After the Fox (1966)

Three and One Half Stars

The sheer level of talent behind After the Fox (1966) would be grounds alone to recommend the film. Vitorrio De Sica directing Peter Sellers with a script by Neil Simon and Cesare Zavattini and music by Burt Bacharach! Peter Sellers gives a characteristically excellent performance as an Italian thief (Aldo Vanucci/The Fox) who convinces an entire town to help him intercept stolen gold by pretending he is a great director and it’s all part of his latest film. It’s an unlikely collaboration and the results aren’t entirely even but After the Fox is wonderfully funny in parts and is an effective satire of both European art films and celebrity.

When a shipment of gold is stolen in Cairo, the thief behind it (Akim Tamiroff) reaches out to a criminal cunning enough to smuggle the goods into Europe—the currently incarcerated Aldo Vanucci. Vanucci is not only capable but is so confident in his abilities he declares his intent to escape prison publicly before doing so. Vanucci’s motivation isn’t strictly the money, but also concern for his sister Gina (played by Sellers’ wife at the time, Britt Ekland) and desire to be a better example for her. “If only I could steal enough to be an honest man!”

The seed for Vanucci’s plan is planted when he sees his star-obsessed sister and the rest of the town go wild for aging actor Tony Powell—played in a delightful bit of self-satire by Victor Mature. Vanucci sets about impersonating a film director so he can leverage both the vanity of Powell and the movie-mania of the public to shield his operation. He adopts the persona of film director, Federico Fabrizi, and his cronies become his crew for the new film The Gold of Cairo.

Fabrizi and company steal the film equipment from a set (featuring director De Sica), talk their way past Powell’s skeptical agent (a pitch perfect Martin Balsam), and manage to get a seaside town’s total cooperation by offering them roles in the “film.” The overall feel is madcap but there are genuinely hilarious moments throughout. Simon and Zavattini deliver some fantastic barbs in the script like when Powell asks his agent what Neo-Realism is and Balsam responds dryly “No money.” Fabrizi/Vanucci’s crew are mostly silly in their performance, but De Sica also stages them doing some surreal physical gags in the background action—improbably bounding up buildings and hurling film equipment as if it were weightless. 

The climax of After the Fox—which truly is a must-see—takes place during the trial where the entire town appears to have been brought in as accomplices. The actual “film” they’ve been making is shown as part of the testimony and it’s a clear send-up of French and Italian art cinema. While most of the audience can’t believe what they’ve seen, a film critic must be forcibly removed from the courtroom while he heralds the mess as a masterpiece.

After the Fox is neither absolute mess or masterpiece, but it contains sincere wit and the superb cast is charming. It may not live up to its promise on paper but it’s very worthwhile for fans of caper comedies, 60s pictures, or movies about movies.

After the Fox is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber. It’s a pretty basic disc, but it looks and sounds good. The limited extras include the original theatrical trailer and the Trailers from Hell version featuring screenwriter Larry Karaszewski. I’d highly recommend watching the TFH video online as Karaszewski’s enthusiasm for the film nudged me towards obtaining a copy.