Directed by Don Siegel; produced Jack J Gross
A U.S. Army officer (Robert Mitchum) is a fugitive in Mexico, chasing down the robber (Patric Knowles) who stole his payroll. The officer, however, is being blamed for the theft himself and is, in turn, being pursued by his superior (William Bendix). Tied up in the farrago is the real criminal’s fiancée (Jane Greer), while watching it all with great interest is the canny local police chief (Ramon Novarro).
A light-hearted caper film with romance and fisticuffs, The Big Steal has a couple of highly capable actors in the lead roles, a famous director near the beginning of his career, and benefits greatly from location filming. Otherwise, however, it is a rather lacklustre effort.
As good as Mitchum and Greer are, they don’t have chemistry together. They act their parts very well, but I never thought their characters would have more than a passing attraction for one another. Former silent-movie heart-throb Novarro is entertaining as the police inspector-general who is learning English; he has much less to learn when it comes to catching crooks. Bendix is effectively menacing as the beefy army captain on Mitchum’s trail.
The story is rather bland and straightforward; though there is a twist in the climax, it will likely come as little surprise to viewers. The script tries hard for repartée between Greer and Mitchum, but they were never destined to be a new William Powell and Myrna Loy. Their dialogue is, for the most part, what anyone could come up with in similar circumstances. The dichotomy of including violence with comedy is not jarring but is, at times, unrealistic. Bendix is willing to shoot at a moving car containing what he must think is an innocent woman, but when a flock of sheep bars his path, instead of driving through them, he is stymied. He didn’t strike me as that sort.
The direction is good but not outstanding; a motor chase is handled well, but, for the most part, Siegel’s better days were yet to come. An interesting sidelight is the depiction of Americans and their behaviour in Mexico: they are mainly impatient and annoyed at the natives, for their tardiness, their legality and their language. Though there are a couple of Mexicans implied to be thieves, the people of the country come across as much the more likeable nationality.
While The Big Steal may be an adequate time-filler, there are better caper films, funnier comic adventure flicks, and more involving light-romance pictures. I’d track down some of them in preference.
The story behind the casting sounds more entertaining than the film. George Raft had originally been signed to play the lead, but after Mitchum was arrested for marijuana possession, studio head Howard Hughes thought the notoriety would be good publicity for the film, so he replaced Raft with Mitchum. However, Lizabeth Scott, who was to play the female lead, didn't want any part of the controversy, so she dropped out. Hughes didn't want to use Jane Greer (he had a grudge against her and was trying to ruin her career,) but he finally had to hire her when he couldn't find any other actress willing to star with Mitchum.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely more interesting. Scott may not have had the light touch that Greer did at least manage to bring to the film. She and Raft would have made an interesting pairing, though perhaps not for this movie.
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