''Silver Bears'' is a 1978 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

based on a novel by

Paul Erdman Paul Emil Erdman was a Canadian-born American economist and banker who became known for writing novels based on monetary trends and international finance. Early life Erdman was born in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, on 19 May 1932 to American parent ...

, directed by

Ivan Passer Ivan Passer (10 July 1933 – 9 January 2020) was a Czech film director and screenwriter, best known for his involvement in the Czechoslovak New Wave and for directing American films such as ''Born to Win'' (1971), '' Cutter's Way'' (1981) and ...

and starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. ...

Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), ''Lette ...

and

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock ...

. Caine portrays mob accountant "Doc" Fletcher who acquires a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

bank and a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

mine but must fight a complex struggle in order to keep hold of them.

Plot

Financial wizard Doc Fletcher goes to

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

to obtain a bank on behalf of his boss,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

Joe Fiore, in order to more easily launder his ill-gotten gains. The impoverished

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

Gianfranco di Siracusa agrees to act as

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

in order to give it an air of respectability. Doc finds that the bank consists of some shabby offices above a

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

and has only a few hundred dollars in assets. The Prince suggests that they invest in a silver mine recently discovered in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

by his distant cousins, Agha Firdausi and his sister Shireen. The mine is said to contain $1 billion worth of untapped

. After visiting the Firdausis in Iran, Doc obtains $5 million from Agha as

security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

for a loan of $20 million and uses the money to obtain better banking premises and put on a major show that attracts powerful investors. In London, metals dealer and one of the richest men in the world Charles Cook is concerned by a drop in the price of silver brought about by the Firdausi silver hitting the market. Discovering that the Lugano bank is financing the operation, he decides that the best way to stop the downward plunge is to take over the bank responsible and close down the mine. He contacts Foreman, president of the First National Bank of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, who agrees to the plan and sends one of his accountants, Donald Luckman, to Lugano to meet Doc and his associates. Luckman's questions makes them suspicious. Doc seduces Donald's fun-loving wife Debbie to find out more. She reveals all about Cook's interest in the mine and the bank. Luckman returns and offers up to $60 million for the bank. Fiore jumps at the opportunity, but Doc does not want to sell and persuades Fiore to give him time to make a bid of his own. Doc meets the Firdausis in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

to obtain $60 million to buy the bank, but they reveal there is no silver in the mine, as it has all been smuggled from India. The mine was just a cover to obtain the money needed for their operation. Foreman buys the bank then goes to Cook and demands an exorbitant amount for the silver mine, only to be told that it does not exist and that he will thus not be refunded the $60 million used to buy the bank. Foreman can recoup the

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

since the purchase report mentions non-existent "oil storage tanks", thus making a case for

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...

. Doc offers to give Foreman an additional $10 million which he will get from Cook in exchange for exclusive purchasing rights to the Firdausi silver. Foreman gives Doc the bank. Luckman then reveals that for the insurance claim to be valid there will have to be a criminal prosecution and a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

will be needed in order to go to prison. The others agree, deciding that it should be Luckman, as he falsified the report. Back in Lugano, the Prince marries Shireen Firdausi. Agha does not attend the wedding and Shireen admits that he was in fact an actor she hired since she doubted if a bank would loan $20 million to a woman. Doc comes across Debbie who has been attending Donald's trial for fraud. She has promised to get a place near the jail in order to be close to him and Doc states that his house is conveniently near the prison itself.

Cast

as Doc Fletcher *

as Debbie Luckman *

as Prince di Siracusa *

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French actress. She was known for her performances in award-winning films such as ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and ''Babette's Feast'' ...

as Shireen Firdausi * David Warner as Agha Firdausi *

Tom Smothers Thomas Bolyn Smothers III (born February 2, 1937) is an American comedian, composer and musician, best known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick. Early life Smothers was born in 1937 at ...

as Donald Luckman *

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Y ...

as Joe Fiore *

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's '' The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 20 ...

as Albert Fiore * Charles Gray as Sir Charles Cook *

as Henry Foreman *

Jeremy Clyde Michael Jeremy Thomas Clyde (born 22 March 1941) is an English actor and musician. During the 1960s, he was one-half of the folk duo Chad & Jeremy (with Chad Stuart), who had little success in the UK, but were an object of interest to American ...

as Nick Topping

External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, silver_bears 1978 films 1978 comedy films 1970s comedy thriller films Adultery in films British comedy films Films about con artists Films based on American novels Films set in Dubai Films set in Iran Films set in Switzerland Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films about mining Trading films EMI Films films Films directed by Ivan Passer Films scored by Claude Bolling Films about princes 1970s English-language films 1970s British films