Dog Eat Dog (1964)

"Crackers! I'd rather have fresh panties in Teaneck, New Jersey.", 21 April 2006

IMDb's short plot synopsis is written better than anything I can come up with – "Three thieves rip off a shipment of used money being sent back to the US. As they are escaping the robbery (after having taken a hostage), they wind up on an island in a hotel with an apparently crazed manager and a building full of demented residents."

If you're a fan of over-the-top, campy, Euro-heist films, Dog Eat Dog has got it all. Let's see – mix the iconic Jayne Mansfield, genre favorite Cameron Mitchell, $1,000,000 in stolen cash, a mysterious killer, a (supposedly) deserted island, and a jazzy score and you've got Dog Eat Dog. It may not be what some critics and others would call a "good" movie, but if you like this sort of stuff, it's a winner.

These are some of the most eccentric characters I've run across. Jayne Mansfield plays Darlene, the negligee wearing female member of the gang of thieves. She has an annoying habit of beginning each sentence with the expression "Crackers!" I'm not sure why or what it means, but it's a hoot. She's also a complete nymphomaniac. Cameron Mitchell is the real tough guy of the group. He receives a head wound early on and refuses to wipe the blood and dirt off the side of his face for the entire movie – even though the film takes place of a couple of days time. Then there's the crazy old woman who owns the only house on the island. A nuttier old coot I don't think I've seen. You could spend considerable time just trying to figure her out. And that's just for starters. You've also got the hyena laughing third robber, the bald German butler, the hotel manger out for himself, or the hotel manager's virginal sister. It's this bizarre cast of characters each out for themselves that makes Dog Eat Dog so much fun.

7/10