Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy was a Miami beach bum-turned-jewel thief who gained an international reputation before being convicted of murder. Despite being a glorified made-for-TV movie, “Murph the Surf” from 1975 is actually a decent little film – if you can get away from its ’70s TV-like production – and, besides, it stars that wonderful small-screen icon Robert Conrad of TV’s “The Wild Wild West” fame. This one is a bit tough to find (you can usually find it in the bargain bin of DVDs at a big-box discount store on a double-DVD set with another Conrad film “Sudden Death” – and Conrad co-stars in both “Murph the Surf,” or it may be called “Live a Little Steal A Lot” on the double DVD, and “Sudden Death” with Don Stroud).
‘Murph the Surf’
(1975; 101 minutes; rated PG; directed by Marvin J. Chomsky and starring Robert Conrad, Don Stroud and Donna Mills)
BASED ON A TRUE STORY … FOR THE MOST PART
(NOTE: This review was expanded on Sept. 2, 2014, and I then expanded it again, updated some links and corrected a few typos on Feb. 13, 2016. I again expanded the review with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on Feb. 10, 2019. I further updated the review with the death of Robert Conrad on Feb. 12, 2020. I again updated it on Feb. 2, 2021, with the death of Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy.)
Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy was a south Florida bad-boy legend in the 1960s, going from jewel thief to murderer. His story as a high-profile thief is brought to the screen in “Murph the Surf” from 1975. It has also been released under the title of “Live a Little Steal a Lot.” Bringing him to the screen with this effort doesn’t do the whole story justice and only its broad brush strokes of history are accurate, but it’s a good try and it’s always easy to enjoy a performance by Robert Conrad, who, of course, is the original “Jim West” from TV.
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of movies)
(CLICK here … for a chronological list of my reviews)
(CLICK here … for all my Christmas movie reviews)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of horror movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of ‘007’ films)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of movies about war)
The basis of the story is Murphy’s theft along with Allan Kuhn (the real-life screenwriter of the story and who claims to be the genius behind the star power of the real “Murph the Surf”). The two pull off the biggest gem caper of their day: the theft of the Star of India sapphire and several other international-class stones (including the DeLong Star Ruby) in New York City in 1964. The caper was called the biggest jewel heist ever and put them into the crosshairs of law enforcement.
The film opens as, according to the real-life Kuhn’s telling of the story through the screenplay, as Don Stroud as “Jack ‘Murph the Surf’ Murphy” is hanging around with Robert Conrad as “Allan Dale Kuhn,” unaware that Conrad is the biggest jewel thief in South Florida. He finds out, but it’s his over-the-top personality that takes over and brings a spotlight unwanted by Conrad but desired and then needed by Stroud. In the end you know that they’re going to get caught, but there are some nice plot twists and turns (OK, maybe one or two) that actually work.
With its TV movie-like production, “Murph the Surf” comes up really short in just about every way from a cinematography point-of-view. Even the storyline can be cheesy – for example, in one caper where they rip off an entire hotel in the Bahamas, there’s a scene where Conrad cuts a master key to the place … by hand, apparently from his expertise with locks. Also, the story’s facts have been streamlined (four people including Murphy and Kuhn were involved in the real heist, just to name one factual error), so like other “based on true story” films, it’s not a documentary and not a complete historical account.
It’s odd, but Stroud was also in another movie biopic that wasn’t historically accurate: “The Buddy Holly Story” from 1978. However, while “Murph the Surf” changed a few things and glossed over others, “The Buddy Holly Story” is more flat-out inaccurate than it is accurate.
While the verisimilitude in “Murph the Surf” is lacking, it does have great eye candy backgrounds, especially with the 1970s locales in the Miami area. I grew up in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area and recall just about every locale that was shown – having actually been to just about every location by car or boat in the year it was filmed.
Now, on to members of the principal cast (and you’ll find an outline of the facts about Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy at the end of the review):
- A Golden Globe nominee (not for this one) and, of course, the main player in “Murph the Surf,” Conrad gives a turn in front of the camera that’s affable, fun and non-threatening. He’s also tough, competent and efficient as are the characters in the majority of his roles. As Kuhn, he fits the bill well and is quite watchable. Conrad crafted an historic career of, well, cheesy, B-movie and TV roles (actually not a putdown, since they’re all so watchable, such as the hitman he plays in an episode of “Mission Impossible”). Conrad’s signature role remains “The Wild Wild West” on TV as he played title character “James ‘Jim’ West” and I liked his work with small roles in the nice Christmas kids’ flick “Jingle All the Way,” where he torments star Arnold Schwarzenegger (click here for my review) and was a lone bright spot in the awful comedy “Moving Violations” (click here for my review). Conrad was nominated for the TV series “Baa Baa Black Sheep” about fliers in the Pacific during World War II (stupidly, that series has been renamed “Black Sheep Squadron”). Sadly, Conrad passed away at 84 of heart failure on Feb. 8, 2020.
