Robin and the Seven Hoods

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: This was a fabulous movie, and deserves much more credit than it is usually given. It's hilarious and smart, and besides the given that the Rat Pack was great in it, Peter Falk was also very funny. The movie is full of great one-liners ("Anybody got beef with that, I got a special complaint box 6 feet long, 3 feet wide."), as well as great songs, sung by the greatest singers who ever lived. Isn't that in itself reason enough to buy this?

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, a classic!
Review: Truly entertaining. If this movie was made today the cast alone would cost 200 million or more. If Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Sammy Davis Jr. doesn't grab your interest, then how about Dean Martin or can you say "Columbo"? You must see this film.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: Why this musical isn't more popular is beyond me.

It features the essential core of the Rat Pack-- Frank, Dean and Sam-- in a great plot. It has fabulous songs by that legendary duo Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, including the classic "My Kind of Town." The music is arranged by Nelson Riddle and all the numbers grow out of the plot very naturally, unlike "Guys and Dolls" (plus these guys can sing, unlike Brando).

And how about throwing in Bing Crosby and Barbara Rush and Peter Falk for good measure?

This is a tough-guy musical with a lot of funny parodies of Chicago gangsters and crooked cops. We've got Prohibition-era gambling joints and bootleggers and booze and Sammy serenading the sound of a machine gun. Dean sings how he loves his mother as he hustles Frank in pool. One hood has a weakness for "knittin'" and another is always making a motion that somebody open a "windah."

This is funny stuff, and fast-paced. It has more edge than most musicals, thanks in large part to the world of Sinatra & Co. in the mid-1960s. It may not be the best, but I find it to be the most entertaining musical I've ever seen. There's Bing doing a kind of "Swinging on a Star" thing in "Don't Be a Do-Badder," but-- look out-- there's more to this guy who ain't got style than you think.

And there's Edward G. Robinson-- the original gangster-- standing up and making a smiling toast at the beginning, like he did in "Little Caesar," right before . . . well, you'll get the picture if you get this picture, so to speak. Maybe I'm nuts, but I say it doesn't get any better than these guys and these songs in this hip, sly, hard-hitting but fun-as-Christmas beauty of a movie.

Rating:
Summary: An underrated classic.
Review: Why this musical isn't more popular is beyond me. It features the essential core of the Rat Pack, Frank, Dean and Sam, in a great plot, unlike the fun but unfocused "Ocean's Eleven" with the whole gang. It has fabulous songs by that legendary duo Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, including the classic "My Kind of Town." The music is arranged by Nelson Riddle and all the numbers grow out of the plot very naturally, unlike "Guys and Dolls" (plus these guys can sing, unlike Brando). And how about throwing in Bing Crosby and Barbara Rush and Peter Falk for good measure? This is a tough-guy musical with a lot of funny parodies of Chicago gangsters and crooked cops. We've got Prohibition-era gambling joints with bootleggers and booze and Sammy serenading the sound of a machine gun. Dean sings how he loves his mother as he hustles Frank in pool. One hood has a weakness for "knittin'" and another is always making a motion that somebody open a "windah." This is funny stuff, and fast-paced. It has more edge than most musicals, thanks in large part to the world of Sinatra & Co. in the mid-1960s. It may not be the best, but I find it to be the most entertaining musical I've ever seen. There's Bing doing a kind of "Swinging on a Star" thing in "Don't Be a Do-Badder," but-- look out-- there's a lot more to this guy who ain't got style than you think. And there's Edward G. Robinson-- the original gangster-- standing up and making a smiling toast at the beginning, like he did in "Little Caesar," right before . . . well, you'll get the picture if you get this picture, so to speak. Maybe I'm nuts, but I say it doesn't get any better than these guys and these songs in this hip, sly, hard-hitting but fun-as-Christmas beauty of a movie.

Rating:
Summary: An underrated classic.
Review: Why this musical isn't more popular is beyond me. It features the essential core of the Rat Pack, Frank, Dean and Sam, in a great plot, unlike the fun but unfocused "Ocean's Eleven" with the whole gang. It has fabulous songs by that legendary duo Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, including the classic "My Kind of Town." The music is arranged by Nelson Riddle and all the numbers grow out of the plot very naturally, unlike "Guys and Dolls" (plus these guys can sing, unlike Brando). And how about throwing in Bing Crosby and Barbara Rush and Peter Falk for good measure? This is a tough-guy musical with a lot of funny parodies of Chicago gangsters and crooked cops. We've got Prohibition-era gambling joints with bootleggers and booze and Sammy serenading the sound of a machine gun. Dean sings how he loves his mother as he hustles Frank in pool. One hood has a weakness for "knittin'" and another is always making a motion that somebody open a "windah." This is funny stuff, and fast-paced. It has more edge than most musicals, thanks in large part to the world of Sinatra & Co. in the mid-1960s. It may not be the best, but I find it to be the most entertaining musical I've ever seen. There's Bing doing a kind of "Swinging on a Star" thing in "Don't Be a Do-Badder," but-- look out-- there's a lot more to this guy who ain't got style than you think. And there's Edward G. Robinson-- the original gangster-- standing up and making a smiling toast at the beginning, like he did in "Little Caesar," right before . . . well, you'll get the picture if you get this picture, so to speak. Maybe I'm nuts, but I say it doesn't get any better than these guys and these songs in this hip, sly, hard-hitting but fun-as-Christmas beauty of a movie.

Rating:
Summary: How can you miss!
Review: With a cast like this, how can you miss. There is gangsters randomly bursting out in song and so much irony in the whole movie between the charaters and the actors who play them which just adds to the entertainment. Where else are you going to find Bing Crosby being lectured on how to dress by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Overall, this is a must see for anyone who loves the rat pack or just great entertainment!