On M List of Movie Reviews
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The Moneychangers (1976)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
9/26
9/26:
Thanks to producer Ross Hunter who always kept an eye on quality, strong writing and acting go hand in hand for
The Moneychangers, a 5.5-hour miniseries that has fallen into complete obscurity.
What a cast: Kirk Douglas, Christopher Plummer, Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Helen Hayes, Timothy Bottoms,
Robert Loggia, Jean Peters, Joan Collins, Lorne Greene, Stan Shaw, and Vincent Schiavelli, among others. Winning
an Emmy is Christopher Plummer in among his best roles of his career. I can believe in the naivety of his
character. Kirk Douglas comes in a close second. Not to be missed is Percy Rodrigues as Wainwright the
security chief.
As interesting as the subplots are, I have to say the director had a hard time juggling them. For example, the
protest by the minority group about the upcoming Forum East housing project is initially given some attention
and then forgotten about for the longest time. Ditto for the Keycharge counterfeiting operation which has to
be very unlikely discovered just right in the neighborhood. Speaking of that, how big is this bank supposed to
be: local, regional, or national? Miles Eastin and Juanita Nunez are left hanging a lot.
The prison rape scene is quite unheard of for a TV program in the 70's. You can be sure Miles agreed to
be Karl's bitch for the duration of his stay. By the way, that's Tony Burton who became Apollo Creed's
trainer during the same year. Socially-conscious, Alex Vandervoort coming out to say exactly what he thinks
in front of a TV camera will never happen. It'll be grounds for instant termination of his job.
All in all, The Moneychangers may be old, but it makes for a riveting viewing by going beyond the world
of Executive Suite.