The last 25 minutes are good, since this is considered a film noir, but the first hour of this movie is pretty lame. Make that "very lame." It's as if they tried to make a comedy about this heist story. Some of the dialog is humorous and clever but most of it is just plain dumb. Why Columbia Pictures added this to their excellent "Film Noir Volume One" set is beyond me. It's the only poor movie in the package.
One of the few redeeming qualities of the movie, at least for us males, is a chance to ogle Kim Novak, who began to make a name for herself the year this film came out.
Brian Keith is fairly intense as "Brick," the ex-Korean soldier with mental problems but even he is fairly boring most the movie. The rest of the cast looks and sounds more "Gilligan's Island" than actors in a supposed film noir.
It was doubly surprising because director Phil Karlson didn't usually offer up "fluff" like this. This light-hearted wink-wink comedy-drama was not his normal style.
One of the few redeeming qualities of the movie, at least for us males, is a chance to ogle Kim Novak, who began to make a name for herself the year this film came out.
Brian Keith is fairly intense as "Brick," the ex-Korean soldier with mental problems but even he is fairly boring most the movie. The rest of the cast looks and sounds more "Gilligan's Island" than actors in a supposed film noir.
It was doubly surprising because director Phil Karlson didn't usually offer up "fluff" like this. This light-hearted wink-wink comedy-drama was not his normal style.