The chances were never high that there was much of a film to be made out of this Harold Robbins novel, and no one has brought off any miracles. Robbins' books simply don't lend themselves to great movies even if, with its expletives and nudity deleted, this glossy saga of wheeling and double-dealing in the American motor industry would fit snugly into the mini-series format. The result is a poorly-acted, faceless film full of people about whose destinies you are hardly likely to care. The dialogue is stuffed with lines that will set you chortling. Take your pick from: 'Better take this before you have another stroke', 'I'm supposed to be in the Bronze Age and I'm here in Detroit', 'I knew it would be like this' or 'Perhaps we could meet at your convenience'. On the credit side are John Barry's cultured music, Technicolor photography which harks back to the early Forties in splendour, and one decent performance - by Jane Alexander as Robert Duvall's deceived wife. Not for the first time, or the last, this four-time Oscar nominee gives the rest of the cast a cool-headed acting lesson. Boy actor Paul Rudd is now an adult star.


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