Un vol sans importance

Mickey Rooney returned to MGM to team up with Eddie Bracken in this amusing film about two guys just trying to get ahead. A Slight Case Of Larceny has Rooney full of schemes and Bracken his go along pal.

They buy a gas station and demolish a chain competition by merely pilfering the pipeline with an ice cream truck converted to an tanker. Nice way to operate with low overhead. Of course they're in all kinds of trouble before the film ends.

Rooney and Bracken teamed well together, surprised they didn't do more work together. Bracken is married to Marilyn Erskine and they have two kids. Rooney has a Nathan Detroit/Adelaide type engagement with Elaine Stewart.

I love the ending where Charles Halton deflates Rooney's ego. See it and find out how.

I saw this film in 1954 and have not seen it since. Why it still sticks in my mind after all this time is a bit of a mystery, but 2 scenes stick out in my memory. The first previously described in an earlier comment was the scene where the main characters are drilling into the gas line with sparks flying around, the second where the motorcycle cop pulls them over in their open topped gas laden truck and lights up a smoke. The look of panic on our heroes' faces nearly made me wet myself! This film was released in the U.S. on VHS some years ago. I bid for it on ebay but was skittled in the rush. I'd love to see it again, if only to see if I could still laugh as much.

I live in Australia where we call gas petrol.

Bill.

I first saw this movie in New York while on a job interview trip in 1968. I have not seen hide nor hair of this movie since. I do, however, remember what a funny, slapstick romp it was. I realize it was a "B" movie, and likely was shot on a budget. But no expense was spared to maximize the comedy content. The scene of those two knuckleheads in the basement with the sparking electric drill was just great. Very enjoyable, I would love to see it again. Alas, my local television stations never had a print of it to run, and I am sure the networks wouldn't waste airtime on it today. I wonder why it has not been released on videotape? Somebody is sitting on a great early '50's comedy. If you are a Mickey Rooney fan, don't miss a chance to see this one. It is wonderful.

Augustus 'Geechy' Cheevers (Mickey Rooney) returns from the war and goes nowhere fast. He talks Army buddy Frederick Winthrop Clopp (Eddie Bracken) into mortgaging his house to buy a small gas station. A big competitor moves in across the road and their business almost dies. That's before they find a pipeline flowing along their property.

Tapping into the pipeline is insanity. It's not the type of insanity to laugh at. Then they hire Beverly which is another form of insanity. This is dumb and dumber although Cheevers is a good talker. More than anything, he's a horrible friend. Clopp must have used up all of his nine lives. In a cartoon, Clopp should be caught in a fireball and come out completely blacken. This is a little funny although I wish Cheevers would treat Clopp better.

Anyone who is a fan of mickey rooney will love this film. He is great in it! It's one of his funnist 1950's roles. In my opinion Mickey Rooney should have been #1 in the 50's too. The man was sizzeling with talent. He truly is one of the best actors that has ever lived, if not the best. This movie is great! The story is slight, but the acting of Mickey Rooney is worth a watch. Eddie Bracken is not the greatest actor and Mickey Rooney far outshines him. Mickey Rooney's love interest is typical of a girl he would have loved in real life. Tall and pretty! I would highly recommend this film to Rooney fans and to fans of cute, clean comedies of the 1950s! Enjoy!