The Big Steal

A chase film set in Mexico. Duke is an army officer. A large sum is missing on his watch; he is being held responsible for money taken from a payroll and a captain is after him. Duke is after the real thief. The man has crossed into Mexico with the money. On the road he meets a woman. Joan is looking for the same man; the money she gave him is gone and she wants her own account settled. The two get into a car. From there the film takes place almost entirely on the road. Mountain roads, small towns, petrol stations; three separate parties chase each other and the order keeps changing. What the film is interested in is not crime but pace: it runs under seventy minutes, the scenes are short, and the duel of words between the two leads never lets the tempo drop. The side material is language. A Mexican police chief gets involved, and the conversations that run through translation with people who speak no English are the film's best humour. Robert Mitchum plays Duke and Jane Greer plays Joan; the pair had acted together before. William Bendix and Ramon Novarro are in the cast. Don Siegel directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes the fast noir of the 1940s and road chases. Who it is not for: anyone looking for depth; the film is short, light and never enters its characters' pasts.