Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope
NR | 22 September 1966 (USA)
Kaleidoscope Trailers

Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer because he has succeeded in marking the original plates for the backs of all the playing cards manufactured in a plant in Geneva and used in all the gambling joints in Europe. In his gambling depredation, Barney is spotted by Angel McGinnis, the daughter of a Scotland Yard Inspector 'Manny' McGinnis on the lookout for a man to do a job. The inspector enlists Barney's help in playing poker with a shady London character whom Scotland Yard wants to force to financial ruin.

Reviews
GamerTab

That was an excellent one.

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Orla Zuniga

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

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Tyreece Hulme

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

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Billy Ollie

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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MartinHafer

This film was fun, though it's also easy to skip. In some ways, it's quite enjoyable and in others it's a little slight--especially when it comes to the romance. When the film begins, you see that Barney Lincoln (Warren Beatty) is an international playboy who loves to gamble...and win. However, you soon see how he's so good--as he breaks into the company (Mission: Impossible style) that manufactures cards for the casinos. Why? So he can mark the plates and thus be able to read all the cards*. Along the way, he gets hooked up with a screwy girl, Angel (Susannah York). This is problematic, as she then tells her father all about Barney and his incredible card playing...and he works for Scotland Yard. The film, however, doesn't go where you think as Daddy is not interested in arresting Barney but forcing him to do a job for him. What's the job and how will it all work out....well, see the film.Watching Beatty breaking in and then playing a high-stakes game of poker was very enjoyable. His romance with York, however, never seemed very convincing nor romantic. I think if they'd have improved this angle, they would have made the film more engaging and more of a must-see affair.*It's hard to imagine no one spotting the marks on the cards-- especially because these are multi-million dollar casinos. This just didn't make much sense.

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GeoPierpont

not one person complained about the ability to see ANY markings 6feet away on a 5card fan... oh well, no poker players reviewing here and the fact that he was always dealing in the "Bunko" game was problematic... very plodding angst less scene after scene save for the wondrous views of the famous world casinos, have been to many and savour the opulence with the crowning moments in that Dominion Castle!! where did they find that gem... Angel was cute not seXy like other Beatty co-stars ala Julie C. but intelligent design was uneven... i.e. throwing the gun away during a fight saying she just doesn't like guns, fighting, but death is just A OK???!!! with low expectations for any redeeming value in script excitement I can only recommend for location shots... superbe!

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thinker1691

Robert and Jean Carrington wrote this story and the movie version is directed by Jack Smight. It tells the story of handsome Barney Lincoln (Warren Beatty) a suave and debonair playboy who creates a most ingenious plan to rob the most prestigious European casinos in Europe. He does this by 'marking' the original manufacturing plate design for playing cards. Thus when he plays in the very best casinos, he has an edge. Unbeknown to Mr. Lincoln, British police Inspector 'Manny' McGinnis (Clive Revill) has discovered his secret and convinces him to help bankrupt Harry Dominion (Eric Porter), a dangerous and notorious drug smuggler by playing cards with him. Risking his life and that of Angel McGinnis (Susannah York) his ditsy girlfriend, both play dangerously close to a man quite capable of murdering them. What Lincoln does not anticipate is that Dominion will play with Unmarked cards. This charming and delightful film is one of Beatty's best and one which is certain to become a fun Classic for all audiences. Easilly recommended. ****

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nk_gillen

"Kaleidoscope" drifts through like a pleasant breeze. Allow yourself five minutes with this light comedy, and you're hooked. Set in 1960's Swinging London and Europe, the film was directed by an American, Jack Smight, in an abstract style that deliberately calls attention to itself. The dialogue is amusing repartee; and the performers seem so offbeat they exist as near comic-book characters. If a viewer feels distanced, then the film's creators have succeeded. It's all pretty much at the same level as that quintessential Sixties caper, "Modesty Blaise" (1966), only a bit less refined and a tad more square.Warren Beatty stars as a card-cheating playboy with romantic pretensions. Before "Kaleidoscope," Beatty had acted in only one other film comedy ("Promise Her Anything," with Leslie Caron). Here, he comes on a little heavy-handed at first, but he soon settles in with the other performers, including Eric Porter, a powerful presence in the role of a sociopathic Mr. Big with a dreadful Napoleon-complex.The movie's high notes arrive on cue. The climax is a high-stakes, winner-take-all poker game, and it's a tight, suspenseful scene. Its resolution will leave you breathless, admiring the good, low-keyed humor of the whole affair. The film's denouement, a kidnap-and-rescue sequence, is almost as clever. This film is not High Art -- not by any stretch of our good will or imagination. But there's nothing wrong with taking pleasure from well-made fluff, especially if we realize the genre's built-in limitations. "Kaleidoscope" is great fun because, like its gambler/hero, it doesn't always play by the rules.With Susannah York as Beatty's chic companion, a Carnaby Street shopowner, and Clive Revill as her Scotland Yard inspector/father.

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