The Silent Partner (1978)    EMC Film Corporation/Suspense-Thriller    RT: 106 minutes    Rated R (violence, language, nudity, some sexuality)    Director: Daryl Duke    Screenplay: Curtis Hanson    Music: Oscar Peterson    Cinematography: Billy Williams    Release date: March 16, 1979 (US)    Cast: Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York, Celine Lomez, Michael Kirby, Sean Sullivan, Ken Pogue, John Candy, Gail Dahms, Micheal Donaghue, Jack Duffy, Nancy Simmonds.    Box Office: N/A

Rating: *** ½

 Let’s face it, a majority of the Canadian tax shelter movies of the late 70s/early 80s were crap. While I enjoyed many of them (e.g. City on Fire, The Kidnapping of the President), they don’t exactly represent cinema at its finest. Moreover, the makers didn’t care. For them, they were just a tax write-off. It didn’t even matter if they got released or not, they made money on the deal regardless.

 Not all of these movies were critical and/or box office duds. A few good ones managed to make their way into theaters only to be ignored by audiences who heard nothing about them prior to their one-week runs in a limited number of theaters (1979’s Meatballs is an exception). One such picture is The Silent Partner, a nifty little bank heist thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock. It stars Elliott Gould (M*A*S*H) as Miles Cullen, a bored bank teller who has no life outside his job other than his hobby (collecting tropical fish). One day, he finds a hold-up note hidden among the withdrawal slips. He figures out the mall Santa Claus (yes, it’s Christmastime) has been casing the bank planning to rob it. Miles comes up with a plan to steal the bank’s money himself and frame the robber for it. Once the thief, a psychopath named Harry Reikle (Plummer, The Amateur), realizes he’s been had, he comes after Miles. So begins a game of cat and mouse over the stolen $50,000.

 Directed by Daryl Duke (Tai-Pan), The Silent Partner is a suspenseful, intelligently written, well-crafted thriller that rightfully deserves to be called “a sleeper”. At the time of its release, it got lost in the shuffle and overlooked by audiences despite positive reviews from critics. I didn’t see it until ’91 when I decided to rent it from one of the video stores I frequented at the time. I was impressed by how good it was. It recently came out on Blu-Ray; I decided this would be a great time to revisit it. After 28 years, it was like seeing it for the first time again. Not only does it look great, it still holds up as a genuinely thrilling crime caper.

 The screenplay by Curtis Hanson (pre-L.A. Confidential) is one of those tricky deals filled with twists and double/triple-crosses. At one point, a mysterious woman named Elaine (Lomez, Gina) becomes involved. She claims to have worked at the nursing home where Miles’ recently deceased father resided. Of course, we all know that will turn out to be a lie. Also, Miles becomes attracted to co-worker Julie (York, A Man for All Seasons) who’s having an affair with their boss (Kirby, Rolling Vengeance). Naturally, she begins to suspect Miles is up to something with his new “girlfriend” Elaine.

 Gould is terrific as Miles, a quiet man who wants more out of life than his dull bank teller job. He finds it, but at a great price. Harry, a nice piece of acting by Plummer, is the last person you want to play games with. To him, it is NOT a game. He wants his money and to kill Miles. What’s interesting about Plummer’s performance here is that he doesn’t overplay it. He doesn’t go over the top with Harry; he plays him as a cool type capable of great violence as evidenced in an early scene where he brutally assaults an underage prostitute. Lomez is good as the femme fatale (or is she?) character who seemingly falls for Miles (or does she?). John Candy (SCTV) shows up as a fellow bank teller. It’s one of the late funny man’s first movie roles.

 There are certain terms I don’t like to throw around casually. One of them is “ingenious”. I can’t think of a better word to describe The Silent Partner. It’s a clever little movie that doesn’t rely on big action scenes and car chases to get its point across. Of course, that wasn’t a big concern in the 70s, a decade when filmmaking was still an art. There’s definitely an art to thrillers like The Silent Partner. The makers have to find new ways to surprise audiences. They have to know how to catch viewers off-guard. While I can’t say that I didn’t see a few of the twists coming, I still found plenty to enjoy in The Silent Partner. It’s a movie for people who love movies. It’s so good, I’m shocked that more people still haven’t heard of it four decades later. I strongly urge you to seek it out; it’s totally worth the effort.