop Hackman. Both are excellent, but it's Julie Harris, successfully cast against typethe ''Brains''behind the scheme, who comes close to stealing the picture.(And, considering the rest of the cast, that's no small achievement.)Still, Hooker Joyce Jameson gets the best line, when she tells prospective client Oates: ''If you catch anything from me, it WON'T be a cold ''. Naturally, the real tension comes toward the end of the story, when the gang turn on each other, but until then, there's still plenty worth seeing.Yes, the ''Thieves Fall Out'' plot has been done before, but it's the twists and turns this movie takes that provide the excitement. Director Gordon Flemying maintains a brisk pace throughout, slowing down only for the obligatory ''love scenes''.The photography is excellent, and the same goes for Quincy Jones moody score (available on cd). The other technical credits are equally fine. This month, the ''Warner Archives'' will release the film, for the first time on home video. The DVD will be in it's original Anamorphic (Panavision) Widescreen aspect ratio, and, judging from the sample clip provided, should look fine. Hopefully, the snappy Theatrical Trailer will be providedwell. As the ads for the film proclaimed: ''Watch what happens when it's time for ''The Split''!. Donald Westlake's book is turned into a rather dull movie by director Gordon Flemyng. Jim Brown leads a rag tag team of respected character actors on a heist to steal from the LA Colliseum. Edited with a sledge hammer, the movie appears to be missing scenes. The jump cuts are not stylish, they're really odd. Brown is OK, but the supporting cast is terrific, including Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, Jack Klugman and Donald Sutherland. Julie Harris pops up (aping Geraldine Pagea tough talking crime broker). It's not bad, but it's certainly forgettable despite the colorful cast. Diahann Carroll and James Whitmore are wasted in a really lurid subplot.
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