''Lassiter'' (also known as ''The Magnificent Thief'') is a 1984 American heist

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

starring

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...

and

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

. The movie was made to cash in on Selleck's popularity as the character

Thomas Magnum Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV is a fictional character on the American television series ''Magnum, P.I.''. As the title suggests, the character Magnum is a private investigator. In the original series, Magnum was portrayed by Tom Selleck. Jay Herna ...

in the television show ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...

'', but it failed to return its budget at the box-office on release. The ''Magnum, P.I.'' connection is perhaps most clearly seen by the movie poster

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

: ''The Magnum Man Hits the Big Screen with a Vengeance''.

Plot

Nick Lassiter (

) is a gentleman jewel thief in 1939 London, England. He is arrested by the police after breaking into a London mansion and, after being a member of a phony lineup in which he is positively identified by a law enforcement plant, British law enforcement and the FBI blackmail Lassiter to break into the German Embassy and steal $10 million in

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

diamonds from a German spy ( Lauren Hutton), but first he must locate their hiding place. The gems are en route to South America and will be sold to help finance

Hitler's Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

military buildup. The authorities want the Nazi diamonds and to put Lassiter away for good, but he has other plans, and a surprise twist ending changes everything.

Cast

as Nick Lassiter *

as Sara Wells * Lauren Hutton as Kari Von Fursten *

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...

as Inspector John Becker *

Joe Regalbuto Joe Regalbuto (born August 24, 1949) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Frank Fontana on the CBS television sitcom ''Murphy Brown'', which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1989. Early life Regalbuto grad ...

as Peter Breeze *

Ed Lauter Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ; October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years. Early life Lauter was born and ...

as "Smoke" *

Warren Clarke Warren Clarke (born Alan James Clarke; 26 April 1947 – 12 November 2014) was an English actor. He appeared in many films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. His television appearances included ''Dalzi ...

as Max Hofer *

Edward Peel Edward Peel is an English television and stage actor. He was described by ''The Times'' in 2010 as a "veteran star of TV dramas" and "a familiar face on television for the past 40 years". Early life and education Peel trained as an actor at Ro ...

as Sergeant Allyce *

Christopher Malcolm Christopher Malcolm (19 August 1946 – 15 February 2014) was a Scottish actor and theatrical producer. He first achieved notoriety for his role as Brad Majors in the original stage production of ''The Rocky Horror Show''. Early life and edu ...

as Quaid *

Peter Skellern Peter Skellern (14 March 1947 – 17 February 2017) was an English singer-songwriter and pianist who rose to fame in the 1970s. He had two Hit song, top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart - "You're a Lady" (1972), which typifies his signature u ...

as The Pianist *

Harry Towb Harry Towb (27 July 1925 – 24 July 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland. Early life and career Towb was born in Larne, County Antrim, to a History of the Jews in Russia, Russian-Jewish father and an History of the Jews in Ireland, Irish- ...

as Roger Boardman *

Belinda Mayne Belinda Mayne is a British actress who has appeared in film, television and theatre in Germany, the UK, and the US since 1974 when she made her first appearance in ''Strangers''. Partial filmography References External links * {{DEF ...

as Helen Boardman * W. Morgan Sheppard as Sweeny * Brian Coburn as Burto Gunz *

David Warbeck David Warbeck (born David Mitchell; 17 November 1941 – 23 July 1997) was a New Zealand actor and model best known for his roles in European exploitation and horror films. A native of Christchurch, New Zealand, Warbeck became involved in local ...

as Muller *

Nicholas Bond-Owen Nicholas Bond-Owen (born 13 November 1968) (sometimes billed as Nick or Nicholas Owen) is a child actor of the 1970s and 1980s best known for playing Tristram Fourmile in all five series of the popular comedy ''George and Mildred'' and in the fi ...

as Freddie

Production

The film was Selleck's second starring vehicle after becoming an international name with ''Magnum''. He optioned the script himself, showed it to Golden Harvest while making ''High Road to China'' and they bought the option. Selleck signed to make ''Lassiter'' before ''High Road to China'' came out "because I thought it was a good idea to have another film lined up in case ''High Road'' didn't work." The film would be directed by Roger Young, who directed the pilot for ''Magnum'', and the filmmakers agreed to work around Selleck's limited schedule - he could only film between April and June. "If I'd planned things out maybe I wouldn't have picked two period films in a row," he said. "But this was by far the best thing that came along. I hope I fit into it. I like the clothes and the hook." Selleck admitted shortly before filming that he was having second thoughts about making the movie. Advance word on ''High Road'' was strong and he was offered a number of other movies. However he stuck to his original promise. Selleck said "in a business where you often hear actors described as children its nice to be treated as a partner and as an equal. I was able to have a lot of input into the script, although it didn't need that much." "Nick Lassiter is a little rougher around the edges than Magnum," said Selleck. "He's a very self assured character. He should be able to walk into a movie with a certain amount of arrogance and gall."

Reception

''Lassiter'' grossed over $17.5 million at the box office against a $20 million budget, making this a commercial failure. The film received mixed reviews from critics. ''Lassiter'' currently holds a 53% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 15 reviews.

References

External links

* *
Review
New York Times Review

Variety Magazine
Review
by Roger Ebert {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2020 1984 films 1980s crime thriller films 1980s heist films 1980s spy films American crime thriller films American heist films American spy films Films set in 1939 Films set in London Films directed by Roger Young Warner Bros. films 1984 directorial debut films Films scored by Ken Thorne 1980s English-language films 1980s American films