Some things I liked some I did not.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The film opens with a clever looking take off on the popular Dick Tracy comic strip, and by the time you're a few minutes into the story you're left wondering whether this is supposed to be a gangster flick or some parody thereof. Comic style captions appear throughout and there are a couple of up-tempo scenes that don't fit in with the general tone of the picture, which basically has two rival gangs facing off against each other in the early Thirties. Jack Palance and Warren Berlinger are the opposing mobsters, taking turns at brutalizing their opposition, but they had almost a cordial relationship with each other in person, which skewed the dynamic of the picture for me. In other words, this wasn't "The Godfather".Say, remember that scene when Vic Morono's (Palance) 'deuces' blow up and set fire to Chico's (Berlinger) Hi-Hat Club? The place was totally renovated and back in business the very next day! Even the Coca-Cola sign was shiny and brand new. You know, when you stop and think about it, Coke's presence in just about any film you could watch means we're paying for a lot of brand placement with every Coke we buy.The surprise of the picture for me was seeing H.B. Haggerty in his role as the Deuce of Spades, Mickey. I remember him from his pro wrestling days back in the Sixties; the H.B. stands for 'Hard Boiled'. Haggerty utilizes his wrestling skills near the end of the picture when he winds up shooting himself in that tussle with reporter Timmons (Adam Roarke). He falls face down to the floor, and just before he hits he uses his 'dead' arms to brace his fall.I recently caught Palance in his very first starring role, also portraying a gangster in 1950's "Panic in the Streets". He looked like a gangly young actor with very limited range, and even though 'Four Deuces' is no prize, you can see how he improved over time. It's too bad the same thing can't be said for some of his pictures; I guess a paycheck is a paycheck.

"This is a tongue-in-cheek crime melodrama that became a 'Late Late Show' fixture in the 1980s," according to the DVD sleeve, "Jack Palance plays Vic Morono, a high-ranking Prohibition-era mobster with a weakness for women who is waging an ongoing war with rival hoodlum Chico Hamilton (Warren Berlinger). Vic falls for gorgeous blonde Wendy (Carol Lynley). The film's title refers to the name of his speakeasy, and to his gang, which consists of himself, Wendy, and a brace comic-relief hoodlums." "The Four Deuces" opens with cartoon credits, and attempts a stylish comic strip look. Expecting some wit upon seeing the name Don Martin in the credits will drive you stark raving nuts - this is not the cartoonist who worked for "Mad" magazine. Light bondage and female flesh scenes might have upped ratings for those 1980s "Late Late Show" airings. Perhaps most notable is the that Ms. Lynley and Mr. Berlinger worked much more memorably together in the stage and film versions of "Blue Denim".*** The Four Deuces (1/76) William H. Bushnell ~ Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Warren Berlinger, Adam Roarke

Yet another jokey gangster film which proliferated the screens in the wake of BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967); the ragtime score, then, is clearly inspired by the recent success of THE STING (1973). It's evidently cheaply made and pretty bad overall but, I guess, harmless enough; still, virtually the only thing of interest here is the film's comic-strip look, complete with captioned descriptions during transitions. Jack Palance (another film I watched as a tribute to him - renting this one would certainly not have been a priority otherwise!) mercilessly chews the scenery as one of two warring gang bosses.

When I was a kid in Ohio, I had a good friend whose parents had a well-decorated house each Christmas season. But their neighbor, a couple of doors away, had one of those displays with hundreds of lights - on the house, trees, shrubs, along the long driveway, etc. There were figures on the roof and in the yard yard, and the owner spent hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars each year, not including massive utility bills. These were really nice homes, and the man could well-afford it.Across the street, lived a top personality from one of the radio stations, with the most popular afternoon program, and his specialty was very funny and clever comedy. He did absolutely nothing to his home, except to post a well-painted, large sign in his yard, which said, "Please see our display across the street!"I thought of this as I watched this flick - the second of a double-feature which our PBS station has, featuring older movies, each Saturday evening. "The Defiant Ones," a truly great film was first, and then this one followed.In the same vein as the DJ I referenced above, I would only paraphrase by saying: "See my comment under the heading "rmt124" in this section!"