The Anderson Tapes

PG

1971

1 hr. 38 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

76%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

John "Duke" Anderson is a burglar (Sean Connery) recently released from prison who returns to his ex-girlfriend (Dyan Cannon) after 10 years to find her living in an expensive New York apartment building as the mistress of a wealthy man. Having learned nothing behind bars, Duke plots to rob every tenant in the building in a single grab, and works quickly to hire his team of thieves. What the gang doesn't realize is that the building is under heavy surveillance from various agencies.

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isla s

This is very much a dated film. Its amusing in terms of seeing what I assume cutting edge technology was perceived as, at the time the film was made - there's lots of tapes, cassette tapes and loud beeping noises, esp. at the start of the film. Connery does pretty well in his role and there are some fairly exciting/entertaining moments but it did feel rather dull otherwise. I suppose you could argue that it highlights the surveillance of people without them knowing but with the main character being an ex-con, its hardly as if I feel entirely sorry for him and he's shown to be a bit of a womaniser, which doesn't exactly appeal to me either, shall we say. Its not an especially memorable film to me but its nostalgic and ok in general I suppose. I wouldn't recommend it as such, no.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A few days out of jail and John "Duke" Anderson (Sean Connery) is back with his lover Ingrid (Dyan Cannon) and already planning his next job: robbing every single apartment in her building with the help of a furniture van. To do the job right, he needs the right crew. So he gathers a team that includes antiques dealer Haskins (Martin Balsam), the safecracker known as The Kid (an incredibly young Christopher Walken) and Pop (Stan Gottlieb), an old-timer who is finally out of jail. However, Angelo (Alan King), the mob boss who funds this operation, forces him to bring along — and kill — "Socks" Parelli (Val Avery) as part of the job, making things even more complicated. This movie has a great cast, with Conrad Bain, Garrett Morris, Ralph Meeker*, Scott Jacoby and Margaret Hamilton in her last role. It's beyond prophetic in how overly watched we would be, as every step of the crew is watched, listened to and recorded by a number of government agencies, as well as a team of amateur radio operators. It was released one year to the day before Watergate, which announced just how watched we all are. Based on the book by Lawrence Sanders, the screenplay was written by Frank Pierso (Cool Hand Luke, Dog Day Afternoon) and diected by Sidney Lumet (Network, Serpico). It brought back Connery's career and stopped his typecasting as James Bond. *Meeker plays Edward X. Delaney, a continuing character of Sanders, who would be played by Frank Sinatra in The First Deadly Sin.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

jelisije j

A surprisingly good movie about how the government uses surveillance against the public when Sean Connery is trying to pull the last heist he will ever do.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

jon c

This is the first film to actually deal with the pervasiveness of surveillance technology from security cameras in public and hidden recording devices and Christopher Walken's film debut Based on the book by Lawrence Sanders The late Sean Connery is John "Duke" Anderson, a burglar recently released from prison who returns to his ex-girlfriend, Dyan Cannon's Ingrid after 10 years only to find her living in an expensive New York apartment building as the mistress of a wealthy man Duke plots to rob every tenant in the building in a single grab, and works quickly to hire his team of thieves But little do they know is that the building is under heavy surveillance from various agencies They could be caught at any moment pulling off this job Flashbacks show what's on the recordings getting the feedback from witnesses and the agents assigned to Duke and his crew It's a shame the actual heist doesn't happen until 57 min in I admit there's quite the surprise of the goods these guys find during the robbery And the last 10 minutes is quite the adrenaline rush A more muffled thriller until the very end Still it's all about technical government intrusion and echoes much of the Richard Nixon-era Even with a crime taking place no one can be traced back without being backed into a corner compromising everything

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

delysid d

sean connery is one of the greatest

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/20

Full Review

Audience Member

Despite Lumet's tight direction, whatever point the movie is trying to make about the pervasiveness of surveillance technologies gets lost because all those cameras and microphones matter not a lick within the narrative.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Sidney Lumet

Director

Sean Connery

Duke Anderson

Dyan Cannon

Ingrid

Martin Balsam

Haskins

Ralph Meeker

Police Captain "Iron Balls" Delaney

Alan King

Pat Angelo

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Stefan Kanfer

TIME Magazine

Unfortunately, failed comedy and vigorous suspense are handcuffed together for the entire trip.

Feb 8, 2018

Full Review

Rob Fraser

Empire Magazine

Carries the unfortunate burden of echoing other, better films.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 15, 2017

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Scripter Frank Pierson with director Sidney Lumet has injected broadly comic aspects and the laughs work without reducing suspense.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Holds up quite well.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 25, 2023

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The film’s examination of a nation in which no one is allowed any privacy and any action may be captured on film or tape remains relevant.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 31, 2023

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Although one of Sidney Lumet's minor efforts, "The Anderson Tapes" functions as a cool retro caper movie full of nostalgic details. The film's car chase climax is no joke.

Rated: B-

Oct 2, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

John "Duke" Anderson is a burglar (Sean Connery) recently released from prison who returns to his ex-girlfriend (Dyan Cannon) after 10 years to find her living in an expensive New York apartment building as the mistress of a wealthy man. Having learned nothing behind bars, Duke plots to rob every tenant in the building in a single grab, and works quickly to hire his team of thieves. What the gang doesn't realize is that the building is under heavy surveillance from various agencies.

Director: Sidney Lumet
Production Co: Columbia
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012

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