THE BIG STEAL
US, 1949, 71 minutes, Black and white.
Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix, Patric Knowles, Ramon Novarro.
Directed by Don Siegel.
The Big Steal is a B film of the late 40's from RKO. Robert Mitchum was at the beginning of his career - a long one in which, basically, he did not seem to change his style. Jane Greer is a very effective and strong heroine. William Bendix is once more the heavy. The film is distinguished by, Mexican location photography and a mixture of back projection and realism and quite a car chase for those times. Direction is by Don Siegel early in his career which was to reach a peak in the late 60's early 70's especially with his series of films with Clint Eastwood.
1. An entertaining thriller?
2. The conventions of the B grade genre: brief, tough, quick exposition of plot, delineation of character, interaction? The usual B grade film? Different?
3. The contribution of black and white photography? Vera Cruz locations, the Mexican highways, towns? Musical score? The special effects of the car chase?
4. How plausible was the basic plot? The background robbery and hero and villain, people arriving in Mexico, Joan and her relationship with Fisk and his double crossing? The role of the police? The chase? The violence and the capture? Sufficient for this kind of thriller?
5. Robert Mitchum’s style as hero? Tough, laconic? Initial response to him as he punched Blake and escaped. confronted Joan and Fisk? The irony that he was not villain but hero? His explanation of himself, to the police, to Joan? The interaction with Blake? The irony of the truth and Blake’s villainy? The tenseness of the situation with the Inspector General present, the various manoeuvres to get out of his clutches,, the final confrontation and violence? Halliday as a man wanting to vindicate himself - the end? The credibility of the romantic ending?
6. Joan as strong American heroine? Her relationship with Fisk and her reaction to his taking the money, going? A woman of action? Her response to Halliday with the bird, her name? Joining him especially with the chase? Her presence at the end - and the gun and the accident? The satisfactory ending?
7. The portraits of American villains, Fisk as the weak, smooth operator but coward? Blake as the crooked army man, his semblance of the truth, working by the book, covering his tracks, the confrontation with Halliday, his physical weakness, death?
8. Seton and his work in Mexico? The contrast with the Inspector General and his assistant - with his education, the English language, puzzling out Americans? Playing cat and mouse with them and winning?
9. Memorable sequences - the presentation of the car chase in 1949 film? Impact?
10. Themes of good and evil, right and wrong, justice, romance?
