




Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Here is Kubrick's first big film, and damn do I enjoy it. I remember owning the Kubrick DVD collection, but then discovering that the set did not include much of his early stuff. I don't get why they leave those off, because as soon as I saw this I knew it was being under appreciated.
The character of George in this makes me love every minute he's in. When we first meet him and his wife, I cannot contain my laughter. Such a great couple in fights. Then his actions as the film progresses are all even better. Sterling Hayden is a great lead too. Seeing him in this made me realize he's more than just his character from The Godfather.
We also get a great storytelling concept. We keep getting little bits of information on how this robbery is going to happen; just enough to keep you interested but never so little you get bored. And you keep going back and forth in timing, seeing things from different player's perspectives.
You know what my biggest problem is though? That stupid TV show is what people think about first from the title instead of this great movie.