"Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964)

[HollywoodGolightly]

 

Not every mob movie can lay claim to having some of the best singing and dancing in the gangster genre.

 

But if you're a fan of the Rat Pack, you'll probably enjoy Robin and the 7 Hoods, a reworking of the Robin Hood story transposed to Prohibition-era Chicago - with Frank Sinatra leading the pack as the strong-minded Robbo; Dean Martin as his partner Little John, and Peter Falk as his archenemy, Guy Gisborne.

 

There's also Sammy Davis Jr., as another of Robbo's associates; Bing Crosby as a smooth-talking gentleman who gets swept into the life of crime; beautiful Barbara Rush as the double-crossing femme fatale, Marian; and even a funny cameo by the gangster icon himself, Edward G. Robinson.

 

(Another famous Rat Pack member, Peter Lawford, who was so good alongside Frank and Dean in Ocean's Eleven, unfortunately isn't in here - his experience as a sing-and-dance man in the old MGM musicals is sorely missed)

 

The plot details really aren't very important, because you know these guys really mean business, and their business is to entertain you. Knowing that this was the Rat Pack's last movie also gives it a special quality, because it's kind of like a final film farewell.

 

Packed with some of the most entertaining numbers you'll ever see in a gangster movie, Robin and the 7 Hoods is good, solid entertainment from start to finish.

[stjohnrv]

Howdy Hollywood, the other day is was browsing the cheap DVDs i stumbled across a copy of this film. I had seen it when it first came out. Well as I have mentioned Sinatra rivaled God for me back in the day, but i hadn't seen it for years and there it was for $6.99. I watched it today & oh my those guys invented cool and then took it to a level nobody else ever has or IMHO ever will. If they were considered Hollywood's bad boys it was only because everybody else wanted a piece of their lifestyle and didn't know how to get it. Sinatra's CHICAGO is great , but you know my favorite song from the film was the little ditty Dean sang while fleesing Frank at pool.Good Movie the best rat pack with Oceans next and Sgt. 3 way back in the pack.

 

Edited by: stjohnrv on Mar 31, 2010 9:36 AM

[HollywoodGolightly]

stjohn,

I'm so glad you got the DVD and enjoyed it all over again! This is imho a pretty underrated movie, wish more people knew about it.

 

Of course I still think it would have been even better if they hadn't replaced Peter Lawford with Bing Crosby, but that's just a small quibble for me.

[wouldbestar]

Of course I loved this movie; I'm a woman. I respected Sinatra for letting down his macho image and letting Robin get taken to the cleaners by Marian. Flynn, Todd, or Kostner never did that. Falk was hilarious and the music pretty good. A Bang, Bang, Bang-up good time.

[HollywoodGolightly]

This was also one of Falk's earliest screen credits, funny how long he's been in the business.