Movie review: ‘The Hot Rock’

FloridaGator80

As a criminal in film, Robert Redford usually brings a big scope to his crime. He was one of the con men in the Oscar- and plot-heavy “The Sting” (it won seven) and played “Sundance” to near-perfection in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” However, the crime character he plays doesn’t always find total success on a big stage. Just take “The Hot Rock” in which he’s pretty much a blue-collar thief, who’s just getting out of prison. Actually, Redford’s character, which is taken from a description in a novel, doesn’t look anything like Robert, but, then again, who does? Redford is good in just about anything and “The Hot Rock” is no exception – plus he has a solid supporting cast including the versatile and talented George Segal.

‘The Hot Rock’
(1972; 101 minutes; rated GP; directed by Peter Yates and starring Robert Redford, George Segal and Ron Leibman)

NOT A HABITUAL CRIMINAL; A HABITUAL CRIME

(NOTE: I expanded this review with some additional opinion and trivia and updated links on Jan. 24, 2017. I again expanded the review on May 19, 2021.)

I’m sure underrated crime novelist Donald E. Westlake didn’t have Robert Redford in mind when he wrote “The Hot Rock’s” main character “John Dortmunder.” After all, “Dortmunder” is described by Westlake as appearing hangdog … a nearing middle-age burglar who looks like one. Redford, however, as a big-screen leading man, gives a different vision of “Dortmunder” in the film version, but I’m sure the late Westlake was pleased.

(CLICK here … for all my reviews of movies)
(CLICK here … for a chronological list of my reviews)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of ‘007’ movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of sports movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of war movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of Christmas movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of horror movies)

“The Hot Rock” has several of the same wonderful twists just like in the novel. The main point being, while “Dortmunder” is a habitual criminal, in “The Hot Rock” he becomes part of the habitual crime (it’s a refrain from the person contracting with the thieves; he notes the irony with a dry, wry tone of voice).

In “The Hot Rock,” Redford and his team of thieves is hired to steal “The Sahara Stone” (apparently a diamond) from a museum. Although it is the property of one country, the stone is also claimed by another. So, along comes the contract for a theft.

Redford and his hard-luck team then hit a streak of misfortune as they try to steal it from a museum (where they tried to steal it first); to a police station (where the gang member hid it after being arrested at the museum); and finally a bank (where it was stored after being given to the attorney of the arrested gang member).

Oh, and they have to break into a prison to free the member of the gang after he’s arrested during the museum mission. As expected, the group’s banker, just like the group, gets more frustrated with each frustrating step.

The tension of the ending is nicely executed (although somewhat different from the novel – read more intricate and therefore more difficult to film).

Here’s a look at the main players:

  • An Oscar winner and three-time nominee (not for this one), Redford is good here – actually, he’s nearly always terrific – but it is an effort not equal to his work in “All the President’s Men” (click here for my review), “The Sting” and “The Electric Horseman” (click here for my review). He glides through the role with aplomb and brings the necessary intelligence to the character, whose main trait is that he plans all the jobs. My personal favorites of his are “Three Days of the Condor” (click here for my review) and “Sneakers” (click here for my review). Redford won his Oscar behind the camera as director of the dreary, overrated snifflebag called “Ordinary People.” Personally, he should have won for directing “Quiz Show,” which is supremely better than that crapfest called “Ordinary People.”
  • Next in line is the terrific and prolific George Segal (he had 126 acting credits to Redford’s 83 in March 2021 at his death at 87 from complications following surgery). Segal plays “Andy Kelp” and he likes to steal doctors’ cars since their medical license plates allow them to park anywhere. He’s the public relations arm of the partnership. Segal does his usual solid turn as the affable, most-liked guy in the room. However, he’s always ready to answer whatever call Redford offers. An Oscar nominee (not for this one) Segal has also been in the original “Fun with Dick and Jane” (click here for my review), “Blume in Love” and one of my personal favorites is “Rollercoaster” (click here for my review). He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
  • A Primetime Emmy nominee, Moses Gunn plays the diplomat who contracts the gang for the theft of the emerald. Gunn is also smooth as the urbane, educated “Dr. Amusa” and who will ultimately try to double-cross Redford and the guys. Gunn has also been in “Heartbreak Ridge” in conflict with Clint Eastwood as well as “Shaft” and “Ragtime.” He was nominated for his work in the iconic TV series “Roots.”

The rest of Redford’s team provides solid acting support:

  • A Golden Globe nominee and Primetime Emmy winner (not for this one), Ron Leibman plays “Stan Murch” and is the group’s driver. Liebman was at his big-city, blustering best and likes to tell the route he drove to anywhere. Leibman was also in “Norma Rae,” the very creepy “Auto Focus” and was the voice of “Ron Cadillac” on the animated adult TV series “Archer.” Leibman died at 82 in 2019 of pneumonia.
  • Paul Sand plays “Alan Greenberg,” the utility infielder of the group (he’ll do just about any part of what it takes to do the job). Sand’s acting is competent but doesn’t stand out in a cast that isn’t all that packed and had an opportunity to shine, but he didn’t manage to pull it off. He has also been in “The Main Event” and a string of TV roles including “Laverne & Shirley” and “thirtysomething.”

Noted stage actor Zero Mostel, who was the first “Tevye” in “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway), plays “Abe Greenberg” He is Sand’s father and does the best single job of acting after Redford and Segal with his egotistical, high-handed manners (he’s the attorney for Sand, too). Mostel becomes part of the double-cross and loses. He was also in “The Producers” and a voice in “Watership Down,” which was released the year after his death of a heart attack in 1977 at the age of 62.

Director Peter Yates and his team did a good job in bringing this one to the big screen and it’s as smooth a transition from novel to film as you can find while keeping true to the author’s intent. Yates was also the director of such outstanding films as “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” (click here for my review), “Breaking Away” (click here for my review) and “Year of the Comet.”

“The Hot Rock” turns up on occasion on cable movie channels (you might check out Redford’s Sundance channel, for example) and you would be doing yourself a favor to tune in.

As to the “GP” rating for “The Hot Rock:” Until 1972 the rating system had the “M” rating (meaning for “mature” audiences). Because of confusion in what “M” meant, it was renamed to “GP” for general audience with parental guidance. The rating was revised in 1972 to “PG” (but after “The Hot Rock” was released), according to sources via the internet.

I couldn’t find the box office numbers for “The Hot Rock” but it was not in the Top 10 for 1972. However, it did have a budget of $4.9 million, according to Wiki (which oddly also reports it made $3.5 million in rental fees). The top two films of the year were “The Godfather” (no surprise) with $133.6 million and “The Poseidon Adventure” with $93.3 million. The other films I’ve reviewed from 1972 include:

Assorted cast notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Charlotte Rae, who is best known as “Edna Garrett” on TV’s “The Facts of Life,” is enjoyable in her brief role as the irascible “Ma Murch.” Rae was also in “Hair” and TV’s “Diff’rent Strokes.”
  • Christopher Guest, who is best known for “This is Spinal Tap” and as the husband of Jamie Lee Curtis for the past 30 years, has a small role here as a policeman.
  • “The Hot Rock” was nominated for an Oscar for film editing. Understandably, it lost out to Bob Fosse’s outstanding “Cabaret.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “During the helicopter scene, both towers of the World Trade Center are shown under construction.”

© Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples, 2014-2017, 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.

Unknown's avatar

Published by FloridaGator80

Leave a Reply