A Slight Case of Larceny

I first saw this movie in New York while on a job interview trip in 1968. I have not seen hide nor hair of this movie since. I do, however, remember what a funny, slapstick romp it was. I realize it was a "B" movie, and likely was shot on a budget. But no expense was spared to maximize the comedy content. The scene of those two knuckleheads in the basement with the sparking electric drill was just great. Very enjoyable, I would love to see it again. Alas, my local television stations never had a print of it to run, and I am sure the networks wouldn't waste airtime on it today. I wonder why it has not been released on videotape? Somebody is sitting on a great early '50's comedy. If you are a Mickey Rooney fan, don't miss a chance to see this one. It is wonderful.

We were just a teen ager when we first saw this movie in the 50`s. It was very comical as well as having some suspense elements. The plot of the movie was a reality that could happen.Mickey Rooney and Eddie Bracken did a super portrayal as post world army buddies that got into a competitive business pumping gas. This movie was filmed in an era whereas we had first started driving a car and really impressed us.As I recall the entire cast did a great job.We haven`t seen the movie in years and sure would like to see it again. Good wholesome entertainment. I appreciate your web site.

Cherokee-10

Augustus 'Geechy' Cheevers (Mickey Rooney) returns from the war and goes nowhere fast. He talks Army buddy Frederick Winthrop Clopp (Eddie Bracken) into mortgaging his house to buy a small gas station. A big competitor moves in across the road and their business almost dies. That's before they find a pipeline flowing along their property.

Tapping into the pipeline is insanity. It's not the type of insanity to laugh at. Then they hire Beverly which is another form of insanity. This is dumb and dumber although Cheevers is a good talker. More than anything, he's a horrible friend. Clopp must have used up all of his nine lives. In a cartoon, Clopp should be caught in a fireball and come out completely blacken. This is a little funny although I wish Cheevers would treat Clopp better.

Slight is right. But somehow it doesn't matter. It's still a rather enjoyable little movie. There just isn't much going on at all here, but it's bright and brisk and agreeable. It offers up some token conflict from time to time, but it's almost as if it's envisioning an audience with heart problems - it doesn't want to do anything that might upset them or cause them undue stress.

The key here is Mickey Rooney. He is just a human dynamo; his immense self-confidence is exhilarating, contagious. He wings through each scene without a trace of doubt or indecision. His timing, his uncanny sense of pacing, his delivery, are impeccable. He is precision incarnate. It's a very, very strong, potent characterization.

Wasn't quite so impressed with Eddie Bracken. You want him to supply some legitimate resistance to Rooney's brazen scheming, some spark. He isn't necessarily a good comic match for him. Bracken is never as lovable as he's supposed to be. He doesn't complement Rooney in an ingenious enough way - the way a good, seasoned straight man really should.

Other assets would have to be the clean, crisp photography and gorgeous Elaine Stewart as Rooney's love interest. More than the curves, he admires the dollar signs in her eyes. Cute film.

I saw this film in 1954 and have not seen it since. Why it still sticks in my mind after all this time is a bit of a mystery, but 2 scenes stick out in my memory. The first previously described in an earlier comment was the scene where the main characters are drilling into the gas line with sparks flying around, the second where the motorcycle cop pulls them over in their open topped gas laden truck and lights up a smoke. The look of panic on our heroes' faces nearly made me wet myself! This film was released in the U.S. on VHS some years ago. I bid for it on ebay but was skittled in the rush. I'd love to see it again, if only to see if I could still laugh as much.

I live in Australia where we call gas petrol.

Bill.