- As for Stroud, he isn’t really very good in this one. He’s at his worst when he has to punctuate a sentence or exclaim joy – you’ll probably flinch while watching those scenes. However, while not very good, he’s not terrible and could actually be called somewhat competent. Stroud went on to a very prolific career, including as I already mentioned, becoming a bandmate to Gary Busey in “The Buddy Holly Story” and did most of his work in TV with roles in such as “CHiPs” and “Charlie’s Angels” as well as just about every other popular TV program in the 1970s and 1980s. Stroud was in 2012’s “Django Unchained,” but you’ll have to look closely to recognize him.
- An Oscar nominee (not for this one), Burt Young, who is a career character actor, offers a nice turn as he plays doggedly determined detective “Sgt. Bernasconi.” He’s pretty much Burt Young here as you’ve seen him in “The Killer Elite” (click here for my review) or even in HBO’s spectacular series “The Sopranos.” Young was nominated for his work in the original “Rocky.” He was also in two other critically acclaimed films: “Cinderella Liberty” with James Caan and “Chinatown” with Jack Nicholson. I also liked his work as the tough-guy chauffeur to Rodney Dangerfield in “Back to School” (click here for my review).
- Donna Mills plays Stroud’s girlfriend “Ginny Eaton.” It’s pretty much a wooden effort from Mills here, but she really doesn’t have much to work with. Her character is a stereotype, but its disappointing that a professional would deliver her lines as if she’s auditioning for a high school play. Mills is best remembered from TV’s “Knot’s Landing” and was Clint Eastwood’s girlfriend when a psycho went after him in “Play Misty for Me.”
- Robyn Millan plays “Sharon Kagel” and she’s a call girl who is a “special” friend of Conrad. Millan, like Mills, doesn’t do much with her role and she has even less to work with. However, unlike Mills, she doesn’t come off as wooden in her little time on screen. Millan’s last acting credit was in 1984 for a TV series called “Masquerade” and “Murph the Surf” was her fourth and final film in her 28 acting credits with the first coming in 1965.
- Luther Adler played “Max ‘The Eye’” in this one. Adler, who was also a director of Broadway productions, does a smooth job in a small role. He notched 68 acting credits with the first in 1937 and the last, “Absence of Malice” with Paul Newman, in 1981. He died in 1984 at 81.
- Morgan Paull plays “Arnie Holcomb,” who is a federal agent previously friendly with Stroud. He brings his boyish enthusiasm to the role, but it is small and doesn’t make that much of a mark. Paull was also in “Blade Runner” and played one of George C. Scott’s aides in “Patton.” He died of stomach cancer in 2012 at the age of 67.
It would take more digging than I’m prepared to do for this blog to find out the box office and budget numbers for “Murph the Surf” from 1975. However, it was far down the list from the top two films: No. 1 was “Jaws” with a staggering $260 million, which was more than twice made by the No. 2 film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with $112.8 million, according to the Wiki year in film for 1975. Here are the films from 1975 that I’ve reviewed:
- “The Killer Elite” (not Peckinpah’s best, but WWII) – click here for my review
- “Rollerball” (classic sci-fi flick) – click here for my review
- “Three Days of the Condor” (Redford’s spy classic) – click here for my review
Additional cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):
- Lindsay Crosby plays “S.A. Thomas” and has the interesting background of being the son of Bing Crosby and Dixie Lee. Crosby, who was also in “The Mechanic” with Charles Bronson (click here for my review), died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 51 in 1989.
- Conrad’s daughter has a small part in the film. Nancy Conrad plays “Edna.” Nancy was born on March 1, 1954 – which was father Robert’s 19th birthday.
- IMDb.com’s entry for this film is so sparse it doesn’t list any trivia.
NOW, SOME REALITY NOTES:
According to his Wiki biography, Jack Roland Murphy in real life found that the glory faded fast and while the movie posters called him and Kuhn “playboys,” the grimy, violent reality of Murphy’s life isn’t much of a sought-after lifestyle.
Three years after Star of India caper, Murphy was implicated in the first-degree murder of a woman near Fort Lauderdale and was convicted in 1968 for the killing and the robbery of another woman.
Murphy, who found religion in the Florida state prison system, was paroled (he was originally set for parole in 2005 but was released in 1986 after serving less than 20 years for the killing) with the help and support of several people including former NFL football superstar Roger Staubach. Murphy spent the rest of his life in religious-based efforts mainly involved with reforming convicts.
Directly from Wiki: “As of August 2011, Murphy had been serving as a Vice-President of International Network of Prison Ministries, visiting prisons, jails, and youth detention facilities all over the world. Murphy wrote a book about his experience and testimony entitled Jewels for the Journey.”
Murphy died at 83 on Sept. 12, 2020, at Crystal River, Fla., where he had lived with his wife, Kitten, and grandchildren, according to Wiki. He reportedly died of heart and organ failure. Kuhn died in 2017 and click here for an interesting biographical piece from Sports Illustrated …
© Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples, 2014-2016, 2019, 2021.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without
express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner
is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that
full and clear credit is given to Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples
with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
