Caccia alla volpe / After The Fox (1966)

Peter Sellers plays Aldo Vanucci (aka the Fox), one of the greatest criminals of the world and master of disguise. After Aldo escapes from the Italian prison he was held in, he meets again with his friends and plans to retrieve the "gold of Cairo", a large shipment of gold that waits to be unloaded somewhere in Italy. Aldo devises the perfect plan- posing as a famous director, he finds the ideal coastal village to unload the shipment, and persuades the entire population that he has chosen their village as the set for his new movie. Everybody, including the idiot chief of the local police is so excited, that they can't even imagine that in fact they are helping the Fox to get the "gold of Cairo"…

Director: Vittorio De Sica
Cast: Peter Sellers, Victor Mature, Britt Ekland, Martin Balsam, Akim Tamiroff, Paolo Stoppa, Tino Buazzelli, Mac Ronay, Lydia Brazzi, Lando Buzzanca, Maria Grazia Buccella, Maurice Denham, Tiberio Murgia, Francesco De Leone, Carlo Croccolo, Nino Musco, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Lino Mattera, Piero Gerlini, Daniele Vargas, Franco Sportelli, Giustino Durano, Mimmo Poli, Enzo Fiermonte, Roberto De Simone, Angelo Spaggiari, Mario Del Vago, Timothy Bateson, Angelo Casadei, Vittorio De Sica




For some reason, this film failed on it's release in 1966, and coincidentally marked the first in a long line of cinema flops for the star Peter Sellers, but now, on viewing it on DVD, I think it stands very comfortably amongst his more recognised work. The plot, written by Neil Simon is brilliantly fast-paced, the comedy lies everywhere, and there's terrific support from Maurice Denham, Britt Ekland, and of course Victor Mature sending up himself as a age-defying crummy actor. Why it flopped, heaven knows. Under the masterful direction of Vittorio de Sica, this map-cap farce makes great viewing, although it does take a bit to get the momentum up. Overall, very enjoyable.
~ egleg_loombucket

IMDb