The Big Steal

Released Jun 29, 1949

1h 11m

Crime

Drama

List

71%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

64%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Army officer Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is headed to Mexico to track down a con artist named Jim Fiske (Patric Knowles). Along the way, he meets the beautiful Joan Graham (Jane Greer), who, like Halliday, was double-crossed by the shifty Fiske for a large sum of money. Complicating their search is Vincent Blake (William Bendix), a military man out to get Halliday, and Ortega (Ramon Novarro), a police inspector who is patiently waiting to see how the various conflicts play out.

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Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Even if this didn’t have a star and future star behind the camera pedigree, it would get by just on adrenalin and fun.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 2, 2023

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

As a police noir, it has a more or less fast-paced start that is made up of chases and shootouts, but it crosses regular roads that keep it on an easily predictable ground. Full review in Spanish

Rated: 6/10

Feb 20, 2022

Full Review

Josephine O'Neill

Daily Telegraph (Australia)

RKO couid have saved its money and kept the cast on the back-lot at home.

Mar 25, 2019

Full Review

Raquel Stecher

Out of the Past

For fans of Out of the Past (1947), seeing Mitchum and Greer together again, albeit in a very different type of movie, is a treat. It's not a great film but it's enjoyable viewing for Noirvember.

Nov 27, 2018

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

In this taut cat-and-mouse tale, all concerned are in top form.

Rated: B+

Oct 28, 2009

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Siegel packs lots of chases and action into 72 minutes, with a great ending.

Aug 9, 2007

Full Review

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David F

A typical Noir with lots of plot twists and double crosses.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/24

Full Review

mark g

Mitchum and Greer were just perfect together.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/03/24

Full Review

Russ G

A better-than-average RKO B picture that moves along at an entertaining pace; at an hour and eleven minutes running time there's no overly complicated plot. Plenty of action and nobody plays the role of tough guy better than Mr. Mitchum. Miss Greer is easy on the eyes, too. Make allowances for the budget and some outdated stereotypes of Mexico and Mexicans and it's an OK diversion. It was nice to see William Bendix outside of the "Life of Riley" small-screen role for which he's better known to older Boomers.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/29/22

Full Review

andrey k

That was a surprising treat; entertaining, funny, with colourful Mexican background to the main action of the movie; and of course the irresistible pairing of Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, delivering amusingly wise dialogue along the way.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

paul d

Don Siegel's The Big Steal is a good crime drama. It's an intricate story, told at a fast pace, and the on-location shoot in Mexico lends a nice aura of authenticity to the film that is broken only for a very few process shots. Robert Mitchum is a joy to watch, and has good chemistry with Jane Greer. The two share some snappy dialogue. She radiates intelligence and honesty, and has to cover a wide range here, from surprise and skepticism transformed into belief and loyalty, and finally love, with a fair number of action scenes in between.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

s r

This one was unique for its Mexican component. However, it didn't have much else going for it and it dragged. Saw on TCM.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Don Siegel

Director

Robert Mitchum

Lt. Duke Halliday

Jane Greer

Joan Graham

William Bendix

Capt. Vincent Blake

Patric Knowles

Jim Fiske

Ramon Novarro

Inspector General Ortega

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Synopsis

Army officer Duke Halliday (Robert Mitchum) is headed to Mexico to track down a con artist named Jim Fiske (Patric Knowles). Along the way, he meets the beautiful Joan Graham (Jane Greer), who, like Halliday, was double-crossed by the shifty Fiske for a large sum of money. Complicating their search is Vincent Blake (William Bendix), a military man out to get Halliday, and Ortega (Ramon Novarro), a police inspector who is patiently waiting to see how the various conflicts play out.

Director: Don Siegel
Screenwriter: Daniel Mainwaring, Gerald Drayson Adams
Production Co: RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 1949, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 11m

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