The Honeymoon Machine

An interesting thing about The Honeymoon Machine is that the story has nothing to do with honeymoons.

Instead, it’s about a scheming naval officer, played by Steve McQueen, who convinces a scientist, played by Jim Hutton, to use a shipboard supercomputer to help him win at roulette in a Venice casino.

Another interesting thing about The Honeymoon Machine is that it’s premise, that roulette wheels are man-made and mechanical and therefore subject to imperfections, which can be exploited, is true. It’s unlikely playwright Lorenzo Semple Jr. or screenwriter George Wells realized it at the time, but exploiting biased roulette wheels is a recognized form of advantage play. Granted, it’s not as precise as in the movie, where the computer is able to pick the exact number that will hit on a given spin, but the principal is sound.

And as for the film, it’s not bad. McQueen shows he’s more than able to handle the light romantic comedy stuff, and carries the film well. Brigid Bazlen is charming as his love interest, and Jim Hutton is good as his buddy. Only Paula Prentiss struggles, her southern drawl and over-emoting dragging down the film’s fast-paced comedic timing. But fortunately, the film is still entertaining, thanks largely to McQueen, who really should have done more lighthearted work like this when he was younger.