Did you hear the one about the gay Nazi war criminal (Eric Portman), his lesbian wife (Giovanna Ralli) and the cat burglar (Michael Caine) who's pretending to be a drunk to get close to a millionaire he wants to rob? You'll love it - it's got robberies, incest and John Barry as well. Oh, and there's a great part for Nanette in it too and we can shoot it all in Spain with blocked funds.
That was probably Bryan Forbes' pitch for Deadfall, an enjoyable enough glossy thriller set in Spain before it raises the ante too much in the second half and loses its grip about the same time as Mrs Forbes, Nanette Newman, turns up to give a horrendously bad performance that'll bring your dinner up. Aside from Gerry Turpin's superb photography, its main distinction is the famous robbery sequence intercut with John Barry conducting his Guitar Concerto a la Bernard Herrmann in The Man Who Knew Too Much. Strangely the music doesn't always compliment the crime, as if they didn't get all the footage they needed (some of the more dramatic musical passages are played over shots of the concert), although it's a good centrepiece to a fine score. It's not the only time Barry cameoed - he also appears in The Living Daylights and The Cool Mikado, though he constantly tries to hide his face in the latter (but then wouldn't you in a Michael Winner film?) - but it is his most substantial. Shame the final heist simply doesn't match the first.
Fox's R1 NTSC DVD includes an interview with Barry as well as an isolated music and effects track that favors music over effects, but the UK release has no extras beyond the trailer.