Lt. Duke Halliday: “I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like to turn around, Chiquita. Besides, that there’s a guy behind me with a gun. Remember??
A film noir with some eccentricities, The Big Steal (1949), directed by then third time film maker Don Siegel (who would go on to make such greats as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dirty Harry, and Escape from Alcatraz), plays like a long chase within a longer chase, while the meeting between gent and femme is something akin to a will they/won’t they screwball comedy.
The usually laconic Lt. Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is in quite the conundrum, as he has been robbed of a U.S. Army payroll totaling a whopping three hundred grand by swindler Jim Fiske (Patric Knowles). On the lam in Mexico (a rather rare noir location, also think Ride the Pink Horse and Touch of Evil), Halliday is on his trail. . . but the problem is, so is his superior – Captain Vincent Blake (William Bendix), who, of course, thinks it was actually the Lieutenant who ran off with the money.
Adding a further wrinkle, Fiske is being hunted by a scorned woman. . . his fiancée, Joan Graham (Jane Greer – pairing her again with Mitchum after Out of the Past), who is also out some cash – two thousand smackeroos. By way of some sort of cosmic fate, she seems fortunate (or doomed) to be paired with Halliday for the adventure. . . as no matter what either of them does, they are slammed back together in short order.
Shot on location in Mexico, Siegel takes us through the striking un-noir-like countryside, as Halliday and Graham attempt to stay one step ahead of the pesky Captain Blake while they try to gain on the crafty Fiske. Adding a further complication, Inspector General Ortega (Ramon Novarro), a man who is proudly working on his already decent English, is keeping an eye on the rather complex situation in his own unique way.
Both taut and tight in its prompt one hour and eleven minute runtime, Siegel amps up the tension, allowing every character to develop in intriguing ways over the length of the story. Filled with twists and turns, in many ways, sassily crafty Joan might just be the real scene stealer, using her wit, charms, and use of Spanish to save the day more than once (a nice touch, subtitles are never provided, placing us in a similar position to the non-Spanish speaking Halliday). A standout moment has her convincing a Mexican foreman, Manuel (Pascual García Peña), that Blake is her mean father trying to stop them from eloping. . . the surprisingly romantic guy steps in to help them get away.
Perhaps best known (at the time) for the movie that Mitchum was filming when he was sentenced to jail for possession and use of marijuana, despite being shot before and after his sixty days spent behind bars, it’s hardly noticeable (despite Greer’s evolving pregnancy and Mitchum’s weight loss), a prime example that Siegel would have a strong future in the business. In fact, RKO head Howard Hughes put a rush job on the movie, attempting to release it as soon as possible. . . as he was hoping to get a boom at the box office thanks to all of the negative press Mitchum was getting which was enhancing his bad boy persona. It’s also worth noting here that it was originally supposed to be Lizabeth Scott in the leading lady role, but her clean record was protected – instead, Hughes gave the role to Greer, who had broken it off with him, meaning that he did not worry about damaging her name.
Special due to its unique elements, The Big Steal shines thanks to the reunion of its two main stars in a screwball love/hate relationship, its out of United States location, the extended chase plot, and rather generous treatment of the Mexican people (it’s rare in this time period for another culture and its people to be respected instead of simply being caricatured); Siegel weaves it all together into an unyieldingly engaging piece. In some ways, it could best be defined as film noir lite – a bit more bubbly than you might be expecting. So, steal a Mexican getaway with this harrowing adventure, it’s a ten for more than one reason.