Take the Money and Run (1969)

93% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
76% of users liked it
(10,920 ratings)

When Woody Allen's fans refer to his "earlier, funnier" pictures, they often cite his directorial debut as a shining example. Co-written by Allen and Mickey Rose, this side-splitting takeoff of crime documentaries stars Allen as Virgil Starkwell, a sweetly inept career criminal. The film's most… More When Woody Allen's fans refer to his "earlier, funnier" pictures, they often cite his directorial debut as a shining example. Co-written by Allen and Mickey Rose, this side-splitting takeoff of crime documentaries stars Allen as Virgil Starkwell, a sweetly inept career criminal. The film's most celebrated sequence involves Virgil's inability to write coherent holdup notes ("I have a gub"), but others include Virgil's losing battle with a recalcitrant coke machine and his misguided effort to emulate John Dillinger by carving a gun out of a bar of soap (his weapon disintegrates in a heavy rain). As was often the case in Allen's early films, not all the gags work, but for the most part, Take the Money and Run is a delight, enhanced by the on-target supporting performances of Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire, and (uncredited) Louise Lasser, as well as the energetic musical score of Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Woody Allen
Written By: Woody Allen, Mickey Rose
Genres: Classics, Comedy

On DVD: Mar 13, 2001
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This good natured, episodic spoof of gangster movies was Woody Allen's first film as a director.
Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media
Generous laughs in satirical early Woody Allen escapade.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Sight gags and one-liners abound in this funny Woody Allen comedy, one of his earliest.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Not really good, but interesting early Allen.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...if one gag doesn't work, just wait a second or two and something else is bound to strike your fancy.

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Featured Audience Ratings

First L

Take the Money and Run is a surrealist crime comedy that's little more than a loosely bound series of gags, and yet somehow the whole thing works. Woody Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, perhaps the world's worst criminal. He gets caught trying to rob a bank because the… More
Take the Money and Run is a surrealist crime comedy that's little more than a loosely bound series of gags, and yet somehow the whole thing works. Woody Allen plays Virgil Starkwell, perhaps the world's worst criminal. He gets caught trying to rob a bank because the tellers can't read his hold-up note. He tries to pull another bank job with a gang, and a separate gang holds up the same bank at the very same time. Life is a series of hard knocks for Virgil, until one day when he's about to rob a beautiful girl, and decides to talk to her instead. The two soon become a couple and marry, and it's here the movie makes it's strongest point. The dialogue is at it's strongest and most realistic in the couple's exchanges, especially in the way she refuses to allow him to get away with lying. She knows him all too well, you see. The rest of the world are idiots, though. Unable to recognize even the lamest of schemes, everyone from cops and judges on down to the everyday people are all at the mercy of slightly-above-average-intelligence Virgil, and yet he always manages to do himself in due to his extreme ineptitude. In a movie that's just a series of gags, with the barest and loosest of plots, its fortunate that most of time it works.
Anthony L

I found it quite tame and Allen a little annoying!
Jennifer X

I remember I was reading some Woody Allen Q&A session with Eric Lax and he was talking about how inexperienced he was while making this movie and how difficult it was to direct, so I was surprised to find that this was actually a very tightly structured narrative. All the physical… More
I remember I was reading some Woody Allen Q&A session with Eric Lax and he was talking about how inexperienced he was while making this movie and how difficult it was to direct, so I was surprised to find that this was actually a very tightly structured narrative. All the physical comedy scenes are priceless but it's never like tiresome joke, joke, joke one after the other. The story works passably as well. It's actually one of the better comedies, believe it or not - miles ahead of Bananas and Love and Death. And the women Woody goes for are all so pretty and awesome too - sweet and willing to take a joke, but not in a wallflower sense at all.
Aaron N

Virgil: After fifteen minutes I wanted to marry her, and after half an hour I completely gave up the idea of stealing her purse. Woody Allen's first big movie. It is done in the style of a mockumentary with hilarious dead pan narration. This movie surrounds the life of Virgil… More
Virgil: After fifteen minutes I wanted to marry her, and after half an hour I completely gave up the idea of stealing her purse. Woody Allen's first big movie. It is done in the style of a mockumentary with hilarious dead pan narration. This movie surrounds the life of Virgil Starkwell, a career criminal...a terrible career criminal who gets caught nearly every time he robs something. The movie goes on about his life, using plenty of gags and running jokes along the way, the majority of which are very funny. Eventually Allen would find his calling in his dialog, but this is a very funny movie in a loony sort of way. Louise: He is always very depressed. I think that if he'd been a successful criminal, he would have felt better. You know, he never made the 'ten most wanted' list. It's very unfair voting; it's who you know.
Lafe F

I used to love this movie when I was a youngin' - but now it seems lame.
xGary X

Another of Woody Allen's earlier, more joke orientated spoofs, this has some really funny moments in his once favoured mockumentary style.
Michael G

One of Allen's funniest. The cellist in the marching band and the Dillinger bit were classic.
alan j

Great early Woody film..laugh out loud..silly...funny stuff...enjoyable for any fan of the 'funny' side of Woody...