Maroc 7
Maroc 7 is a 1967 British thriller film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Gene Barry, Elsa Martinelli, Leslie Phillips and Denholm Elliott.[3] The screenplay concerns an international jewel thief who hatches a plan to go to Morocco and steal a valuable artifact.[4]
| Maroc 7 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Gerry O'Hara |
| Produced by | John Gale Leslie Phillips Martin C. Schute |
| Written by | David D. Osborn |
| Starring | Gene Barry Elsa Martinelli Leslie Phillips |
| Music by | Kenneth V. Jones |
| Cinematography | Kenneth Talbot |
| Edited by | John Jympson |
Production company | Cyclone Films |
| Distributed by | Rank Film Distributors Paramount Pictures (US) |
Release date | 22 March 1967 |
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £399,835[1] |
| Box office | £214,494[2] |
The theme song was an instrumental by the Shadows: "Maroc 7" rose to No. 24 on the UK singles chart in April 1967.[5]
Production
The film was the fifth in a series of movies jointly financed by Rank and the NFFC.[6]
The sets were designed by the art directors Seamus Flannery and Terry Pritchard. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location in Morocco. Filming began 6 July 1966. The production went over budget.[7]
Plot
Louise Henderson is the editor of a respected fashion magazine, but she has a hidden career as mastermind of a ring of thieves. With their professional operation as a front, Louise uses one of her models, Claudia, and a photographer, Raymond Lowe, to steal precious artifacts and jewels.
Law enforcement agencies have their suspicions about her, so secret agent Simon Grant is assigned the case. He pretends to be a safecracker to infiltrate Louise's gang, traveling to Morocco, where she intends to switch an imitation Arabian medallion for a priceless real one.
Grant is given cooperation in Morocco by a chief of police, Barrada, and a woman named Michelle Craig who is the chief's top aide. Things go wrong when Grant needs to kill Lowe, who has discovered his true identity.
The theft goes on as planned, at least until Claudia is shot. To the surprise of cops and robbers alike, the precious medallion is stolen by the one person none of them suspected, Michelle, who escapes.
Cast
- Gene Barry as Simon Grant
- Elsa Martinelli as Claudia
- Leslie Phillips as Raymond Lowe
- Cyd Charisse as Louise Henderson
- Denholm Elliott as Inspector Barrada
- Alexandra Stewart as Michelle Craig
- Angela Douglas as Freddie
- Eric Barker as Professor Bannen
- Tracy Reed as Vivienne
- Maggie London as Suzie
- Ann Norman as Alexa
- Penny Riley as Penny
- Lionel Blair as Hotel receptionist
- Ricardo Montez as Pablo
Novelization
Concurrent with the release of the film, UK publisher Pan Books released a novelization of the screenplay by the ubiquitous and prolific British tie-in author John Burke writing as "Martin Sands."
References
- Petrie p 12
- Petrie p 15
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061956/
- BFI.org
- "UK Official Chart: Shadows". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- Petrie p 8
- Petrie p 9
Notes
- Petrie, Duncan James (2016). "Resisting Hollywood Dominance in Sixties British Cinema : The NFFC/Rank Joint Financing Initiative" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television.