Rough Cut is a 1980 American heist film written by Larry Gelbart,[3] directed by Don Siegel, and starring Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down and David Niven. It was based on the novel Touch the Lion's Paw (1975) by Derek Lambert.

Plot

Jack Rhodes, a rich American living in London, attends a party and meets Gillian Bromley, an attractive woman who is also a thief. Rhodes observes Gillian stealing diamond jewelry from the house and later discovers Gillian hiding in his apartment. The two are attracted to one another and slowly begin a romantic relationship. Gillian confesses that she steals for the thrill, and also displays her skills at high speed driving.

Gillian is being coerced by Chief Inspector Willis, a veteran Scotland Yard detective who knows Jack is really a diamond thief and is determined to catch him before his impending retirement. Willis uses Gillian to feed Jack information regarding a shipment of uncut diamonds from London to Antwerp in order to bait Jack into stealing them so that he can capture him in the act. Jack however sees through Gillian's story regarding her source of information and exposes her, after which she tells Jack all about Willis and his plan to capture him.

Despite knowing about the setup, Jack recruits a team to help him steal the diamonds. He dislikes his initial choice of getaway driver, a mercenary living in Amsterdam, and recruits Gillian as replacement. On the eve of the robbery Jack confesses his love for Gillian. The robbery goes ahead as planned, Jack's team divert the private jet carrying the diamonds to Amsterdam, where he and Gillian intercept the shipment and escape following a high speed car chase. Meanwhile, Willis, who had travelled to Antwerp, discovers that a duplicate plane flown by Jack's team has delivered a package of worthless quartz and retires in disgrace.

Jack and Gillian are celebrating aboard a yacht when he reveals that the diamonds that they stole from Amsterdam were also quartz, switched for the real diamonds by Willis, who then joins them to negotiate the sale of the diamonds to Jack. Jack reveals that he and Willis had been working together all along, using Gillian as intermediary.