Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

Great Film overall

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

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.

One of the more pleasant surprises I had watching movies was watching "Oceans Eleven" with the Rat Pack plus several others. I had just assumed it was a vanity project and nothing more. To my surprise, it was a heck of a good film with a heck of a good story. Because of this, I was much more inclined to watch a film by these folks in the future...and sadly, I saw "Robin and the 7 Hoods" next...a rather dull little film that seemed to go on and on and on!One of the big reasons I wasn't so taken by "Robin" was that it was a musical and never at all took itself seriously...very much unlike "Oceans Eleven". To me, "Oceans Eleven" was entertaining to the audience..."Robin and the 7 Hoods" was mostly entertaining to Robin and his 7 hoods! In other words, these old friends may have enjoyed getting back together but that alone isn't the reason to make a film.Perhaps some of my boredom with this movie is that I am not a huge Rat Pack fan. I don't have an overwhelming need to see Dean, Frank and Sammy...so to get my attention they need a film that would excite anyone, not just devoted fans. And, sadly, it's just for the devoted fans...period.While I must admit some of the songs were nice, the story just seemed very lightweight and skippable. And, many times the film seemed to come to a dramatic climax...yet it then continued. I call this poor writing and these actors deserved better.

According to a Trivia entry on this film, much gloom hung over the production of "Robin And The 7 Hoods", on which filming had commenced just prior to the assassination of President Kennedy, followed closely by the kidnapping of Sinatra's son, Frank Jr. Camelot was dead, and the effects of that showed through here.What was intended to have been a frothy, witty fable of Chicago mobsters in the roaring 20's instead sadly comes off as forced and overly contrived. That's not to blame the cast, who surely carried on as best they were able to. But still, everyone looks embarrassed, and most of them seem to be phoning-in their performances. Some of the dialog is badly wilted even by early '60's standards.Overall production quality is good though, with colorful and clever sets, and the proceedings manage to rally around a few memorable, well-executed songs. Motion picture studios did not consider Sinatra to be especially easy to work with, and the influence he wielded had already dictated cast changes early-on. Conspicuously missing are fellow Rat-Packers Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who's roles were filled by Bing Crosby and Peter Falk. It's still enjoyable if you're a fan of the cast, but try as they may, the film is lacking something vital, having become a victim of history.

This, the last of the so-called 'Clan/Rat Pack' movies was also marginally the best; the first entry, Ocean's Eleven, was a stylish caper movie with laffs, the second, Sergeants Three, and third, Four For Texas, were strictly for die-hard fans but Robin And The Seven Hoods has the style and polish of Ocean's and a much larger score by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen which is also far superior to the two numbers they wrote for Ocean's Eleven. This is an integrated score in the sense that the songs aren't meant to stand alone but to support and/or advance the plot which they do to a fare-thee-well but nevertheless one of them, the last, My Kind Of Town, performed by Sinatra to celebrate his being exonerated on trumped-up charges went on to become one of his signature songs, performed in his live concerts ever after. There's a great cameo from Eddie Robinson that kickstarts the plot and fine ensemble playing throughout. Recommended.