Stay away from this movie
- The Big Steal review by TM
First of all, this movie is colorised, and Cinema Paradiso has no warning about this.
Second, the movie would be bad even in the original black and white. There is pretense of suspense buildup, pretense of romance, pretence of everything.
Third, the movie, because of its lack of anything more substantial, relies very heavily on the local Mexican folklore which is caricatured in very bad taste.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Robert Mitchum plays Robert Mitchum
- The Big Steal review by RhysH
Not so much a film noir as a road movie with fights. Some great dialogue between Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer in which her character (Jan) is given as many cutting lines as his (Duke). She also handles a car at speed as well as him, much to Duke's male chagrin.
William Bendix gives some great Bendix scowls that just stay clear of the comic.
The Mexican setting is good to look at but the Mexican characters are rather stereotyped. If you are an American detective all you have to do is shout at everybody and they are bound to understand!
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Road Chase
- The Big Steal review by NO
Why did they colour it?As a film noir it should have stayed B&W.No scenery so colour does doesnt add anything.THis is basically a road film,no real plot,simple story but that said I enjoyed it mainly due to the interplay banter between Mitchum & Greer.Mitchum had just come out of Jail but the Mexicans kept offering him marijuana! Noway as good as their previous liason (Out of the past) but worth watching.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Action Comedy.
- The Big Steal review by Steve
High concept action comedy which really is about watching a variety of (now) classic automobiles driving south through Mexico while the actors bounce smart-ass one liners off each other. Aside from being shot in B&W it could have been released last week. Except we have the pleasure of watching Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum deliver the wisecracks...
This wasn't greenlit to reunite the stars of classic noir Out of the Past (1947). Mitch was just out of jail for drug offences and a few Hollywood leading ladies backed out. Greer took the role and they make a wholly relishable double act as they chase a bundle of MacGuffin down the coastal highway. Pursued by William Bendix. In a '46 Buick.
It's just a car chase, with a nice twist at the climax. The action is well staged, though admittedly rudimentary compared with modern stunts. It's the laconic wit that drives the narrative, and the sassy rapport of the two stars. This was co-scripted by Daniel Mainwaring who wrote their previous vehicle. Nothing really matters, but they have chemistry to burn.
Some may find the picture of Mexico as a sleepy backwater a bit problematic, but the Chief of Police (Ramón Novarro) is a sharp operator, behind his ingratiating facade. Unfortunately, TCM went to the trouble of colourising the print, which is currently the only version available in the UK. Just so I have to turn down the colour to see it in its original specification...
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Colourised!
- The Big Steal review by PN
Didn’t watch it, turned it off as soon as I saw it was colourised. Why would anyone do that to any film, let alone a film noir?
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.