Take the Money and Run (Woody Allen) 1969

Now we get to Allen’s true debut as a director. In actuality, Allen didn’t want to direct this movie but eventually did take control when he couldn’t get the director he wanted. Continuing with the innovation he showed with Tiger Lily and its format, in this movie he makes what is cited as the first widely released “mockumentary”. Now I’m not sure about that claim but I will say he was one of the first. The movie is shot as a documentary about Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen). He is an inept criminal but the narrator plays like he is one of the most ruthless bank robber in history.

There really isn’t much of a plot to be had as this feels like a string of comedy shorts. I’m actually not saying that as a bad thing. The mockumentary approach works well as it feels natural the fake filmmakers are highlighting the big moments in Virgil’s life. It also works well in a comedy sense in that the jokes are told in a rapid fire pace so if one bit doesn’t work we quickly move onto the next sketch.

We also for the first time see Allen’s trademark “nebbish” behavior. I think its so trademark I swear the word “nebbish” was created just for Woody Allen cause that is the only time I hear it. This character is a true love him or hate him, and the people that hate him REALLY hate him. I will admit, the prototypical Allen character was a reason I stayed away from his movies for so long. It took me a while for me to warm up to that brand of comedy and where he was coming from. To me, it is the comedic equivalent of an acquired taste.

Even though we get Allen’s nebbish character, Take the Money and Run doesn’t have the usual intellectual humor we come to expect from Allen. This movie is more general with its humor with puns, verbal humor, and even physical humor. Again, this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, I found much of the movie to be hilarious. As I mentioned earlier, the movie is so quick with it’s jokes that even if you don’t care for a few, Allen throws about ten in the span of a minute. It kind of feels like a Monty Python Flying Circus themed episode with all the sketches matching a loose theme.

This movie isn’t perfect. It is his first movie and it does feel very raw. Allen still has a lot to learn before we get to the likes of say Manhattan. I also hear the movie had to be saved by the editor because the initial cut was getting very bad reactions. Allen would then retain this same editor for many of his next movies. Overall this is a very fun movie. It is an unpolished gem from Allen who shows his talents as a comedy writer. Accessible to everyone and runs at a blistering 80 minutes I recommend this movie. Next up on my review of Allen’s filmography is Bananas.