Kaleidoscope (1966)

(On Cable TV, September 2022) I’m not sure late-1960s Warren Beatty could do any wrong, and while Kaleidoscope isn’t in the same league as, say, Bonnie and Clyde, it’s certainly not the film that contradicts his early reputation as a terrific leading man. Much of the film’s story springs from one intriguing premise—what if you could slip into a card manufacturing facility and mark the cards about to be printed and shipped off to the casinos? It’s a silly concept (finding marked cards is trivial—experienced card sharks even call it “taking it to the movies”) compounded by Hollywood execution (as in: reading a card from nearly across the table) but it’s a good springboard for an otherwise rote conman romantic comedy. Beatty looks the part as he charms women, wins big at casinos, and gets in over his head with some scary people. The breezy first hour leads to a more intense second half as both the mob, the casinos and the police close in… but if you think this will have a downer ending, you haven’t been paying attention. Executed with some 1960s pop-optimism charm that can get you smiling even if you don’t want to, Kaleidoscope is a trifle of a film, but a fun one, and Beatty is perfectly at ease in a role that’s frankly undemanding for him. It probably could have been a bit shorter and punchier à la Gambit or Charade, but a charming Beatty compensates for many small issues.