A quick three chairs for PERFECT FRIDAY (1970)

I love a good heist movie, and there's no better era for them than the late 60's and early 70's, when Mod stylings and twist endings abounded.  This one has slipped through the cracks, so much so that I only found out about it in researching the great Theatre of Blood, required viewing for fans of black comedy, Shakespeare and Vincent Price.  Specifically, I was looking into Anthony Greville-Bell, a man with a fabulously British name who co-wrote this as well as the oddly excellent thriller The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (which I'll get to in good time).  I can't speak to how much he actually contributed to this screenplay or the others but in my mind a man with a name that clever should have contributed to the quirkiness and smart dialogue of these movies.  And while Perfect Friday is the most conventional of the three movies it's a great little caper for an empty afternoon.

Mr. Graham (Stanley Baker) is the deputy manager at a London bank, stiffly professional and secretly fed up.  Enter Lady Dorset (Ursula Andress), whose light accent and Andressness swiftly sucks Graham into an affair that births a crazy idea: use the inside connection to rob the bank.  The sadly foppish Lord Dorset (a young David Warner) gets involved as the third party, and as the plan is formed it seems each of the men want to make off with the money and Lady without the other's being any the wiser.  Of course, the snazzy heist sequence.  Of course, a race to the airport.  Of course, a twist ending that assures a moral-minded censor office that even though they get away with it, they don't REALLY get away with it.

Though the plot has an assembly line feel, I have the advantage of ignoring that if the Knack is present.  Perfect Friday floats above a stock plot through simple panache and tight technique, meeting the action's inherent fun with surprisingly sharp photography, off-kilter editing tricks, knowing restraint and an infectious, enthusiastic soundtrack.  The performances are all effortless and perfectly played off each other, and the pacing never falters, especially in the heist sequence itself, proving once again that real tension can be made through a lack of music rather than a girth.  An early Spring setting meets the performances and the bank's minimalist 70's futurism for a crisp, satisfying mood, a fine counterpoint to the outlandish feel of older capers like Ocean's 11 and Who's Minding the Mint?  Everything points to a nifty, fittingly British confidence, leaning over and whispering sweet nothings into your ear.

Never available on video in the U.S., Perfect Friday may need a bit of digging to find, but I'm sure torrenting and iOffer have you covered.  The boot I viewed was sourced from a widescreen BBC broadcast and looked great, so if you can get that one go for it.  I wasn't able to find it on YouTube but I did find a trailer for a recent PAL DVD/Blu-Ray release, so if you've got a region-free DVD player you've got yourself a winner.  It probably won't become your favorite caper but it still put a grin on my face, like an unexpected free latte or finding five bucks in a gutter.  Do as you will and remember to make a smooth getaway.

~PNK