The Big Steal **** (1949, Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix, Patric Knowles, Ramon Novarro) – Classic Movie Review 2170

After 1947’s Out of the Past, Robert Mitchum partners entrancing femme fatale Jane Greer again in director Don Siegel’s commendably taut, fast-paced 1949 film noir thriller The Big Steal.

Mitchum plays an army lieutenant called Duke Halliday, accused of robbery, who relentlessly pursues the real thief, a smooth villain named Jim Fiske (Patric Knowles), across Mexico.

Fiske has stolen a vast lot of army payroll money out of Halliday’s supposedly safe custody and, while Halliday is chasing Fiske to get it back, he in turn is being pursued by menacing tough guy Captain Blake (William Bendix).  The thief’s fiancée, Joan Graham (Greer), accidentally meets Halliday in Vera Cruz and joins him in his pursuit of Fiske. Ramon Novarro plays the crafty local police Inspector General Ortega (El Gato) who is also in pursuit and is waiting for them in Tihuacan.

Atmospherically filming in Mexico City, director Don Siegel plays this taut, complex and incisive thriller at such a pace that there’s no time to question, let alone understand, the plot. It is a cordial invitation just to sit back and relish the twists and turns and the well-placed shock jolts along the way to a punchy climax.

The Mitchum-Greer team again proves a dream, and the other actors give winning turns, with Bendix outstanding. Ramon Novarro’s Mexican cop is a further asset in the film’s winning hand.

And the screenplay by Gerald Drayson Adams and Daniel Mainwaring [Geoffrey Holmes], which is based on Richard Wormser’s novel The Road to Carmichael’s, is clever and witty. So The Big Steal is a polished vintage film noir delight.

Also in the cast are Don Alvarado, John Qualen, Pascual Garcia Peña, Don Dillaway, Alphonso DuBois, Virginia Farmer, Nacho Galindo, Frank Hagney, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr, Ted Jacques, Dorothy Mitchum, Pat O’Malley, Carl Sklover, Salvador Baguez and Gregorio Acosta.

The Big Steal is directed by Don Siegel, runs 78 minutes, is made by RKO, is written by Gerald Drayson Adams and Daniel Mainwaring [Geoffrey Holmes], based on Richard Wormser’s novel The Road to Carmichael’s, is shot by Harry J Wild, is produced by Sid Rogell (executive producer) and Jack J Gross (producer), and is scored by Leigh Harline, with Art Direction by Ralph Berger and Albert S D’Agostino.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2170

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