A tawdry little noir about a group of crooks planning a bank heist.
Rory Calhoun and Mary Costa pose as husband and wife and move into a house in the suburbs in a ruse to establish themselves as part of the community. I never completely understood why that was necessary to their scheme, but it gives plenty of juicy opportunities for criminal weirdos to come and stay with them, putting "The Big Caper" in the noir sub-genre of big city underworld invading idyllic 1950s suburbia. And this particular cross section of big city underworld is as bizarre as they come. Perhaps the strangest character in the film is that of Roy, a bleach blonde muscle head who gets whipped with a belt by the crime boss when he misbehaves and who has psycho tendencies.
This is the kind of noir I like: cheap and lurid.
Grade: A.
Rory Calhoun and Mary Costa pose as husband and wife and move into a house in the suburbs in a ruse to establish themselves as part of the community. I never completely understood why that was necessary to their scheme, but it gives plenty of juicy opportunities for criminal weirdos to come and stay with them, putting "The Big Caper" in the noir sub-genre of big city underworld invading idyllic 1950s suburbia. And this particular cross section of big city underworld is as bizarre as they come. Perhaps the strangest character in the film is that of Roy, a bleach blonde muscle head who gets whipped with a belt by the crime boss when he misbehaves and who has psycho tendencies.
This is the kind of noir I like: cheap and lurid.
Grade: A.