THE CUTE ROOK

THE HOT ROCK (1972)
dir: Peter Yates

THE CUTE ROOK
MAD #154, October 1972
w: Stan Hart
a: Mort Drucker

John Dortmunder (Robert Redford), a character from Donald E. Westlake novels, is released from prison, but is warned he'll come back (by the warden, not another prisoner like here).

As John is leaving, a car follows him and shouts his name. It's his brother-in-law Kelp (George Segal) who's come to pick him up. John says he's through with crime, but Kelp has another job for him. They will steal a diamond from the museum and go to study the place. It's the Sahara Stone which Dr. Amusa (Moses Gunn)wants back. It is property of the United Nations now, but he feels his country is the rightful owner. The two of them meet him in a park.

It is a four-man job and if successful each man will get $25,000. Meanwhile, Stan Murch (Ron Leibman) is working in his garage and plays a record he's just bought of sounds from a race track. Later at a bar he meets Alan (Paul Sand) and the four of them agree to do the job.

After casing the museum, Kelp and John create a diversion by staging a fight in front of the guards, then beat them and steal their uniforms. Once in, they are able to get through the locks to the case containing the diamond but have trouble lifting the case and Kelp ends up getting trapped inside trying to get it. Three of them eventually escape but Alan gets caught and arrested. The next day John and Kelp see news about the theft and John is relieved he has nothing to do with it anymore. Kelp now has a new job for John, to break Alan out of prison. His lawyer (Zero Mostel) has arranged to get him out on the condition he return the stone. In the movie, it is not revealed until later that the lawyer is the father.

The Owl and the Pussycat was a previous film of George Segal which eas also pariodied by MAD.

They get Alan out of prison and now he confesses the diamond is no longer inside him, he shat it out while at the station and left it there, so now they must break into the police station. Dr. Amusa has arranged for them to get there in a helicopter and Stan claims he can fly it.

They get to the building and can't find the stone. The only person who knows where it really is is Alan's lawyer/father, who wants in on the job now. He gives them the key to where the safety deposit box at the bank where the stone is hidden, which they can't get to without his signature.

Zero Mostel was in the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof but not the movie adaptation.

They hire a hypnotist to hypnotize the guard so they can get the rock but the lawyer has made a secret deal to give the diamond to Dr. Amusa without them so now it is worthless to them.

THE HOT ROCK
Sick #91, July 1972
w: Fred Wolfe (Paul Laikin)