BEFORE: Three members of the Rat Pack carry over from "Ocean's Eleven", and the heist films appear to be over, but I'm still in the crime genre. This film came after "Ocean's Eleven", but is more of a de facto sequel to "Guys and Dolls", since it's set back in the 1930's, when the gangsters were more cartoonish.
THE PLOT: In prohibition-era Chicago, the corrupt sheriff and Guy Gisborne, a south-side racketeer, knock off the boss Big Jim. Everyone falls in line behind Guy except Robbo, who controls the north side. Although he's outgunned, Robbo wants to keep his own territory.
AFTER: The connections to Robin Hood weren't all that apparent to me, I think it's a bit of a stretch, unless you factor in the names of the characters, like Little John, Marian and the "Sheriff" of Chicago. It's also a little weird watching a bunch of manly gangsters break into song - but I guess that's just what they did back then. Dean Martin demonstrates that it's possible to sing and shoot pool at the same time, no mean feat.
I confess I found the plot pretty boring - maybe it was because I was trying to squeeze in an extra film, but I fell asleep halfway through and I had to finish the film the next evening after work. Then again, maybe the film just is boring, because nearly all of the exciting crime action takes place off-screen. We see the results of a gangland hit, but not the hit itself.
Most of the songs were really corny, too, especially the "Do Badder" song. That one also seemed very weird, as it highlighted the fact that they were encouraging the orphan boys to do good deeds, just like Robin Hood, or the local gangster. Huh? Shouldn't they aim a little higher than a criminal who happens to make charitable donations? Where do they think the money is coming from? But the one saving grace was the inclusion of "My Kind of Town" as an anthem praising Chicago.
The whole morals thing seems really mixed up in this film. But I guess that's Chicago - killing a cop and framing another guy for it seems like par for the course. And apparently they had gambling halls that converted to religious temperance meetings at the push of a button - very convenient! But I couldn't even really tell what the "scheme" was - counterfeiting? Collecting for a fake charity? So much was unclear...
A weird connection between "Ocean's Eleven" and this film, both featured actors who played villains on the campy 1960's "Batman" show - last night's film had Cesar Romero, who played the Joker, and this one had the actor who played "King Tut".
And, another Christmas connection at the end, that's three nights in a row. Another sign I should have saved this chain for later this year...
Starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. (all carrying over from "Ocean's Eleven"), Bing Crosby (last seen in "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"), Peter Falk (last seen in "The Great Muppet Caper"), Barbara Rush, Victor Buono, with cameos from Edward G. Robinson (last seen in "Soylent Green"), Hans Conreid.
RATING: 3 out of 10 Santa suits
Fortunately for me, I'm part of that demographic that will enjoy any movie with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Junior, and Dean Martin in it. There's an excellent chance that each of them will be singing, and a strong chance that they'll often be singing together.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah...I couldn't make much sense of the story. The music made it worth it, given that my cable bill would have been the same whether I watched this movie or not.