Take the Money and Run

We are kind of grasping at straws with the sixties because both of us have watched a large amount of the more well known "mainstream" movies on our own time, so today we chose to watch Take the Money and Run.

Kamala: I had seen this one before, I really like Woody Allen movies, and this one is the first movie he ever directed.

Emily: It was produced by United Artists. In the early 60's, UA bought a TV channel that produced Gilligan's Island and other successful shows. Basically, unlike most other big studios in the 1960's, UA had money. In 1967, two years before Take the Money and Run was made, UA was bought by Transamerica. The new ownership encouraged, even more than before, new and innovative directors such as Woody Allen, Robert Altman, and more. This allowed for a lot of artistic freedom for directors like Allen, who was able to direct his first feature film for himself, with all his characteristic humor.

Kamala: Oooh we should watch a Robert Altman sometime...

Emily: I thought this one was really funny. There is this one scene where Woody Allen's character, Virgil Starkwell, is trying to play cello, sitting down in a chair, with a marching band. He spends like 30 seconds fumbling with the chair, bow, and cello and trying to keep out of the way of his fellow bandmembers.

Kamala: It is filled with classic Woody Allen little detail jokes, along with his adorable jew humor. In prison Virgil volunteers to try out an experimental vaccine. The only side effect he discovers is that he is temporarily transformed into a rabbi.

Emily: This movie was hilarious. People mostly think that the only Woody Allen movies worth watching are Manhattan and Annie Hall, but this movie proves that his earlier films are just as good. I guess by earlier films I mean some of his sillier, lesser known comedies like Love and Death, Bananas, What's Up Tiger Lily, Casino Royale, What's New Pussycat, and finally Take the Money and Run. All of which Kamala has seen, strangely, I didn't realize how much she likes Woody Allen movies.

Kamala: yeah