Big Deal on Madonna Street

With heist caper films (such as Jules Dassin's 1955 classic Rififi [VL-7/01]) already ripe for parody by 1958, Mario Monicelli's Big Deal on Madonna Street (remade as Crackers by Louis Malle in 1984) took aim at the genre's conventions and sank a three-pointer from the top of the cinematic key. Which is more than can be said for the misfit band of tough guy wannabes Monicelli's classic chronicles: the glass-jawed boxer-cum-babe-magnet (Vittorio Gassman), the hapless papa (Marcello Mastroianni) who baby-sits his wailing kid while the mom finishes up her jail sentence, the safecracker (Toto) who rents everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-do-it-yourself burgling kits to would-be thieves, and an overprotective brother (Tiberio Murgia) who literally keeps his va-va-voom sister (Claudia Cardinale) under lock and key. As these "small time crooks" (in fact, the 2000 Woody Allen film would lift a scene right out of Big Deal) forever spin their wheels in the planning stages (with various personal problems taking precedence), the audience begins to doubt whether the "big deal" will ever actually come off. Not to worry: the grand heist comprises the comic highlight of this amiable film set to an upbeat jazzy soundtrack. Sporting no extras beyond Criterion's characteristically pristine image and clear sound, Big Deal on Madonna Street is a cute little gem that still retains a fair amount of sparkle over 40 years after its initial release. Recommended. (R. Pitman)