Take The Money And Run

Woody Allen's first film as a director/star shows you just how little you need in the way of budget or ideas in order to make a film as he rattles through a series of gags built around the life story of Virgil Starkwell, a particularly inept bank robber..

Fitfully funny but mainly just plain silly, there are many elements characteristic of Allen's later and much better work. The fake doco technique which became a common device in comedy in general and Allen's work in particular, was revisited most notably in Zelig (1983), whilst his fixation with petty crime would be resumed, once again with more watchable results in Small Time Crooks (2000), And of course the schlemiel character is the foundation of his career.

FYI: Louise Lasser, who appears at the end of the film was Allen's first wife.

 

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