This film had all the elements of a film gone wrong:an international cast,standard heist plot,Euro pop/jazz soundtrack,ham handed action and Jayne Mansfield. Could any film project have been more predestined to be awful?
I was expecting so much worse. Imagine the surprise of discovering how much fun this movie was with all of it's sorry bits working together in some sort of obtuse harmony.
The dialog is over the top outrageous. Check these three prizes just from the trailer:
"Crackers, it's just mad money"....
"You are rude dirty and ugly. We do not cater to rude,dirty,ugly men. Get out."
Or better yet: Madame Benoit:"Where did you get this stuff? It's dishwater." Bartender: "It's the prunes, Madame.Since Socialism they don't let the peasants crush them with their feet any more. It impairs the flavor." Madame Benoit: "It's still dishwater."
And those are just a few of a beginning to end feast of howlers. How could one not love dialog like this ? It's so absurd it's almost genius.
To think Arthur Miller worked so hard on "The Misfits".I will have to watch the film again just to catch all the gems.
And yet: Jayne Mansfield was never again more natural, seeming to have dispensed with the "Divoon" Marilyn parody and almost playing it straight.
It could be the dubbing that made her seem more part of an ensemble rather than a running gag. Someone else dubbed her voice.It works and the dubbing is very well done for a 60s Euro film, everything is in harmony.
It's an awful film on so many levels, but consistently awful from plot to soundtrack, to dialog. It's a package deal that works on all those levels because of it's awfulness. It's what makes "Dog Eat Dog" fun.
The cast is interesting and watchable, the heavy breathing dialog worthy of John Waters, the euro artiness of it gives it an air of sophistication, even legitimacy that was probably never intended.
An accident of a film: accidentally entertaining. One of those "so bad it's good" films. Perfect for a double bill with Elizabeth Taylor's "The Driver's Seat".
Such a surprise to find it so entertaining as I was definitely expecting to feel depressed after watching Jayne Mansfield in it,as I did with "Las Vegas Hillbillies", "The Fat Spy" and "Single Room Furnished".
Maybe this one was Jayne's last great film. Like Marilyn's "The Misfits".
Would definitely watch it again.
Not a waste of time at all. Definitely worth seeing.
