To me, this movie is perfection.

Absolutely the worst movie.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Snappy dialog between Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) and Joan Graham (Jane Greer) heats up the chemistry between this pair of screen partners, while Patric Knowles and William Bendix portray less than savory characters in this noir-like romp through the Mexican countryside. The story turns out to be one rather long chase scene, but with enough twists and turns to make the trip an enjoyable one. Errant cows and sheep on a steep hillside are just some of the many obstacles Mitchum's character must avoid while on the trail of recovering three hundred grand in stolen payroll money. It takes a while to figure out who's really the good guy in this quartet of questionable characters, as the ending reveals a twist I didn't see coming, but probably should have. You should have seen the look on Captain Blake's (Bendix) face when he ran into the goat herd blocking the road, a tribute to Halliday's quick thinking while on the run. You could tell what he was thinking - 'I just have to get the flock out of here'.

In case you were not paying attention, it is necessary to get one major point out of the way, for starters. Although it is included in a box set, titled Film Noir Collection, this is not a Film Noir. Not everybody knows that, although you might be forgiven for thinking that everybody does know it. There are no shadows in this film. It all takes place in the brightest sunshine. There are no dark scenes, or dimly lit rooms. In fact, the version I saw was colourized. There is also no femme fatale, even though she is played by Jane Greer.Oddly, the blurb on the box set I own notes that Robert Mitchum is here re-united with Jane Greer, after Out of the Past. It then dates this film to 1944, whereas Out of the Past is dated 1947. Must be unusual to have stars re-unite before they've been united, but anything is possible in a film noir, especially if it isn't noir. This must be a bad mistake, as the film was actually made in 1949. It's really a jolly road caper, and a heist, also according to the blurb. The main baddie gets killed without too much trouble --- no tears are shed, but the stars survive, and it's all very entertaining. Worth a watch of an evening. A colourful comedy.

THE BIG STEAL is a rip-roaring crime adventure yarn which sees the dogged army lieutenant Robert Mitchum travelling through Mexico where he's hot on the trail of a robber escaping with a stash of loot. Along the way, Mitchum teams up with the fraudster's fiancé, and is pursued by an army captain who thinks he's the real robber.That's the plot in a nutshell, and the film ends up writing itself thanks to the action-laden premise. And THE BIG STEAL offers massive entertainment value indeed, not least to the direction of Don Siegel, working early on in his career and bringing the same verve and vitality to this as he would to the likes of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and DIRTY HARRY.Mitchum is on top form as the likable lead and he's given great support by the alluring Jane Greer and the increasingly exasperated William Bendix. The structure of the narrative allows for plenty of near escapes and car chases, along with two-fisted fight scenes and some light comedy and romance thrown into the mix. It's one of those films with a little bit of everything and I found myself really enjoying it.

Wow--talk about a strange but likable combination. This film is sort of like a mixture of film noir, and adventure film, a comedy and it's all set in Mexico. While this unusual melange might seem to make no sense, it actually works very well and it supremely watchable. Much of the reason for this was the excellent script that provided enough twists to keep a simple idea humming and another were the likable leads, Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer.The film begins with Robert Mitchum being confronted by William Bendix on a cruise ship. Bendix has a gun on Mitchum and you aren't sure what the context is for this. Who is the good guy and who is the bad and what has happened up until this time? Instead of making this clear, the film deliberately keeps this all rather vague--a very good choice in hindsight. Since Mitchum is the studly male lead, you aren't particularly surprised when he manages to overpower Bendix and escape.Once Mitchum escapes, he goes looking for a man (Patric Knowles) and apparently Jane Greer is also looking for the same con man. However, again and again, Knowles slips through their hands and the film consists of a road trip across Mexico to get their hands on Knowles. He evidently stole something--but what? And what about Bendix? Tune in and find out for yourself.As I mentioned above, the story works well due to the writing and acting. Greer and Mitchum are a good pair and their dialog is actually quite snappy and funny. I also appreciated how the Mexicans were portrayed--they were normal folks--something unusual for 1940s Hollywood.Overall, an exciting and fun film from start to finish and a next followup from their last film together, OUT OF THE PAST. However, according to the accompanying featurette (a DVD extra), Greer was not the first choice but Lizbeth Scott refused to star in the film with Mitchum following his arrest for marijuana possession.