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Post by petrolino on Mar 31, 2018 21:03:53 GMT
The crime movie 'The Big Steal' is based on 'The Road To Carmichael's' (1942) by Richard Wormser, a story published in 'The Saturday Evening Post'. U.S. Army Lieutenant Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is robbed of a $300,000 payroll by Jim Fiske (Patric Knowles). Captain Vincent Blake (William Bendix) suspects Halliday of the crime so he follows Fiske to Mexico in order to arrest him and retrieve the money. With Blake on his tail, Halliday makes a desperation ploy and drags Joan Graham (Jane Greer) with him, Fiske's fiancee who's $2,000 out of pocket. In Mexico, Inspector General Ortega (Ramon Novarro) tries to keep tabs on all of them. Jane Greer & Robert Mitchum
'The Big Steal' is a relaxing crime programmer from genre specialist Don Siegel who explores his locations with typical fervour. Part of the fun is how Mexican citizens aid and abet Joan while hampering the police investigations. There's cases of mistaken identity and identity theft to tease out the running time but it's a slight mystery reliant on comedy, romance and action. RKO studio head Howard Hughes insisted upon Jane Greer's casting and she has plenty of fun on the road with Robert Mitchum. Check it out! |
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Post by wmcclain on Mar 31, 2018 21:21:36 GMT
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Post by petrolino on Mar 31, 2018 22:07:01 GMT
"It's funnier than many of these crime pictures, with plenty of snappy patter between the leads. The Hayes Office required a drastic reduction of sex and violence in the original screenplay, so they upped the comedy to compensate."I read that Howard Hughes expressed happiness in private with Jane Greer's shower scene but I'm not sure if there's any truth to that.
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Post by teleadm on Mar 31, 2018 23:32:00 GMT
Haven't seen this movie, but was curious about if there is other novels and stories that has been made into movies of Richard Wormser's work.  Richard Wormser (1908 - 1977)  1936, based on story "It's All in the Racket".  1937, based on novel "The Stones Cry Out"  1949, "suggested by a story by" Wormser  1962, uncredited based on his novel.  French TV movie 1989, based on Wormser novel. |
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Post by petrolino on Mar 31, 2018 23:36:05 GMT
Haven't seen this movie, but was curious about if there is other novels and stories that has been made into movies of Richard Wormser's work. 1937, based on novel "The Stones Cry Out" 1949, "suggested by a story by" Wormser Some of those titles look intriguing. I posted about Stuart Heisler's 'Tulsa' here a few weeks back. |
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Post by pimpinainteasy on Apr 1, 2018 6:07:24 GMT
Dear Don Siegel,
I decided to check out some of your earlier work since I am a big fan of some of the films which you made in the 60s and 70s. So I got The Big Steal (1949) and The Lineup (1958). I watched The Big Steal a couple of days ago. I did not adore it but it did have its moments.
The film is about an army man (Robert Mitchum) who is accused of stealing money. While trying to hunt down the real thief in Mexico, the army man meets and falls in loves with the thief's fiancé (Jane Greer) while also being chased by another man. The film was made a couple of years after Mitchum and Greer united in Out of the Past (1947).
Unlike the tragic Out of the Past, The Big Steal is a fun film that offers some beautiful visuals of and car chases set in the Mexican countryside. Mitchum looks young and cool while Greer is rather matronly. For me, it was mainly a film of place more than anything else. The arid and slightly run down Mexican countryside and the beautiful hotels distracted my attention away from the repetitive cat and mouse games between the four characters and their interactions with amused Mexican police officials. You did not experiment much with the film's look or editing. We are mostly treated to static camera angles while fast cuts are used frugally. The film does not overstay its welcome and ends at 71 minutes.
I discovered some interesting trivia on IMDb - Originally, Lizabeth Scott had agreed to play the female lead. However, she bowed out after Mitchum was convicted for smoking marijuana, afraid it would hurt her career.
Best Regards,
Pimpin.
(6/10)
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