Ace Up My Sleeve

A Bizarre Story Of One Man's Corruption And One Woman's Desire... Desire and corruption are the chief ingredients of "ACE UP MY SLEEVE", directed by the brilliant Czech film-maker Ivan Passer, with a star-studded cast headlined by OMAR SHARIF, KAREN BLACK and JOSEPH BOTTOMS. The story is set against the fascinating background of international high finance, where director Passer has drawn freely his inspiration from the works of James Hadley Chase. Its leading character is a Bluebeard - a millionaire and impotent - who has brought a modern Rastignac to the brink of ruin. Intrigue, psychology and elemental logic are each cleverly interwoven into the plot which has all the trimmings of a black romance. It is a frenzied world where power, money, lust and voyeurism are intermingled with nightmares to become adult fairy tales. A modern parable full of surprise twists, the screenplay was written by Jesse Lasky, Jnr. and Pat Silver. Director Passer, who began his film career as a writer before turning to director, has ensured that the adult story is kept constantly at boiling point to captivate his audience from first to last. For the climax, he has again earned his reputation as a first-class cinematic storyteller by preserving one final ace up his sleeve...