The Big Steal (1949)

An Army Lieutenant (Robert Mitchum) runs off to Mexico to find the man (Patric Knowles) who robbed him of the $300,000 payroll he was in charge of. While there he meets a woman (Jane Greer) who's after the same man for swindling her. They team up and the chase is on but they're being pursued by his superior officer (William Bendix) who suspects Mitchum was complicit in the robbery. Based on the short story THE ROAD TO CARMICHAEL'S by Richard Wormser and directed by Don Siegel (THE BEGUILED). This early effort by Siegel (this was his third feature film) is a fast paced noir-ish thriller. It blitzes at a galloping pace cramming as much as it can into its brief 71 minute running time. Reunited after the classic noir OUT OF THE PAST, good naturedly bantering their lines back and forth, Mitchum and Greer's chemistry makes the screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring and Gerald Drayson Adams seem better than it is. But there are enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the screen. Filmed in Tehuacan, Mexico. With John Qualen and silent film idol Ramon Novarro.