Dreadfully Boring

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I had never heard of it before watching this seventies crime movie. A crime flick that looks like a fifties or late forties film, speaking of juvenile delinquency. Not the seventies genre, for sure. The story is very surprising, where a bunch of very young hoodlums pull a daring and clever armored truck heist, behaving like professionals. Very surprising. I did not expect so much. And seeing old movie actors like Oda Lupino and Lloyd Nolan is pretty weird and funny too. Yes, a very good little film which grabs you, despite the fact that you have only a few spectacular and exciting elements. But don't misunderstand me, that's not a masterpiece, just a smart little grade B picture. Music score all along the film is pretty entertaining too.

I would have rated this film with 1 star, but it got an additional 1 for Lloyd Nolan's brave performance as a security officer and an extra 1/2 for Ida Lupino as a shrewish wife, and an extra 1/2 for Ralph Meeker's role as a truculent drunk bad dad.But the MUSIC! Oh my God. The music. The horrible synthesizer music bubbling away like little rodential heartbeats as we are supposed to feel fear, tension, drama, interest, or some other emotion which we cannot feel because the music is popping like popcorn farts! Oh, Lord have mercy. If you are the kind of person who can't take bad music, please, be cautious -- the sound track may damage your internal organs.Also this film is a wasteland of bad late 1970s architecture, as it was filmed right before Post-Modern architecture saved us all from architectural cultural suicide. Just keep reciting your mantra, "Later on there would be good architecture. This was not the end of the world." Oh, and there's this insane fainting-gas stuff. The teens buy it at the local convenience store, no doubt. Another reviewer suggested the idea came from "Batman." I concur.And i will offer a sparkly reward to anyone who can tell me the name of the book that Ida Lupino is reading on her bed when Ralph Meeker comes home after a long day in the armoured car industry. My TV was too small to zero in on it, but i have the feeling that if i could have read that title, i would have been rewarded by some sort of fabulous in-joke. Or maybe not.Lloyd Nolan is okay. Ida Lupino is okay. Ralph Meeker is okay. The rest of this movie is insanely useless except to people who want to watch cars crash into one another over and over and over and over again.

It was interesting to read the above reviews. gbuttkus' insights into the production gave the film a new interest to me.When I first saw it - I was surprised that Ralph Meeker was in it - I could remember him from "Paths of Glory" and "Kiss Me Deadly", I thought he was such an underrated actor. The next shock was Ida Lupino (one of my favourite actresses) and then Lloyd Nolan. What were they thinking!!! Perhaps they were doing it as a favour to Meeker.Ralph Meeker was executive producer so it was obviously a subject he felt strongly about.Tommy is ticked off with his dad for failing to bail him out of a detention centre (as Dad says "I've bailed you out 5 times already"). Things aren't much better at home - Mom (Ida Lupino) treats Dad like dirt. She also has no time for their son, Tommy, but treats her pupil Priscilla, like a princess. (Priscilla, is the brains behind the weekend armoured car robbery).Tommy and some of his detention centre mates have decided to rob an armoured van on the weekend. One of the kids, Chunky, looks as though he would be more at home on a "Happy Days" set. The detention centre is peopled with happy, laid back guards that think their "boys are good boys". They are pushovers for any kid out of kindergarten."Chunky" pretends to faint because of lack of food and the guards not only believe him they run around looking for chocolate bars. That gives the boys ample time to steal the guards keys, tie them up and escape.There are a few crazy car chases .Ralph looks permanently hung over - what with the lines he has to speak and putting up with Ida's tirades, who can blame him!!!! David Doyle's speech about why "my boys are good boys" showed why he shouldn't be working in a tough detention centre.You will never guess the ending - but maybe you will!!!!

Ida Lupino and Ralph Meeker together again after being terrorized by giant rats in food of the gods.anyway Ralph meeker plays an armored car driver,his son is in a reformatory being watched over by a guard with a big heart(David Doyle)yeah bosley on TVs Charlie's angels.well the plot starts to unfold when three of the kids plan to rob the armored car led by Ralph Meekers son(Sean Thomas Roche)and a girl(Kerry Lynn)who is being tutored by Ralph meekers characters wife.there's some good car chases and crashes,plot twists and some pg rated mayhem,ill have to say its not a bad little b movie,also in the movie is the great Lloyd Nolan who i remember from the Julia TV show with Dianne Carroll. i saw this one on the 50 action classics DVD set from mill creek,formally tree line films.i guess Ralph Meeker and Ida Lupino needed a break from the food of the gods(77)i especially like David Doyle's performance as the guard.6 out of 10