Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) - film review

Having put Chicago mob boss Big Jim Stevens out of the way, Guy Gisborne elects himself his replacement and attempts a merger with all the other gangs in the city.  His rival Robbo has no intention of forging an alliance with the ruthless Gisborne and inevitably their two gangs go to war.  Big Jim’s daughter Marian then shows up on Robbo’s doorstep and offers him fifty thousand dollars if he will take out the man who killed her father.  Robbo refuses but when the city sheriff mysteriously disappears (having been disposed of by Gisborne), Marian mistakenly thinks he did her dirty work and sends him the money she promised.  In a fit of pique, Robbo tells his men to give away this unwelcome windfall to the city’s poor.  In no time, Robbo has earned the reputation of a latter day Robin Hood, thanks to some free P.R. provided by orphanage secretary Alan A. Dale.  Robbo’s new image proves to be good for business, and the city’s rich fall over themselves to line his pockets.  The main casualty of Robbo’s success is Gisborne, who decides that it is high time the city of Chicago knew the truth about their new folk hero...

Frank Sinatra’s attempt to produce an MGM-style musical doesn’t quite make the grade but, with some catchy tunes provided by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, it is far from being a total disappointment.  Sinatra appears alongside his fellow Rat Pack buddies - Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. - with Bing Crosby added to the line-up as a last-minute replacement for Peter Lawford (who had just fallen out with Sinatra over a presidential visit).  Edward G. Robinson makes a magnificent cameo appearance as a gangland boss (reprising the role that first earned him stardom) and Peter Falk hams up his part for all it is worth as Lieutenant Colombo’s bad twin brother.  The glamour is provided by Barbara Rush, who is stunning in her authentic 1920s gowns.  No wonder the decade roared.    

Robin and the 7 Hoods has two killer weakness - a rambling plot and poorly choreographed song and dance numbers.  Gene Kelly was initially hired by Sinatra to produce the film but pulled out at an early stage, much to the film’s detriment.  Gordon Douglas’s appointment as director presumably had less to do with his experience in the musical genre and more to do with the fact that he had once made a film about the original Robin Hood - Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950).  Douglas had previously worked with Sinatra (opposite Doris Day) in Young at Heart (1954).

Although the film could certainly have benefited from Gene Kelly’s inspired touch, Sinatra and his chums salvage what might have been a disaster with their sheer verve and enthusiasm, delivering a feel-good, albeit slightly messy and morally dubious, gangster farce.  The musical highlights are My Kind of Town, superbly performed by Sinatra, and Style, a toe-tapping show-stopper from the dazzling trio Sinatra, Martin and Crosby.  As time killers go, few are as enjoyable or as classy as this one.

© Steve Chandler 2010

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