Making Merry

I don't even know how Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round got to the top of our queue. We had a "Long Wait" DVD on the queue (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), because we were out of town and had a long time to wait. But that's not how Netflix works. They just skipped The Man and delivered the next DVD on the list, Dead Heat.

Now, I am obsessive about my Netflix queue, but only for the next few deliveries. Past positions 1-3, there are mostly films I've passed over many times, or films I want to get to, but not just yet. I will be more careful if there is a "Long Wait" or even a "Short Wait" - make sure that 4-6 are films I would like to see this weekend as well.

So, Dead Heat: A caper film from 1966 starring James Coburn as a slick conman planning a big heist. His modus involves seducing housemaids and copying the keys of their wealthy employers. But that's just to get the money for the plans to the alarm for the bank... And so on. A visit by the Soviet Prime Minister supplies a diversion and some topical interest.

The plot is cheerfully unlikely, there are plenty of funny scenes, and it's fun to watch Coburn slay the ladies. But that's about as far as it goes. This is nowhere near as funny as the Flint movies, for ex - more Matt Helm territory.

So, not a total waste of time, and not just of historical interest. But I should have been watching my queue more carefully.