THE SILENT PARTNER (1978)

Miles Cullen (Elliott Gould), a seemingly nerdy clerk in a Toronto bank, has his Inner Crook awakened when he spots Reikle (Christopher Plummer), a department store Santa, casing the bank when big depositors come in. Cullen stashes $50k in his lunchbox and, when Reikle pulls off the heist, he turns over a few hundred bucks from the drawer, and tells the cops that the "Santa" made off with the $50k. Reikle knows Cullen tricked him, and comes after him, but soon discovers that Cullen is a lot more clever than he seems.

This is not a great heist movie, but the cat-and-mouse machinations are entertaining. Plummer, a talented and versatile actor, is good as the sadistic Reikle. Gould, who is neither, is adequate as Cullen. The best performance is by Susannah York as Cullen's sometimes romantic interest.