The Big Steal (1949)

The Big Steal
Directed by Don Siegel
1949/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing

[box] Lt. Duke Halliday: [to Joan] I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like to turn around, Chiquita. Besides that there’s a guy behind me with a gun. Remember?[/box]

In the build up for my repeat viewing of Out of the Past, I thought I’d take a look at Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer’s other pairing.  While this one is pleasant enough, it doesn’t hold a candle to the 1947 classic and barely earns a noir classification in my book.

Mitchum plays Lt. Duke Halliday.  Duke is being framed by Jim Fiske (Patrick Knowles) for robbing a $300,000 Army payroll.  He chases Fiske to Mexico.  En route he runs into Army detective Capt. Blake (William Bendix) and steals his credentials.  When Duke catches up to Fiske he meets Joan Graham (Greer), to whom Fiske owes money.  Most of the movie is taken up Duke and Joan chasing Fiske with Blake in close pursuit.  With Ramon Navarro as a Mexican police official and John Qualen as a fence.

This is a cross between a romantic comedy and a caper action film.  Most of it takes place outdoors in the bright Mexican sunshine.  There is no femme fatale and no doomed protagonist.  There is a bit of noir photography toward the end and plenty of subterfuge.  It fits my broad definition of film noir as it is included in the Keaney Film Noir Guide.  It’s OK for a Saturday afternoon entertainment but nothing very memorable.  Jane Greer somehow has lost the luminous beauty she has in Out of the Past.  Part of it is undoubtedly the lighting.  She also is not flattered by dark lipstick.

The production history set forth in the commentary is pretty interesting.  Howard Hughes bought RKO the same year this was made.  Robert Mitchum, the studio’s biggest star, was arrested for possession of marijuana shortly before this was to go into production. Hughes decided to bet on Mitchum’s continued popularity and left him in the film. However, Lizbeth Scott, who was slated to play the Greer role, did not want her name linked with Mitchum’s and pulled out.  Several other actresses then refused the role.

Greer had previously been Hughes’ girlfriend but was now married.  Hughes had called her into his office and told her she would sit out her contract and not work again for the studio. He was forced to eat his words to get his movie made.  The movie started production and then Mitchum was sentenced to 60 days jail time.  Some of the contortions forced on the filmmakers undoubtedly affected the outcome of the finished film.  For example, Bendix and Mitchum share almost no screen time and there are less action scenes than had been planned.

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