An drunkard croupier named Jeff (Laurence Harvey) is enlisted by the casino Police chief , Benson (José Calvo) , and local Police Captain Zakir ( Alberto De Mendoza) to help bust an international casino crime syndicate . The international casino crime ring is planning a big score at a fixed roulette game , scheming the set-up at a casino in Beirut. Meantime , Jeff is attracted to Laura (Ann-Margret) , a singer at the casino, but she prefers the company of the leader of the thieving casino ring that's executing the twisted heist.
This is the typical European co-production shot in the sixties and it has more to do with the Euro-spy subgenre than the ordinary Italian/Spanish thriller. In fact, it has several peculiarities of Euro-spy such as several international locations, spectacular chases, fun and complex capers being planned by nasty mastermind , explosive girls and something else. The film concerning a band rips off casinos all around the world and has now set its sights on Beirut's casino by planning a twisted hold-up , it is worth seeing because it gives a wide view of the city of Beirut before the terrible civil war that totally devastated it . Earlier these events occurred, Lebanon was considered to be the Switzerland of the Middle East . Laurence Harvey gives a so-so acting as the alcoholic casino man Jeff Miller, a disconcerting croupier, whom the police enlists the help in order to nab the bad guys. Laurence Harvey was in the worst period of his fruitful career , as it was , the next and last decade of Harvey's screen life was a disappointment, with the actor relegated to less and less prestigious pictures and international co-productions that needed a "star" name. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Harvey became largely irrelevant as a player in the motion picture industry. His luck had run out. Good friend Liz Taylor, whose string of motion picture successes had also run its course, had him cast in Night Watch (1973), and he directed the last picture in which he appeared, Welcome to Arrow Beach (1973). If he had lived, he might have made the transition to director , he had earlier directed The Ceremony (1963) and finished shooting A Dandy in Aspic (1968) after the death of original director Anthony Mann. Laurence Harvey died on November 25, 1973, from stomach cancer, he was dead at age 45 . He publicly revealed that he was dismayed by being afflicted with the fatal disease, as he had always been careful with the way he ate. Sadly, his personal luck, just as capricious as his professional career, had also gone into eclipse. He's well accompanied by the always gorgeous Ann-Margret who delivers a sympathetic and charming acting , as usual . Being a Spain/Italy/German coproduction here shows up various notorious secondaries as Spanish actors : José Calvo , Alberto de Mendoza, Luis Morris , Luis Dávila , Milo Quesada as Italian : Andrea Bosic and German ones : Jan Hendriks and Camilla Horn.
Here stands out the attractive musical score by composer Luis Enrique Bacalov who subsequently , many years later , he would win an Academy Award for ¨The Postman and Pablo Neruda's soundtrack¨ and spotlights the charming songs : Take a Chance written by Luis Bacalov, Bruno Zambrini & Audrey Nohra performed by Ann-Margret and Suddenly the Rain Written by Luis Bacalov & Lilian Cachia performed by Ann-Margret. The motion picture was regularly directed by Nino Zanchin , and it has severals flaws , gaps , shortcomings and failures. This craftsman Nino Zanchin was usually a Second Unit Director or Assistant Director and occassionally directing some movies . In fact he only directed three films : Adventure in Morocco , I figli chiedono perché and this Rebus (1968) . Rating : 5/10 , mediocre . Only for the hardcore completists of Laurence Harvey and Ann-Margret filmography .
