Kaleidoscope Reviews

An entertaining bit of flummery with the standard caper mentality, some witty lines, and lots of gorgeous photography. Beatty is not one of the best when it comes to delivering punch lines and his role is weak because of that. Putting him and York in the company of such accomplished farceurs as Revill and Porter only points up their lack of ability in the light comedy department. Beatty plays a character not unlike his real-life image--a playboy with lots of money who goes from thrill to thrill, just for the sheer enjoyment of it. He has a fling with York, a Mary Quant-type designer of mod clothes for the swinging 1960s Carnaby Street crowd. Next, he flies to Geneva where he breaks in to the pasteboard factory and secretly marks all the cards that will be used at Europe's top gambling dens. Then he makes the rounds of the casinos and wins a fortune playing with the cards he's altered. York suspects something is awry and tattles to her dad, Revill, a Scotland Yard man (just one of many bits of coincidence that mar the film). Revill won't arrest Beatty if he agrees to help nab Porter, a notorious drug dealer. Porter is angry, nabs York, and uses her to lure Beatty out to his estate so he can recover all the money he's lost. The couple attempt to flee and are almost done in by Porter and his thugs, but are saved when Revill and his Yardmen arrive. The picture is long on plot and short on characterization. Nice to look at but not to listen to, KALEIDOSCOPE was one of several flops Beatty made before having his phenomenal success with BONNIE AND CLYDE. Until that time, he'd been associated with more turkeys than a poultry farmer. The associate producer, Peter Medak, later directed THE RULING CLASS with Peter O'Toole.