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The only real fun to be had from the belaboring of this plot comes from Ronald Reagan, who rarely gets a crack at light comedy. He does a good job of giving some old gags a new gloss; and masquerading as an immigrant student in one of Schoolmarm Mayo's naturalization classes, he gets off an excellent range of muddled European accents. Brightest piece of invention: a bit of hot-weather Americana, in which the sound track picks up the nasal lovemaking of a Brooklyn couple in the moonlit shadows of Jones Beach.
The Big Steal (RKO Radio) is a melodrama with some real assets: 1) it was handsomely photographed against handsome Mexican backgrounds; 2) it has one of the fastest and longest chases of the current season; 3) it never once pauses long enough to draw a serious breath.
Most of the chase takes place on wheels. In the first automobile is a sleek stickup man (Patric Knowles) who has absconded with a fat U.S. Army payroll. Close behind come an Army lieutenant (Robert Mitchum) and a mysterious young woman (Jane Greer). In the third car is Mitchum's superior officer (William Bendix). Trailing far behind at a leisurely Latin pace is Ramon Novarro, a sly Mexican police official who, like the audience, is trying his best to figure out the turns & twists of the plot.
In fleeting moments, the cockeyed speed of the chase recalls the wonderful jet-propelled jalopies of the old silent comedies. Not half so effective as comic relief is the stock, bug-eyed mugging of William Bendix. One of the best things in the film is the shy, incredulous expressions of the Mexican extras.