History Film / TheHotRock

''The Hot Rock'' is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Creator/RobertRedford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E. Westlake's novel of the same name, which introduced his long-running Literature/{{Dortmunder}} character.

* TinkleInTheEye: Dortmunder is playing with his baby niece when she starts peeing on him, and his is totally lost as to how to handle this.

* ATinkleInTheEye: Dortmunder is playing with his baby niece when she starts peeing on him, and his is totally lost as to how to handle this.

* UrineTrouble: Dortmunder is playing with his baby niece when she starts peeing on him, and his is totally lost as to how to handle this.
* VillainProtagonist: The movie centres around Dortmunder and his crew of thieves who are hired to steal a diamond.

'''''The Hot Rock''''' is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Creator/RobertRedford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E. Westlake's novel of the same name, which introduced his long-running Literature/{{Dortmunder}} character.

[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The-Hot-Rock-1972-picture-MOV_53d32271_b_88.jpg]]

-> ''"How many times does it take to steal the same diamond?"''
->-- '''Tagline for the movie.'''

* FakeDeathScare

'''''The Hot Rock''''' is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Creator/RobertRedford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E. Westlake's novel of the same name, which introduced his long-running Dortmunder character.

%% * DoubleCaper: Try quadruple caper. (Of what?)

%% * EurekaMoment: "Miasmo!" (To what?)

%% * TheHeist: Again and again and again... (Explain)

%% * MacGuffinTitle: The Rock itself is obviously the MacGuffin. (Why is it a MacGuffin?)

%% * PlethoraOfMistakes: A textbook example. (Why?)

%% * StuffBlowingUp: Greenberg's speciality. (What does he blow up?)

%% * TriggerPhrase: "Afghanistan banana stand." (for who?)
%% * VillainProtagonist (who?)

* WorstAid: Deliberately, in-universe, as a distraction, and lampshaded by the guards.

$$ * VillainProtagonist (who?)

* DoubleCaper: Try quadruple caper.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Murch.

* EurekaMoment: "Miasmo!"

* TheHeist: Again and again and again...

* MacGuffinTitle: The Rock itself is obviously the MacGuffin.

* PlethoraOfMistakes: A textbook example.

* StuffBlowingUp: Greenberg's speciality.

* TriggerPhrase: "Afghanistan banana stand."
* VillainProtagonist

----

--> ''"How many times does it take to steal the same diamond?"''
-->-- '''Tagline for the movie.'''

John Dortmunder (Redford) has just been released from his latest stint in prison when he is approached by his brother-in-law, Andy Kelp (Segal), about a prospective job offer: stealing a valuable diamond that is on display in a Brooklyn museum. The stone originated from an African nation, where is was stolen by a rival country during colonial times, and has been re-stolen on multiple occasions since. After a meeting with The Backer, Dr. Amusa (Gunn), who is interested in the stone because of its significance to his people in Africa, Dortmunder reluctantly agrees to the heist, and he and Kelp are joined by driver Stan Murch (Ron Leibman) and explosives expert Allan Greenberg (Paul Sand) to pull off the job. Although the plan (and each subsequent plan) basically works, something always seems to go awry, and the quartet are forced to steal the diamond again and again. HilarityEnsues.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After being foiled multiple times, Dortmunder becomes determined to steal the diamond, no matter how impossible it seems, and despite the mounting frustration and impatience from Amusa. [[spoiler: He successfully steals it in the end, and practically ''skips'' down the street afterwards]].

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Greenberg's father, Abe]]. The gang still would have had to pull off heists number two and three [[spoiler: (breaking Greenberg out of prison and then breaking into the precinct to recover the diamond from his holding cell)]], but the fourth heist would have been unnecessary without his interference.
* StomachOfHolding: As mentioned under EatTheEvidence, Greenburg swallows the diamond before being caught by the guards. During a brief stint in a city jail, it passes through his system and he stows it in his cell (unfortunately, not the same cell that they break him out of, which leads to heist number three).

* WorstAid: Deliberately, in-universe, as a distraction.

