Thief of Hearts (1984)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Douglas Day Stewart

Writer:

Douglas Day Stewart (writer)

Release Date:

24 January 1985 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

A stranger turned her desires into reality

Plot:

A woman trapped in a boring marriage begins an affair with a handsome man who seems able to read her mind...

Plot Keywords:

Diary | Adultery | Breasts | Sexual Fantasy | Sex

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Steven Bauer	...	Scott Muller
Barbara Williams	...	Mickey Davis
John Getz	...	Ray Davis
David Caruso	...	Buddy Calamara
Christine Ebersole	...	Janie Pointer
George Wendt	...	Marty Morrison
Alan North	...	Sweeney
Romy Windsor	...	Nicole
Joe Nesnow	...	Security Guard
Gordon Pulliam	...	Parking Attendant
David McElhatton	...	Himself
Annette Sinclair	...	College Girl #1
Aleana Downs	...	College Girl #2
Jane Marla Robbins	...	Reception Guest
Ray Hassett	...	Reception Guest

Runtime:

100 min | Finland:102 min (longer version) | Finland:101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:Not Rated (VHS rating) | USA:Unrated (laserdisc rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The car driven by Steven Bauer's charterer is a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When John Getz pulls up at the warehouse in his car wing mirror you can see the boom mic operator (in a green stripy shirt).

Soundtrack:

Thief of Hearts (instrumental)

Classic eighties romantic thriller

The film tells a story of a burglar who falls in love with one of his victims whilst doing her house one night. After stealing her portrait and personal memoires, he proceeds to "learn" more and more about the victim until he decides to come into personal contact. Passing himself off as a Company Director, he slowly seduces the victim and this is facilitated by her failing marriage. Inevitably, events catch up with the thief as his partner in crime goes to desperate measures to eliminate this side-distraction. I enjoyed this movie for a number of reasons but most of all, I thought it had a fantastic eighties soundtrack throughout. The story itself is not wonderfully exciting, but the fantasy of a burglar falling for one of his victims and using his psychological advantage to seduce her is quite interesting. A sense of compassion is felt for the central character as he strives to live a fantasy of his own making that slowly starts to disintegrate due to his own dark life. John Caruso puts in a disturbing and powerful performance as the drugged-crazed partner who takes matters into his own hands.