... turns out to be silver laundering. That's what this maybe overly cerebral movie is about. Most of the protagonists try to give their criminal actions a whiff of legality by diverting the flow of money to Switzerland. It was an item then as it is now. Almost all the action is set in Switzerland, in the Italian speaking part south of the Alps, to be exact. And Switzerland is basically boring (i.e. no shots fired, no bloodletting, no moans or shrieks in the night). Nonetheless, the movie has some beautiful scenes. The way the freshly arrived crooks find out that their bank's offices is above a crummy pizza parlor, for example. Or the visit in the shady count's empty palazzo. The count takes one of the elegant, anorexic chairs and smashes it to the ground to stoke the fire. (Then he hands a chair to Caine. He should have smashed it likewise, to the dismay of the Count - what are you doing? - who meant that one to be sat on. Instead Caine just sits down - a missed opportunity!!) Also very good is the scene in the small private plane which runs into some serious turbulence, with the Count very scared an Caine not scared at all, taking the opportunity to clarify options and attitudes. Louis Jourdan, who plays the Count, is a mayor asset to the movie. Cibyll Shepherd is in one of her better parts here (interesting wardrobe and make-up) and also has a few really good scenes. Overall this movie is worth watching.
Review of Silver Bears
