Introduction
“Ace Up My Sleeve” (also known as “Crime And Passion”) is a comedy film by Czech director Ivan Passer released in 1975. The film contains an original score by Vangelis, which unfortunately was never released outside of the film. Despite the star-cast including Omar Sharif, Karen Black and Joseph Bottoms, the film was not received very well by critics, describing the film based on the novel by James Hadley Chase as ‘inexplicable’, ‘disoriented‘ and ‘absurd’.
Since the score of "Ace Up My Sleeve" was never officially released, the only way to hear it is to find a copy of the film. The music heard in the film sounds similar to "Heaven And Hell" (recorded in September 1975), with a couple of interesting themes and more incidental cues. There are also clips of two funky songs played in the movie that are recognisably Vangelis’, but without any credits it remains a mystery who the performing singers are...
If you are looking for a copy of the film to hear Vangelis’ score, please avoid the USA release of “Crime And Passion”, as in this version Vangelis’ score has been replaced with other music. The film was widely released on home video formats, and in 2005 also on DVD in Greece. Unfortunately this DVD is based on the German version "Frankenstein's Spukschloss", which is cut short on the end titles and thus misses a part of Vangelis' score. If you are able to play it, better find a copy on VHS, e.g. the UK version.
Details and credits
- Title: Ace Up My Sleeve
- Year: 1975
- Country: Germany
- Alternate titles: "Crime And Passion" (USA), "Le Desir Et La Corruption" (France), “Frankenstein's Spukschloss" (Germany), and "Skotoete Ton Prin Einai Arga" (Greece)
- Length: 96 minutes
- Directed by: Ivan Passer
- Screenplay by Jesse Lasky Jr., William Richert, Ivan Passer, Pat Silver
- Music: Vangelis Papathanassiou
- Executive producer: Barney Bernhard
- Producer: Robert L. Abrams
- Produced by Gloria Films
- Copyright 1975 Film Cine Produktions GMBH
Cast
- Omar Sharif (André Ferren)
- Karen Black (Susan Winters)
- Joseph Bottoms (Larry)
- Bernhard Wicki (Rolf)
- Heinz Ehrenfreund (Henkel)
- Elma Karlowa (Masseuse)
- Volker Prechtel (Innkeeper)
- Erich Padalewsky (Salesman)
- Robert L. Abrams (Mr. Blatt)
- Franz Muxeneder (Priest)
- Margarete Soper (Sylvia)
Media
DVD
- 2005 Audio Visual Enterprises S.A. Greece (region 2 - PAL) based on the German version “Frankenstein's Spukschloss".
VHS
In the Netherlands the film was also released on Betacam and Video 2000 video formats titled “Frankenstein's Spukschloss". All released versions are presented in 4:3 video format and include a mono audiotrack.
Synopsis
"When Andre Ferren (Omar Sharif), a light-hearted international speculator is down on his luck, what better than to marry his bed and business partner (Karen Black) to his most agressive creditor. When things go wrong however, intrigue, psychological tricks and elemental logic are cleverly interwoven to create an adult fairytale. Full of surprise twists, the climax of "Ace up my sleeve" makes this film one that will not easily be forgotten."
Links
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