BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

thinker1691 Six years after beginning his movie career, Steve McQueen put himself in the driver's seat with this early film. Watch it closely and you'll see this true life story has him playing the 'wheel man' during the St. Louis bank robbery. Having watched this movie icon, grow and mature over the years, you can almost notice as McQueen chafes under the director's yoke and script constrains of this black and white film. Observe if you will his natural body language silently wish he could break out of the character's mold and do his on screen magic. However, this story is based on an actual incident and once you're in, we can only sit and watch as McQueen does his best to fill in the role of the by-gone athletic hero gone bad. The men he joins lack cohesiveness and each brings his own problem to a crime, fraught with pitfalls. But each needs their $20,000 share, so to hell with the dangers. Any fan of the late McQueen can readily see the 'diamond-in-the-rough' the young star is and realize what an exceptional gem, he will become. Unlike the movie itself which left much to be desired on nearly every level, Steve McQueen rises above it and we almost wish we could follow him to a sequel of this story. ***

oscar-35 A gang is out to rob a St Louis Bank. The film is based on an actual events. And this film features the real police that were involved in the robber. Stars- Steve McQueen. Very early McQueen kid role. He gets mixed up with several unfortunate obvious gangster types actor doing their worst performances. McQueen is the only real performance light in this '57 film. This film is shot at and in St Louis. A nice view into McQueen's genesis as a struggling actor getting his feet wet on screen. A must see for McQueen fans. A viewer can see in Mcqueen's work here that many little extra 'business' he would put in a role to make him stand out and make even the most mundane role into something watchable on the screen. Truly a look into his work and future greatness.

classicsoncall Here's an interesting little noir style thriller starring Steve McQueen, who through a series of bad choices winds up as the fall guy for a trio of hoods that plan the robbery of the St. Louis Southwest Bank. His senior partners are portrayed by Crahan Denton, James Dukas, and David Clarke, all of whom garnered a reasonable amount of film recognition during their heyday, but are all but unknown today. The story recounts the planning and strategy for the big heist, primarily by Boss Egan (Denton). It seems to me though, with his experience, Egan should have shut things down at any number of points along the way, as the petty jealousies of his main henchman Willie (Dukas), and the inexperience of McQueen's character stood directly in the way of a successful robbery. The other hitch in the caper relates to the sister of Gino (Clarke), the remaining member of the quartet; she was a former girlfriend of George Fowler (McQueen). If this weren't a true story, I would have found the coincidence to be extremely contrived, but I'll have to assume her inclusion in the story to be portrayed as it actually occurred.Curiously, Steve McQueen's performance seems somewhat awkward, even unsure at times. A good example is the conversation in the bar with his old flame Ann (Molly McCarthy); it's disjointed and reaches a point where he just walks away, almost like he didn't want to be in the scene anymore. Though this was one of his first big screen appearances, he was doing the Western TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" during the same period, and there he seemed perfectly natural and comfortable as bounty hunter Josh Randall.Getting back to the story, it made me wonder why nothing ever came of Ann's lipstick rendered warning on the bank's window. The only follow up we ever see is a window cleaner removing it, though one might have expected some investigation from authorities, even if there was no conclusion.The bank job goes awry once a teller triggers an alarm, and from there, the bandits literally fall apart. For those who haven't seen the film, I won't spoil it here, but you'll wind up saying to yourself, 'boy, what a bunch'! It would have been nice if a trailer had been provided to explain what happened to the surviving principals after the legal proceedings.Steve McQueen fans would do well to get a hold of this one for an early look at the film legend's career, however beyond that, the movie itself isn't especially noteworthy. Generally somber to the point of being depressing at times, it's nowhere near as entertaining as 1975's bank robbery caper, "Dog Day Afternoon".

dickson9 is a must to see. Before he became "one of the System's bad boys". He is refreshing and I would tell any true Steve McQueen fan to see this movie just on the strength of his performance.The movie itself is a hoot! I mean with not so evasive homosexual references and shades of Noir...and in the early 50's!!....it is worth seeing. I liked it.It is a story of the "Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" in the early 50's....great period piece for those of us who were alive then....and for those who were not to see what a section of Americana looked like....Using the real people involved in the actual heist is great! Non-Actors who are reliving their dream or nightmare....depending.See it. You won't be disappointed.