The Split (1968) Only in the 1960's could a slapdash, heist-gone-wrong movie attract a cast like this.....Jim Brown, Ernest Borgnine, Julie Harris, Warren Oates, Jack Klugman, James Whitmore, Diahann Carroll......and stopping by at the end, Gene Hackman, fresh outta 'Bonnie And Clyde'
And their director, Gordon Flemyng was plucked out of the ongoing invasion of British film talent pouring into mainstream Hollywood......(mostly a TV guy, he also directed "Avengers" episodes, the two Peter Cushing "Dr.Who" movies and the totally off-the-wall "Great Catherine", which featured the oddball collection of Peter 'O Toole, Jeanne Moreau and Zero Mostel.)
Flemyng sure knew how to zip things along......in no time at all, master criminal McClian (Brown) recruits a hot-tempered thug (Borgnine), a witty hit man (Sutherland) a safecracer/electronic whiz (Oates) and a nervous getaway driver (Klugman).
The master plan, financed by a hard-as-nails moll (Harris) involves swiping all the ticket/concession cash at a football stadium.
Do things go awry? Oh my.......yes. And we come to probably the only scene anyone would remember from this movie......./in which one cast member achieves orgasm in a stunningly violent way........(we're being deliberately vague here, so as not to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.....)
Flemyng's far from a stylist and one look as the bright, harsh TV-style lighting gives you an idea of how fast they must have shot this movie. But what a great cast to spend a little bit of time with.......and given it's the 60's, you get the standard 'huh? say what?' ending capped off, naturally, with a freeze frame.
We can't say much for the movie, but as a 1960's artifact, you wouldn't want to miss a it......(especially the extraordinary punch-up between Brown and Borgnine) 2 stars (**)
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