Surprise Package (film)
| Surprise Package | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stanley Donen |
| Screenplay by | Harry Kurnitz |
| Based on | A Gift from the Boys 1958 novel by Art Buchwald[1] |
| Produced by | Stanley Donen Paul B. Radin |
| Starring | Yul Brynner Mitzi Gaynor Noël Coward |
| Cinematography | Christopher Challis |
| Edited by | Jim Clark |
| Music by | Benjamin Frankel |
Production company | Stanley Donen Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,100,000 (US and Canada rentals)[2] |
Surprise Package is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and starring Yul Brynner, Mitzi Gaynor, and Noël Coward. The supporting cast features George Coulouris, Michael Balfour, Eric Pohlmann and Barry Foster.[3] The screenplay concerns an American gangster living on a Greek island and a deposed King who hatch a plan to steal some crown jewels.[4]
Plot[]
Nico March is being deported by the U.S. government. Not wanting his money confiscated, he orders accomplice Johnny to hide it for now while also keeping an eye on Nico's longtime girlfriend, Gabby Rogers.
Exiled to an island, Nico quickly meets corrupt cop Mirales, who wants a bribe, and a banished king, Pavel, who wants to sell Nico his old crown. Nico is double-crossed by Johnny, who instead of sending him the money sends Gabby instead.
Nico figures out where the king's crown is hidden inside the old castle and plans to steal it, using Gabby to distract him. Other criminals, including Dr. Panzer and strongman Igor, want to get to it first. They steal it from Nico and knock him unconscious, but end up placed under arrest. Tibor, Nico's Hungarian spy friend, steals it back, and gets shot and dies in Gabby's arms, and Gabby gives it to Stavrin, who will place the crown in a monastery, for all the people of Anatolia to see. Nico proposes, and Gabby accepts, and they get married. Nico and the king both need money, so they turn the latter's castle into a casino, where Gabby "now" works as the hat & coat check girl.
Cast[]
- Yul Brynner as Nico March
- Mitzi Gaynor as Gabby Rogers
- Noël Coward as King Pavel II
- George Coulouris as Dr. Panzer
- Michael Balfour as Oscar
- Eric Pohlmann as Mirales
- Guy Deghy as Tibor
- Lyndon Brook as Stavrin
- Alf Dean as Igor Trofim (as Man Mountain Dean)
- Lionel Murton as US Marshal
- Barry Foster as US Marshal
- Michael Balfour as Oscar
- Cec Linder as Lawyer
- Bill Nagy as Johnny Stettina
- Frederick Leister as Aide to King Pavel II
- Paul Carpenter as TV News Broadcaster
- Danny Green as Nicky Canfield
- Carol White as Sexy Teenager
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
- Surprise Package at IMDb
- Surprise Package at AllMovie
- Surprise Package at the TCM Movie Database
- Surprise Package at the American Film Institute Catalog
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- 1960 films
- English-language films
- 1960 comedy films
- 1960s heist films
- American films
- American black-and-white films
- American comedy films
- American heist films
- Films based on American novels
- Films directed by Stanley Donen
- Films set in Greece
- Films set on islands
- Films set in the Mediterranean Sea
- Films with screenplays by Harry Kurnitz
- Columbia Pictures films
- American crime comedy films
- 1960s comedy film stubs