Lee Eisenberg I knew nothing about "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" when I started watching it. The title made me assume that it was about the hippie movement in the California college (until I saw the cover). It turned out to be pretty interesting, with Richard Jordan playing a man who gets out of jail and hopes to go straight but is recruited by a crime syndicate to abet their planned robbery. The story of an ex-con who has to go back to a life of crime has gotten overused throughout the years, but this is still a pretty fun movie. And not just because of a certain shot of Elke Sommer! As with just about every heist-themed movie ("Topkapi" was the best ever), the heist itself is the coolest scene. It times everything perfectly, and then has a neat little surprise at the end. I certainly enjoyed it. Also starring are David Niven, Oliver Tobias, Gloria Grahame, Hugh Griffith (in his final role) and early appearances of John Rhys-Davies (Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies and Gimli in the "Lord of the Rings" movies) and Alfred Molina (the mayor in "Chocolat" and Doc Ock in "Spider-Man 2"). Cowboy indeed! (but what guy wouldn't be in Elke Sommer's presence?)

intelearts Just ingenious enough to be plausible and still a lot of fun, this is a pure slice of the 1970s (Even the cops need haircuts badly!). Shot in and around London, the plot of the American ex-con who tries going straight but finds himself sent as an electrician to a bank in Mayfair, and then has the screws put on by crime lord David Niven, and finds himself plotting the crime of the century is well-handled.I liked its simplicity and even innocence, it harks back to a time when caper films where just that, a caper, and violence wasn't a part of the deal.All in all you could do a lot worse than watch this: it has enough twists and turns to give it some oomph and a cast that obviously had fun making it.Nicely made and watchable.

DJJOEINC A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square - 1979 heist flick set in the United Kingdom.It is an engaging story of Pinky Jordan as a parole who manages to scam a bank job as an electrician.Things are going well - until he gets cornered by David Niven and his mob- who want to use Pinky's access to the bank and vault to stage a robbery.The movie is hampered by a goofy and at times ridiculous score(think Benny Hill theme meets lounge disco).This Geneon DVD release has no extras and is a decent transfer.The cast also includes Gloria Grahame,Elke Sommer,Jonathan Rhys Davies and featuring Richard Jordan as Pinky Jordan.Decent on location filming and a decent script make this a decent rental for fans of caper flicks. C+

duke-verity Delightful! It never pretends to be a masterpiece, but it's a mini-gem of late-Seventies British comedy. Given that the producers wanted to sell it abroad, it stars an American (the late character actor Richard Jordan), but at least he isn't the usual dull Hollywood hunk type. Surrounding him is the cream of British character acting talent, led by a wonderfully waspish and superior David Niven.Niven's Ivan the Terrible naturally gets the best one liners and all the best reaction shots. He also manages to be surprisingly menacing and intimidatingly dangerous. The moment in the snooker club when he drops the charming facade and threatens Richard Jordan will come as a shock to those viewers who think of Niven as being only a light drawing-room comedy star. He is filled with genuine power and ruthlessness as we see all at once how Ivan earned his nickname. All the more surprising given how ill Niven was at the time. Shortly after filming this production he lost his powers of speech to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (known as Lou Gehrig's disease). This is the last picture Niven made where you can hear his own voice, being dubbed thereafter by the comic impressionist Sid Little.Alongside him you can spot numerous familiar faces from Seventies cinema and television. Elke Sommer (flashing her breasts in true Seventies era politically incorrect bimbo mode), Oliver Tobias, Michael Angelis, Brian Croucher, Richard Johnson, John Rhys-Davies, Davy Kaye etc, etc. Davy Kaye gets one of the biggest laughs as he holds up a security guard caught making a phone call to the old UK analogue vinyl telephone music service Dial-A-Disc. "Who you ringing?!....Bloody Dial-A-Disc! You gormless git!" Great shots of London street locations; making the film a period patina time capsule of red phone boxes with chunky round-dial manual handsets, black cabs driven by "Cor blimey, gov!" cockneys, and ladies and gents modelling all manner of deeply dodgy late-Seventies retro leisure-wear and hair styles. Highly entertaining, quaintly dated in its fashions and attitudes, and the stuff of late night cult viewing. Perfect to watch at midnight after the pubs have shut; if you're of a certain age, are feeling a touch nostalgic; and have always wanted to see David Niven swanning about inside a branch of McDonalds, silently intimidating an American via the deployment of a retractable telescope!