hymerrin

Whoops! Don'tcha just hate it when you storm into a bank which turns out to be a front for mob money laundering... Boy I wish they made movies like this again. Seigel knows how to keep it tight and well-paced. Robinson is such a treasure in this film; it's too bad he was forever typecast after Dirty Harry. He would have made a fine Iago in Othello. Matthau is excellent, but this role would have been extremely interesting, and a bit more gritty, if George C. Scott was in the lead. Anyway, don't miss this great little film.

Better pay attention when watching this one. Not your average dull little crime drama; it's got a clever way of setting up seemingly expected situations and then throwing you a curve or two. I won't give away the twists and turns, but let's just say there are plenty of them. This movie reminded me of the great payback thrillers of the 70s, like Point Black and Charley Varrick, because it is so character-driven. There's a cat-and-mouse contest going on between the main baddie (played by a thoroughly convincing actor I've never seen before) and the title character. Solid acting all around, a sly cameo by Polito, nice touches of dialogue, some technical aspects of safecracking, femme fatales, and little hints that all culminate to make the second half of the movie truly pay off. Without ruining the ending, I'll only say that it was both satisfying and perfectly fitting to Charlie's nature. You can try to guess ahead all you want in this film and you still don't see the surprises coming. Why doesn't Hollywood make smart movies like this anymore?!

Because this remake of Huston's "The Asphalt Jungle" cuts to the chase swifter than the original, it's a much more satisfying version of that story. While it retains much of the strengths of Burnett's script (the crisp dialogue, the class structure of the underworld) it benefits from the Western setting; the gold heist is engaging, the women are better integrated into the tale, the threat is more present.) Alan Ladd, while a bit puffy at this stage in his life, is still charming and clever enough for the lead. Borgnine is a more robust thug than Sterling Hayden ever dreamed of being. And the supporting cast is every bit as colorful and quick in their delivery. (Character actor Tony Caruso appears in both films, a lot more lively as Comanchee.) I have seen this film a dozen times and admire it's efficiency.