Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
As famous as this movie is supposed to be, I don’t really recommend watching it. Chances are, you’ll only be watching it because you like Frank Sinatra and want to join the Rat Pack, but if you manage to sit through this two-hour debacle, you’ll try to withdraw your membership application.
To put it simply, everyone involved in this movie was having a really bad day. The songs, written by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen, were unspeakably awful and universally too slow in tempo. The one famous song to come out of it, “My Kind of Town”, felt like it had been slowed down by fifty percent. Dean Martin, though never accused of being a good actor, looked like he didn’t know what was going on and that he could barely remember the minimal choreography. And if Sammy Davis, Jr. can’t sell a song, nobody can. During the one horrible song he was given, he looked like he was giving a Jerry Lewis impression. Finally, Frank Sinatra, who once was full of pep and vigor as he tap danced alongside Gene Kelly, looked incredibly tired and angry. In nearly every scene, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world. I wondered what could have happened to him during the filming, since it was obvious his mind was elsewhere, and after the film was over I read the backstory behind his very noticeably grumpy performance. I’m sure if you read up on the film as I did, you’ll cut him some slack.
Robin and the 7 Hoods takes place during the 1920s, and Frank Sinatra and Peter Falk head up rival factions of a Chicago gang. While Frankie has the Rat Pack on his side, Peter has classic old timers like Harry Wilson and Allen Jenkins at his table. The best part of the film is the beginning, when the gang celebrates the birthday of gang-leader Edward G. Robinson. It really is a great five minutes, but the movie tumbles downhill immediately after that. The film pokes fun of Bing Crosby's fashion , which is a throwback to his notoriously bad clothing choices in real life, but no one else in the film has any taste either! Green, pink, and brown don't go together.
One more thing: Any Family Guy fans out there will want to watch one number from this film: "Mr. Booze". If you've already seen the spoof, watching the original will have you in stitches.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Bing Crosby movies here!
More Edward G. Robinson movies here!
More Frank Sinatra movies here!
To put it simply, everyone involved in this movie was having a really bad day. The songs, written by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen, were unspeakably awful and universally too slow in tempo. The one famous song to come out of it, “My Kind of Town”, felt like it had been slowed down by fifty percent. Dean Martin, though never accused of being a good actor, looked like he didn’t know what was going on and that he could barely remember the minimal choreography. And if Sammy Davis, Jr. can’t sell a song, nobody can. During the one horrible song he was given, he looked like he was giving a Jerry Lewis impression. Finally, Frank Sinatra, who once was full of pep and vigor as he tap danced alongside Gene Kelly, looked incredibly tired and angry. In nearly every scene, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world. I wondered what could have happened to him during the filming, since it was obvious his mind was elsewhere, and after the film was over I read the backstory behind his very noticeably grumpy performance. I’m sure if you read up on the film as I did, you’ll cut him some slack.
Robin and the 7 Hoods takes place during the 1920s, and Frank Sinatra and Peter Falk head up rival factions of a Chicago gang. While Frankie has the Rat Pack on his side, Peter has classic old timers like Harry Wilson and Allen Jenkins at his table. The best part of the film is the beginning, when the gang celebrates the birthday of gang-leader Edward G. Robinson. It really is a great five minutes, but the movie tumbles downhill immediately after that. The film pokes fun of Bing Crosby's fashion , which is a throwback to his notoriously bad clothing choices in real life, but no one else in the film has any taste either! Green, pink, and brown don't go together.
One more thing: Any Family Guy fans out there will want to watch one number from this film: "Mr. Booze". If you've already seen the spoof, watching the original will have you in stitches.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Bing Crosby movies here!
More Edward G. Robinson movies here!
More Frank Sinatra movies here!