The Thief Who Came to Dinner
Encyclopedia
The Thief Who Came to Dinner is a 1973 comedy
film directed by Bud Yorkin
and based on the novel by Terrence Lore Smith. The film stars Ryan O'Neal
and Jacqueline Bisset
, with Charles Cioffi
, Warren Oates
, and in an early appearance, Jill Clayburgh
.
) is a computer
programmer
who abruptly quits his job and adopts a life of crime as a jewel thief in Houston, Texas
.
For his first job he robs rich businessman Henderling (Charles Cioffi
), stealing from him not only money, but also files with information that could destroy Henderling's career. McGee uses them to blackmail him but instead of money he asks for introduction into high society -- aiming to find a way to rob other rich houses.
He soon meets Laura (Jacqueline Bisset
) at a society function hosted by Henderling. She falls in love with McGee and then helps him to burglarize several friends of Henderling.
Insurance investigator
Dave Riley (Warren Oates
) is intent on identifying Webster as the jewel thief, but in the course of investigation Riley and McGee develop a sort of friendship. Riley must decide whether to be loyal to his job or his new friend.
. Director
Bud Yorkin
is known for his association with Norman Lear
who together collaborated on All in the Family
and Maude
for broadcast television
. Following this film, Yorkin turned to TV completely, along with Lear and writer Aaron Ruben
.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film directed by Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin is an American film and television producer, director, writer and actor.Yorkin was born Alan David Yorkin in Washington, Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in engineering from Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania...
and based on the novel by Terrence Lore Smith. The film stars Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
and Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
, with Charles Cioffi
Charles Cioffi
Charles Cioffi , also credited as Charles M. Cioffi, is an American movie and television actor.-Biography:He was born in New York City and attended Michigan State University, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity....
, Warren Oates
Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
, and in an early appearance, Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.-Personal life:...
.
Plot summary
Webster McGee (Ryan O'NealRyan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
) is a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
who abruptly quits his job and adopts a life of crime as a jewel thief in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
For his first job he robs rich businessman Henderling (Charles Cioffi
Charles Cioffi
Charles Cioffi , also credited as Charles M. Cioffi, is an American movie and television actor.-Biography:He was born in New York City and attended Michigan State University, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity....
), stealing from him not only money, but also files with information that could destroy Henderling's career. McGee uses them to blackmail him but instead of money he asks for introduction into high society -- aiming to find a way to rob other rich houses.
He soon meets Laura (Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
) at a society function hosted by Henderling. She falls in love with McGee and then helps him to burglarize several friends of Henderling.
Insurance investigator
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Dave Riley (Warren Oates
Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
) is intent on identifying Webster as the jewel thief, but in the course of investigation Riley and McGee develop a sort of friendship. Riley must decide whether to be loyal to his job or his new friend.
Cast
- Ryan O'NealRyan O'NealCharles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
as Webster - Jacqueline BissetJacqueline BissetJacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
as Laura - Warren OatesWarren OatesWarren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
as Dave - Jill ClayburghJill ClayburghJill Clayburgh was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.-Personal life:...
as Jackie - Charles CioffiCharles CioffiCharles Cioffi , also credited as Charles M. Cioffi, is an American movie and television actor.-Biography:He was born in New York City and attended Michigan State University, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity....
as Henderling - Ned BeattyNed BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
as Deams - Austin PendletonAustin PendletonAustin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:...
as Zukovsky - Gregory SierraGregory SierraGregory Sierra is an American actor known for his roles as Detective Sergeant Chano Amenguale on Barney Miller and as Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbor of Fred G...
as Dynamite - Michael MurphyMichael Murphy (actor)Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
as Ted - John HillermanJohn HillermanJohn Benedict Hillerman is an American actor, known for his starring role on the television show Magnum, P.I.-Early life:...
as Lasker - Alan OppenheimerAlan OppenheimerAlan Oppenheimer is an American character actor and voice actor. He has performed numerous roles on live-action television since the 1960s, and has had an active career doing voice work in cartoons since the 1970s.-Early life:...
as Insurance Man - Margaret Fairchild as Mrs Donner
- Jack ManningJack ManningJack Manning may refer to:*Jack Manning , 19th century baseball player*Jack Manning , American film, stage and television actor-Others:...
as Tom Preston - Richard O'Brien as Sergeant Del Conte
- George MorfogenGeorge MorfogenGeorge Morfogen is an American actor. He is known for playing Bob Rebadow in the HBO show Oz, and for his role as Stanley Bernstein in the original V miniseries....
as Rivera
Production
Actual filming took place in HoustonHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. Director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin
Bud Yorkin is an American film and television producer, director, writer and actor.Yorkin was born Alan David Yorkin in Washington, Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in engineering from Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsbugh, Pennsylvania...
is known for his association with Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
who together collaborated on All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
and Maude
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
for broadcast television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. Following this film, Yorkin turned to TV completely, along with Lear and writer Aaron Ruben
Aaron Ruben
Aaron Ruben, was an American television director known for The Andy Griffith Show Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and Sanford and Son .-Early life:...
.
Differences between the novel and the movie
- Webster is not a computer programmer in the novel.
- In the Terrence L. Smith novel, Webster meets his love in the Chicago metropolitan area, where all the thefts and almost all of the story take place. (Smith was a native of northern Illinois, and the Chicago area was the setting for most of his books.)
- In the novel, Webster starts the story with a scarred face and broken nose, having been a football star in college (Northwestern). Over the course of the novel, he uses his earnings to finance a set of plastic surgeries to make himself more conventionally handsome. With Ryan O'Neal in the lead, the movie drops this plotline entirely.