Robin and the 7 Hoods

source: Robin and the 7 Hoods

Trailer—Robin and the 7 Hoods

Robin and the 7 Hoods

When you combine talent such as Crosby, Davis, Sinatra and Martin, plus the great songs of Kahn and Van Heusen... but what's to complain about? This is enough for an evening's treat! Add to that the wonderful (should have been better, but still wonderful) "Mr. Booze" number, the fabulous Peter Falk (much under-rated in this role) and Bang! you've got memorable stuff, such as, in no particular order: Sammy's "Bang! Bang!" not only allows us to see/hear all of Sammy's performing skills, but is a very clever "gangster number." (If they ever make "The Godfather" into a musical, I hope they include this!) Then, there is the tongue-in-cheek "Style," employing the three biggest stars in show business at the time, two of them veritable legends; thirdly, the aforementioned, "Mr. Booze," is a brilliant piece of musical/theatrical chicanery. Catch it, and keep an open mind. This ain't Shakespeare.

Take the Rat Pack (an expression Sinatra hated, by the way), add some great songs, a decent story, AND Bing Crosby, and what do you get? Well, less than you might expect-I've rated this a "7", because despite the above, Sinatra much of the time looks like he'd rather be someplace else, and Peter Falk's performance is cliche'-ridden. The reason to see this one is Bing Crosby. He has several great songs, delivered in his inimitable style, such as "Mr. Booze". And his comedy bits, especially as a preacher to a Salvation Army-like meeting, are hilarious.

I'll be honest in saying that I was really looking forward to seeing this one. I guess I was expecting another Ocean's 11 type of film and boy, I didn't get it. Basically U get half Ocean's 11 and half a musical. I think their train of thought on this one was to try 1 last time to bring back the musical into the 60's (w/ Bing singing and sammy and frank and deano) and it just wasn't very interesting. I though Peter Falk stole the whole show. If U want vintage Rat Pack stuff, see either Sergeants 3 or Ocean's 11 cause this one is from a bygone day of musical comedy/crime, and those just never worked. Let's just say it's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back...dammit.

I don't want to comment on the quality of the movie, but there are only two movies in my life, that ALWAYS succeed to lighten my mood, when I am sad and down. One is "Robin and the 7 Hoods". (the other is Disney's "Junglebook"). There are much better movies on this planet, but the songs and humor in this one don't let me down. On "Mr. Booze" I show my qualification as a "Seat-Dancer". Hans Conried as the architect makes me laugh my head off, every time. I am a little disappointed that none of the other commentators featured the pool-billiard scene with Dino singing "Any Man who loves his Mother...". Any man who loves this movie is man enough for me...

Can't believe the negative reviews. The final gathering of the Rat Pack in one movie, and they played it to the hilt. Sure it's silly and unreal but these are legends we'll not see the like of again . Adding Peter Falk to the mix just made it even better.

...no, but that might have made a more interesting picture than this. It's Prohibition-era Chicago, and Frank Sinatra coasts indifferently through his role as a gangster in 1928 trying to stay one step ahead of the law, aided by his faithful cronies. Sappy semi-musical doesn't even look good! It's a poor excuse to get the gang together. Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. are joined this time by Bing Crosby, Edward G. Robinson (uncredited), Victor Buono and--in the proverbial pretty girl role--Barbara Rush. Yet everyone here seems to be either distracted or suffering from a bad case of the blues, particularly Ol' Blue Eyes, who looks wrung-out. The film's only kick comes in seeing Crosby and Sinatra reunited from "High Society", and by Peter Falk doing lively work in a dim part. *1/2 from ****

I was expecting less, as I once saw this referred to somewhere as a "self-indulgent" effort from The Chairman of the Board. I found it, au contraire, to be a solidly entertaining, well-made comedic effort with high production values, beautifully shot (the film really needs letterbox to show it off; catch it on American Movie Classics). Good work from all the leads, Peter Falk in particular, as well as the many familiar charcter actors. It is interesting how Frank's outfit never seems to quite fit into the 1928 setting - he always seems ready to step off the screen into 1964 Las Vegas. The nostagically vaudevillian number "Style", sung by Frank, Dean, and Bing, is worth the whole movie. Well worth a see.