The Big Steal (1949)
Director: Don Siegel
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Reuniting the team of Mitchum, Greer and ace-scriptwriter Daniel Mainwaring after the classic noir-romance Out of the Past, this takes a typical thriller situation (for that matter, a common Siegel motif: society's outsider up against authority) and turns it into a fast-moving, witty parody. Mitchum is the GI framed for a payroll robbery, on the run from dumb officer Bendix, falling in love with the delectable Greer, and in pursuit of the real culprit. Dialogue sparkles, the Mexican locations are atmospherically shot by Harry Wild, and Siegel handles the action with characteristic pace and vigour. The numerous plot twists are in themselves an exhilaratingly tongue-in-cheek exaggeration of noir conventions, while remaining central to the excitement of the film. Vigorous, playful stuff.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Don Siegel
Producer: Jack J Gross
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix, Ramon Novarro, Patric Knowles, John Qualen full cast
Genre(s): Film Noir
Duration: 71 mins
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