Ronald Neame
(Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi | Legal restrictions - Termini d'uso )

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Ronald Neame passò tardi alla regia, dopo essere stato produttore di Lean. Nei suoi film mise in luce un'attenzione (non esente da humour) per ambienti e fenomeni tipicamente britannici, anche se negli anni Settanta il suo disinvolto eclettismo lo traviò nelle spire del cinema commerciale.

The card (1952) descriveva l'arrampicata sociale di un giovane seduttore di umili origini che sfrutta le sue avventure sentimentali per diventare sindaco, ma sposa una maestrina di ballo. Così The horse's mouth (1958) narrava il raggiungimento del successo da parte di un artista stravagante stabilitosi su un barcone. Times of glory (1960) era invece ambientato in un prestigioso reggimento scozzese e mostrava la rivalità fra due colonnelli, uno bravo e comprensivo, l'altro rigoroso ed accademico, tanto radicata nelle loro personalità da condurre al suicidio il cattivo e alla pazzia l'altro. Di tutti e tre i capolavori di Neame fu interprete Guinnes. I could Go On Singing (1963) era un melodramma musicale a lieto fine con Judy Garland nella parte di una cantante che ha rinunciato a sposare l'uomo che amava per non comprometterne la carriera, rimanendo così lontana anche dal loro figlio.

The humorous caper film Gambit (1966) has an unusual structure in that it first presents the plan as conceived by the thief and then its actual implementation.

Harry (Michael Caine) tells his partner Emile his plan. He recruits a night-club dancer, Nicole (Shirley MacLaine), to pull off the theft of his life: stealing a priceless sculpture that belongs to a reclusive Arab art collector. Harry and his accomplice Emile dress up Nicole so she looks like the dead wife of the Arab. This trick gets them into the palace of the Arab tycoon, who is amazed by the resemblance and explains why he purchased the priceless bust: it represents a Burmese princess who lived centuries before but looked also surprisingly like his dead wife. This is the plan.
The real action is full of surprises, and the film's main protagonist becomes the woman, who helps clumsy Harry to continuously improvise new variants to his original plan.
To start with, the tycoon only invites them to lunch on his boat. It is she who finds a way to get them invited to his apartment. Next, the tycoon finds out that Harry is a fake lord, but still goes ahead with the invitation because he is curious (and maybe in love with the fake lady). It turns out the sculture is protected by all sorts of electronic devices. She guesses what Harry is up to and at first refuses to go on with his plan. But then decides that she doesn't want him to go to jail, and helps him out. While she entertains the Arab, Harry enters the apartment and steals the bust. In the process, he really falls in love with Nicole. They split to be safer. But the Arab has kept his men after them and can easily find the woman. He tells her that he was playing cat and mouse with them, and admits he lost against Harry: Harry stole the real sculpture, not the decoy. But now the Arab wants to end the game: he tells Nicole to meet Harry and return the original. He also gives Nicole a report on Harry that shows he is an amateur: this is his first crime. Nicole joins Harry and begs him to return the bust, but Harry swears he never stole it. Harry sends a note to the Arab telling him to look inside a Buddha statue: that's where Harry hid the priceless bust. The Arab is puzzled why Harry would spend so much money and risk jail only not to steal the bust.
Harry's goal was simpler: he only wanted the publicity. All the newspapers in the world are reporting that the bust was stolen. Emile was once commissioned by the Arab to make a copy (the decoy) and he made an extra copy, a perfect reproduction of the original. Now that the entire world has been informed by the newspapers that the original has been stolen they (Harry and Emile) can sell the reproduction as the original to any collector in the world. The plan was actually ingenious.
Nicole is amazed, but decides she doesn't want to live with a crook. She is about to leave him forever when he chooses her over the money: he lets the head crash to the floor and leaves with Nicole, asking Emile to forgive him. Emile seems indifferent. As soon as they leave, he opens a cabinet: he made an entire collection of reproductions of the priceless artifact, and, most likely, he'll sell one to each collector who asks for it.

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (1968) affrontava polemicamente il problema dell'educazione, descrivendo lo scandalo suscitato in un austero istituto femminile dai modi spregiudicati di un'insegnante zitella e complessata che turba le allieve al punto che si suicida.

In film come questo Neame si dimostrò fine psicologo dell'animo femminile e attento esploratore di situazioni scabrose (il passato di un uomo rispettabile, le tendenze omosessuali in una classe femminile).

Dopo l'adesione a formule più spettacolari, Neame abbracciò i generi canonici di Hollywood, dall'avventuroso allo spionistico, trovando la giusta maniera nelle commedie per Matthau.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) e` la storia di un prete che conduce in salvo i superstiti di un naufragio.

Hopscotch (1979), il suo capolavoro e uno dei capolavori del genere, e` un'esilarante parodia del film spionistico.

Matthau e` un vendicativo ex-dipendente che, destituito per la sua indisciplina (ha rifiutato di arrestare un agente sovietico che è suo amico), pubblica clandestinamente un memoriale a puntate; invano inseguito da tutta l'organizzazione che vuole metterlo a tacere, Matthau combina ogni sorta di dispetti, avvalendosi di una esperienza illimitata nel campo delle missioni segrete, fino a far mitragliare dall'FBI la casa del proprio ex-capo dopo aver fatto credere di esservisi barricato. Matthau si diverte a giocare con le tecniche che i suoi ex colleghi stanno usando per eliminarlo sul serio. Dopo tante beffe, Matthau simula un duello aereo fra lui e il capo, ma in realtà il suo aereo, che esplode, è radiocomandato e lui è intatto in viaggio verso la costa azzurra con la sua bella. The Odessa File (1974), from Frederick Forsyth's novel, is a political thriller. A journalist is intrigued by the diary of a Jewish man who recently committed suicide. The book talks about a nazist war criminal who is still free. The journalist investigates and discovers the existence of a network of nazists. Eventually, he tracks down the war criminal.

First Monday in October (1981), idillio-litigio fra due giudici, lui moderno e progressista, lei conservatrice e puritana, su questioni giuridiche e affettive.

Foreign Body (1986) e` la storia di un umile impiegato di Calcutta che diventa un prestigioso dottore a Londra.

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