The Big Caper

Watch: The Big Caper

3/28/19571h 24m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The Big Money... $1,000,000 was up for grabs! ~

Overview:

A con artist moves into a small town to spearhead a payroll robbery.

Director:

Robert Stevens

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

gas station
con man
fake identity
gang leader
con artist
film noir
arson
arsonist
double cross
alcoholic
payroll robbery
criminal gang
bank heist
bomb threat
blown safe

Cast

Rory Calhoun

~ as ~

Frank Harper

Mary Costa

~ as ~

Kay

James Gregory

~ as ~

Flood

Robert H. Harris

~ as ~

Zimmer (as Robert Harris)

Roxanne Arlen

~ as ~

Doll

Corey Allen

~ as ~

Roy

Paul Picerni

~ as ~

Harry

Patrick McVey

~ as ~

Sam Loxley

Florenz Ames

~ as ~

Dutch Paulmeyer

Louise Arthur

~ as ~

Alice Loxley

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 9 month(s) ago
6
I quite liked the premise of this heist caper, as the down-at-heel “Harper” (Rory Calhoun) comes up with the idea of robbing a small bank that just happens to house the wages of a nearby military base. He can’t do it on his own, though, so taps up the ruthless “Flood” (James Gregory) for resources. There’s $1 million at stake here so he and his new investor’s gal “Kay” (Mary Costa) move into the town and pretend to be the married owners of the petrol station. It’s a friendly enough town, loads of chatty neighbours and family BBQs so the question is: will their sinister motives be spotted in a town where butter wouldn’t melt? Unfortunately, this doesn’t really come alive until the end, and then only just. For the main part, it’s more of a character study of their eclectic gang and of a quiet American township. “Roy” (a solid effort from Corey Allen) is the right-hand man whose obvious psychopathy is barely controlled by their boss; Zimmer” (Robert A. Harris) maybe has the most fun as everything he touches has to light up and/or go bang whilst Costa also delivers well with a bit more to her role than is often given to woman in crime thrillers. It is really the malevolence from “Flood” that steals the limelight, though, in the face of a rather soporific effort from an all-American Calhoun who barely imposes himself at all until he begins to wonder if they are doing the right thing then has no idea how to stop what he’s started. It’s a tight ship, with the direction tautly paced and few extraneous cast members to get in the way of the scheme and I think it passes eighty minutes quite interestingly - even if that is more to do with the underlying issues of right and wrong than of dynamite and car chases.