October 11, 1998 -- "The Spanish Prisoner" was the most recent film in the Cheyenne Cinema Club's art film series. Click on the link below for information about the rest of the series, which continues through December 9 on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Cheyenne.

"The Spanish Prisoner," is a film about a con game. The name refers to the name of a classic con game mentioned in the movie. This film, however, is not about that particular con, but another, unnamed one that becomes deadly.

Steve Martin is the only recognizable star in this film and he plays a very low-key character, the opposite of his usual type of performance. Martin plays a mysterious businessman named Jimmy Dell who befriends another businessman, Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) while he is on a business trip.

Ross has just developed a complex mathematical formula called "The Process," which will make billions of dollars for the company he works for. Ross feels he should be better compensated for the process. Dell plays on Ross' greed and dissatisfaction, persuading him to bring the secret formula to a meeting place so that a lawyer can determine if Ross has any sort of copyright interest in the process.

Ross smells a rat and gets the FBI involved in the case. The con men are too clever for him, however. They manage to steal the process and to frame Ross for murder at the same time. He finds himself on the run trying to prove his innocence. The ending of the film is very clever indeed.

My only problem with the film is the setup. The characters are all so low-key and colorless, their dialogue is so flat and artificial-sounding, and the sting takes so long to develop, the first reel or two just about put me to sleep. But it does get going eventually and then it gets interesting as the mark, Ross, really starts squirming on the hook.

Little things bothered me. I couldn't believe that Ross would be foolish enough to bring a real document, worth billions, to a meeting when he knew he was dealing with con men and a fake would have worked as well. Another character who befriends Ross is trying way too hard to do so, which should have been obvious to a man with heightened suspicions.

Those, and a few other loose ends bothered me. It was pretty obvious this type of sting operation would only work exactly this way in the movies. It was interesting enough, however, to get me caught up in the drama of Ross' plight. It also gave me new appreciation for Alfred Hitchcock, who used to do this sort of movie much better than this. This film rates a C+.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.