In The Spanish Prisoner, Joe Ross, Campbell Scott, is pretty confused. He`s succeeded in inventing something - never specified - for his company, but, despite the promises of his boss, Klein, Ben Gazzara, he`s not sure he`s going to be adequately recompensed. At least that`s what his wealthy new friend, Jimmy Dell, Steve Martin, assures him. But is Dell what he seems? Joe meets him on a Caribbean island and does him a favour - in return, Dell promises to introduce Joe to his sister, who it seems is both rich and beautiful, and Joe`s intrigued. And then there`s Susan, Rebecca Pidgeon, who works in Joe`s office and seems to be very keen on him. But are these people really interested in Joe, or in his invention?...David Mamet has come up with a very amusing, very tricky, somewhat convoluted tale of a young man who finds himself enmeshed in increasingly bizarre situations in this crisply made comedy-thriller. It`s one of those movies which is consistently entertaining while you`re watching it, but which doesn`t stand up to very much analysis when you think about it later. Still, Mamet, and his outstanding cast, are excellent value, with Campbell Scott very fine as the bemused Joe and Steve Martin providing plenty of charisma as the charming but somewhat sinister Dell.
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