• Loved so much by Woody Allen that he basically remade it as Small Time Crooks– this here is superior
  • There’s not much here visually from Bacon but Edward G. Robinson is a great commander at the helm of both this criminal crew and the driver of the film.
  • It’s a unique take on the comedy of errors subgenre—everything planned to go wrong goes right for their front
  • The supporting cast is equal to Edward G—Broderick Crawford is perfect as the loyal big slow stooge and Jack Carson is great as the fast-talking salesman
  • Robinson plays on his persona as a gangster- Rico from Little Caesar– he’s got the “gift of bag”—the “damn banks wouldn’t give me a loan” stuff would work better in 1932 than 1943
  • It’s a sharp film—well-written
  • As much as I like Anthony Quinn the film suffers when the plot takes hold at the end with him a serious threat
  • Recommend but not in top 10 of 1942