The Thief

Unspeakably Brilliant
"The Thief," a moody and atmospheric noir masterpiece, is one of the most thoroughly engrossing espionage movies I have ever seen. The plot is intense and thrilling, the black and white cinematography visually stunning, the acting superb. The story revolves around a nuclear physicist (Ray Milland) who is also a spy. Torn by guilt and doubt and sinking deeper and deeper into dispair as FBI agents close in on him, he is forced into making a terrifying choice. All without a single word of dialogue.

The movie succeeds mainly because of the brilliant acting ability of Ray Milland. His performance, which owes much of its flavour to his Oscar winning role in "The Lost Weekend," is quite probably his best ever. Dialogue would have destroyed this movie because its atmosphere thrives on the solitude and loneliness of spies and their world.

I have read many reviews that mention that "The Thief" leaves unclear the political convictions of the protagonist as well as the name of the country for...

The next voice you hear...
I may be the first person in fifty years who didn't know the gimmick when I sat down to watch THE THIEF. At least I didn't for the first eight minutes or so. Then I checked the back of the dvd jacket and saw that THE THIEF contained no dialogue. That explained things. Relaxed, I sat back and found myself enjoying it more and more.

It begins very slowly. Nuclear physicist Ray Milland is selling secrets to a foreign power. The movie spends a good chunk of time showing us what he's doing, who he's doing it with, and how it's done. A picture may indeed be worth a thousand words, but a line or two of dialogue really helps to move a plot along. Without words, but with ambient sounds, a modern acting technique (circa 1952), a vital, Oscar-nominated score by Herschel Burke Gilbert and an artful acting job by Milland the point is made. Milland is by turns frightened, apprehensive, anxious. And things are going to get worse.

There are limitations to a movie...

Excellent Movie
Ray Milland proves again what an excellent and diverse actor he was in THE THIEF, one of the most interesting and unique movies it has been my pleasure to watch. The fact that there was no dialog seemed to dissapear as I became absorbed in the story. I think it was excellent.

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