This week on The Movie Gourmet – a new review of the historical epic Magellan and my continued coverage of the film festivals in San Francisco and San Luis Obispo – both under way now:
- Best of the 2026 SLO Film Fest
- Discoveries at the 2026 SFFILM Festival
- Surf and Skate at the SLO Film Fest
- Getting Ready for the 2026 SFFILM Festival
- First Look at the SLO Film Fest
CURRENT MOVIES
- The Drama: the darkest romantic comedy that I’ve ever seen. In theaters.
- Is This Thing On? uncoiling the bewilderment of a break-up. Hulu (included,) Amazon, AppleTV.
- Heel: don’t try this at home. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- La Grazia: it’s time to get past his malaise. Amazon, AppleTV.
- The Bride!: a funnier Bonnie and Clyde, with monsters.In theaters and VOD.
- Fackham Hall: silly, low-brow, and that’s okay. HBO Max (free), Amazon, AppleTV.
- A Private Life: a shrink and her own issues. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
- Mercy: not as good as the premise. Amazon (included with Prime), AppleTV.
- Magellan: slower than the slowest slow boat. Criterion.
ON TV
On April 27, Turner Classic Movies presents a sadly forgotten 1965 neo-noir, Once a Thief. In his first American movie, French leading man Alain Delon plays Eddie, an ex-con trying to go straight. He’s a got a wife (Ann-Margret), a daughter and an apartment in a downscale San Francisco neighborhood. Supporting his family is hard because an obsessively vindictive cop (Van Heflin) is harassing him and causing him to lose job after job. As Eddie becomes more and more desperate, his estranged brother Walter (Jack Palance) shows up with two equally scary confederates, trying to enlist Eddie in a heist.
You might reasonably think that Once a Thief is all about the dream pairing of Delon and Ann-Marget, then the two most gorgeous human on planet earth. Indeed, we see the two adoring each other in various states of undress, but their love is very innocent. It’s the supporting performances that elevate Once a Thief:
- As his cop persecutes Eddie, the usually relatable Heflin makes Inspector Javert look kind.
- Character actor John Davis Chandler, unsurpassed at playing weaselly psychos, plays the most unhinged fiend since Richard Widmark’s Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death.
- Screenwriter Zekial Marko plays a dodgy beatnik who casts off lines like, “Lickity split talk talk jazz“. and, grilled about heroin use at his apartment, says “If they want a shoot a bit, that’s their bag, not mine. I’m clean. Check my lines. Just boo, grass, juice, straight, you know.”
The ending is suitably noirish. Along with the Anthony Quinn/Jackie Gleason/Mickey Rooney version of Requiem for a Heavyweight, Once a Thief is probably the darkest film directed by Ralph Nelson (Lillies of the Field, Father Goose, Charly). The French movie title translates as Killers of San Francisco.