Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round

A con man (James Coburn) stages an airport bank robbery to coincide with the arrival of the Soviet Premier.

Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round is notable chiefly as the first screen appearance of Harrison Ford (he has a single scene as a page-boy), but the movie itself is also an uber-cool crime caper in the Elmore Leonard vain that’s quite enjoyable thanks to the combination of the script by director Bernard Girard and the immense charisma of lead James Coburn.

Girard’s script is a con-job unto itself in that we never learn anything “real” about Coburn’s character, only the identities he assumes as he finances and eventually executes his heist. From the opening scene, he’s on the clock, working a prison psychologist in order to qualify for early parole. It’s a clever conceit that’s easy to screw up, but Girard and Coburn handle it well.

Further, Girard tops the whole thing off with a great ending that sets up a predictable confrontation only to pull the rug out at the last minute and, in the process, make a startling statement about risk, reward, and effort that lends the film a gravitas it wouldn’t otherwise be able to muster given its relaxed tone.

For his part, Coburn is perfect as the cool con man Eli Kotch. His smile and charm work just as well on the audience as they do on the characters he cons in the film. He’s there but he isn’t, an actor playing an actor, yet his charisma shines through. Yet, beneath that charisma there’s also a cunning, a ruthlessness, a toughness, that few actors could bring to the table. Paul Newman or Lee Marvin maybe, but Coburn is the best choice, and it shows.