Ahhhh, the Chess Scene in "The Thomas Crown Affair"

From Variety 100's "Just for Variety"
1967: Duo set for 'Crown' By ARMY ARCHERD, Thurs., Feb. 7, 2008, 12:16pm PT

-->Sept. 14, 1967
GOOD MORNING: Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway were showered and sauna'd yesterday in a semi-nude scene by Norman Jewison on "The Crown Caper" set. The nervous stars were calmed by the director with "You only have to worry with what the camera sees." ... The stage was, of course, closed - "to everyone except me," noted Harold Mirisch ... A sexier scene, claims Jewison, was lensed earlier -- a chess game between McQueen and Miss D., latter in a sheer gown sans bra. Yes, this film is a change of pace for McQueen. Chess? ...

(2008 Update: "Everyone still talks about that scene," Jewison tells me today. "I got away with murder!" The well-reviewed film was released under the title of "The Thomas Crown Affair" and included the Oscar-winning tune, "The Windmills of Your Mind" by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Alan tells me, "Norman asked us to write a song to underline the anxiety of Steve McQueen in his glider. And Michel wrote music reflecting the windmills of your mind." The songwriters are re-teaming for a B'way musical based on Paul Gallico's "The Man Who Was Magic." ... And Jewison is teaming again with screenwriter John Patrick Stanley on an adaptation of "Bread and Tulips" to be titled "The Accordion" which will film in New Orleans once the financing is completed. (That's why he's in town.) Jewison and Stanley also teamed on "Moonstruck" for which Cher and Stanley won Oscars. Jewison, 81, recently completed "The Statement" with screenwriter Ron Harwood who is Oscar-nominated this year for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" screenplay. On Monday, Jewison presented Harwood with a "Movies For Grownups" award from AARP at the Hotel Bel-Air gala.)