John Dortmunder (Redford) has just been released from his latest stint in prison when he is approached by his brother-in-law, Andy Kelp (Segal), about a prospective job offer: stealing a valuable diamond that is on display in a Brooklyn museum. The stone originated from an African nation, where is was originally stolen by a rival country during colonial times, and has been re-stolen on multiple occasions since. After a meeting with The Backer, Dr. Amusa (Gunn), who is interested in the stone because of its significance to his people in Africa, Dortmunder reluctantly agrees to the heist, and he and Kelp are joined by driver Stan Murch (Ron Leibman) and explosives expert Allan Greenberg (Paul Sand) to pull off the job. Although the plan (and each subsequent plan) basically works, something always seems to go awry, and the quartet are forced to steal the diamond again and again. HilarityEnsues.

* CrimeAfterCrime: "I've heard of the habitual criminal, of course. But I never dreamed I'd become involved with the habitual CRIME."
* DoubleCaper

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After being foiled multiple times, Dortmunder becomes determined to steal the diamond, no matter how impossible it seems, and despite the mounting frustration and impatience from Amusa. [[spoiler: He successfully steals it in the end]].

* TheHeist: Times four.

After Dortmunder (Redford) is released from his latest stint in prison, he is approached by his brother-in-law, Andy Kelp (Segal), about another job. Dr. Amusa (Gunn) seeks a valuable gem in a Brooklyn museum that is of great significance to his people in his country in Africa, stolen during colonial times and then re-stolen by various African nations on multiple occasions since. Kelp and Dortmunder are joined by driver Stan Murch (Ron Leibman) and explosives expert Allan Greenberg (Paul Sand) and concoct an elaborate plan for stealing the gem from a museum in Brooklyn. Although the plan (and each subsequent plan) basically works, something always seems to go awry, and the quartet has to steal the diamond again and again.

First off, the diamond is eaten by Greenberg when he alone gets caught by the police during the initial heist. After Greenberg tells his partners where he hid the rock in the police precinct jail (after bodily disposing it), the quartet attempt another heist on the precinct. Although the plan works, the rock is nowhere to be found. It is later discovered that Greenberg's father Abe (Zero Mostel), a dishonest lawyer who bailed his son out of jail, was the only other person who knew where it was.

Despite the problems in getting the diamond, Dortmunder is determined to break what he calls the curse of the diamond.

* TheHeist

* MineralMacGuffin: The diamond. It reaches the point that the monetary value of the diamond is forgotten, and Dortmunder believes that the stone is cursed and his life will never run smoothly till he manages to successfully steal it.

* OpenSesame: At the end of the movie, Dortmunder finally gets the sought-after diamond after a bank guard was given a hypnotic suggestion. He casually utters the key words "Afghanistan banana stand" to the guard - there's some tension as the guard doesn't ''act'' hypnotized, but he does follow instructions and hands over the diamond.
* PlethoraOfMistakes: a textbook example.
* ASimplePlan
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Greenberg's father, Abe]]. The gang still would have had to pull off heists number two and three, but the fourth heist would have been unnecessary without his interference.
* StomachOfHolding: As mentioned under EatTheEvidence, Greenburg swallows the diamond before being caught by the guards. During a brief stint in a city jail, it passes through his system and he stows it in the cell.
-->'''Dr. Amusa''': Couldn't you have just...kept ''swallowing'' it?
-->'''Greenberg''': [queasily]...no.

* EatTheEvidence: Greenberg swallows the diamond at the museum.

* StomachOfHolding: During the gang's attempt to rob the diamond for their client Dr. Amusa, member Greenberg swallows it before he's caught by the guards. During a brief stint in a city jail, it passes through his system and he stows it in the cell, now out of their reach.

* TriggerPhrase: "Afghanistan banana stand"

----

* MineralMacGuffin

* MineralMcGuffin

* MacGuffinTitle: The Rock itself is obviously the MacGuffin.

'''''The Hot Rock''''' is a 1972 comic caper film written by William Goldman and directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Redford, George Segal and Moses Gunn. The film was based upon Donald E. Westlake's novel of the same name, which introduced his long-running Dortmunder character.