Pattern For Plunder (DVD)

Three ex-Navy frogmen -- bank clerk Bill Webb, nightclub pianist Pru Lawson, and drifter Dave Newton -- are pulled from their dreary lives by former commander Nick Rawlings. He needs their help to recover a cache of Nazi gold hidden by notorious SS kommandant Heinrich Von Kreisling. Even split four ways, this lost fortune would allow the ex-comrades to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. In Cherbourg, they ally themselves with Helene Bretton, a sexy French spy seeking revenge on Kreisling for her mother's death. As the five uneasy allies close in on Kreisling's hiding place, their unwillingness to share in the wealth -- and Bretton's mad desire for vengeance -- threatens to completely derail their mission

A fast-paced actioner released at the height of the James Bond craze, Pattern For Plunder was the last major starring role for Swedish actress Mai Zetterling. First brought to audiences' attention in the Ingmar Bergman-written Torment (1944) she had her real breakthrough role in Freida (1947) opposite David Farrar. She worked again with Bergman on Music in Darkness (1948), followed by Quartet (1948), The Romantic Age (1949), and Only Two Can Play (1962). At the time of Pattern For Plunder's filming, Mai thought herself a bit too old for starlet roles (though it didn't stop her from having a sexy lingerie scene) and by the end of the year had gotten into directing with her short film The War Game (1963). Her first feature, Loving Couples (1964), was banned from the Cannes Film Festival for its sexual explicitness but was almost universally praised by critics. Other films directed by this pioneering female filmmaker include Night Games (1966), Doctor Glas (1968) and The Girls (1968). Co-star Keenan Wynn sports an uncharacteristic beard in a rare dashing leading role. A beloved character actor, he is best remembered for his parts in Annie Get Your Gun (1950), The Absent Minded Professor (1961), and Dr. Strangelove (1964) as well as scores of memorable television guest appearances. Ronald Howard, the son of tragic British actor Leslie Howard, played Sherlock Holmes in a syndicated television series that began running in the US in the fall of 1954.

• action
• adventure