Take the Money and Run (1969)

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

In the style of faux-documentary which would be used with varying success all over cinema, Woody Allen's 1969 film, arguably his first true directorial feature chronicles the life of Virgil Starkwell, the always struggling inept thief. Virgil's incompetence plays out on the screen through complete hilarity. Woody Allen's grasp of comedy was evident in his earliest features proving the talent of the iconic director. I have endured the early features of many directors and rarely are they as good as Allen's Take the Money and Run. I have even grown used to the notion of knowing I'll have to slog through many subpar films before getting to the gems of my favorite directors, with Allen, though, no such notion exists. As we follow Virgil, played by Woody Allen, through his attempt at a music career and his obsession with bank robberies, we see the quick- witted dialogue and brilliant comedic gags now synonymous with Allen's work. Don't skip Take the Money and Run, there is enough essential Woody Allen contained in this early gem to last a lifetime.

Review: This movie was another attempt of humour from Woody Allen, which I found silly and not that funny. The storyline, which is based around a failed cello artist who turns to robbery after failing to be able to hold a job, seemed really over the top and the main character has to be the dumbest criminal in America. After getting caught numerous times, he ends up a regular in jail which puts a strain on his relationship with his wife. I honestly don't think that your supposed to take this movie seriously because the scenes are so far fetched and just plainly dumb. For a movie that was made in the 60's, it did make a healthy profit so the studios must have been happy, but from an audiences point of view, I just couldn't get into it. Not Funny!Round-Up: Woody Allen really had his ups and downs during the 60's because some of his movies were really crap but some were a work of art. I have definitely noticed that every one of his films have something to do with sex in them, regardless of the concept, and in this movie, which is based around a wannabe criminal, he still managed to get his leg over. Anyway, on the whole, it's not a movie that I would watch again in a hurry, but it's harmless fun if you just want some noise in the background.Budget: $1.5million Worldwide Gross: $3millionI recommend this movie to people who are into there Woody Allen movies about a failed cello player who turns to a life of crime but fails terribly. 2/10

Oh Woody Allen, you beauty. One of your movies a day keep the blues away. I must have seen more than a dozen Allen movies and this is the funniest of the lot. It tells the tale of an "inept robber" according to the IMDb survey. made in the same documentary mode as his latter Zelig, this is a much better movie than that due to hilarious events happening throughout the movie and Allen's exceptional acting. He is absolutely adorable as the robber who tries the most outrageous ideas to get out of the jam he is in and which include such originality as making a gun out of soap and black polish. This is among his earliest movies and we can see that Woody Allen was a prodigy, an exceptional talent right from the word go. Absolutely fantastic.

The summary is from the last line of Vincent Canby's NY Times review dated August 19, 1969, and 40+ years later it's still apt. Like Airplane, Take the Money and Run is a gloriously absurd, uproarious, rapid fire parody, and along with Sleeper, Zelig, and The Purple Rose of Cairo it remains one of Allen's funniest and best sustained comedies. There's a wonderfully slapdash feel to the film and the documentary style complete with narration and newsreel footage allows the visual comedy to keep pace with Woody's one-liners. Take the Money and Run is often overlooked in favor of some of his more belabored comedies but it's essential Allen, and lovely Janet Margolin is sweet and funny, and so is the film. Classic comedy.