MGM
You gotta love the Warner Archive for their impressive collection of great classics from Hitchcock to Bogart, popular films that somehow never made their way to DVD, and really odd movies that few people remember outside of the original theatrical release.
The Archive has recently issued a new DVD of just one of those oddities, Every Little Crook and Nanny starring Lynn Redgrave, Austin Pendleton, Paul Sand and “The Original” Victor Mature … not that there was ever another one, but Mature had retired — twice — and returned to acting after the second time with this film.
MGM
The story of Every Little Crook and Nanny finds dance and etiquette teacher Miss Poole (Redgrave) losing her place of business when mob boss Carmine Ganucci (Mature) tells his lawyers to buy the building where her school is located. Ganucci is also about to embark on a vacation to Rome with his wife and needs a nanny to care for their young son. Not willing to watch her school be pulled out from under her, Miss Poole pays a visit to Ganucci’s office, and finds herself the only viable candidate for the nanny position. With the job suddenly thrust upon her, she decides to hatch a plan with her friends Luther (Pendleton) to “kidnap” the boy for $50,000 for the both of them, half of which she would use to re-open her school elsewhere. It seems like a fool-proof plan, but of course nothing is ever fool-proof when you’re trying to shake down the Mafia (not that there really is a Mafia).
The film features a slew of familiar TV faces including John Astin, Dom DeLuise, Louise Sorel, Pat Harrington, Severn Darden, Phil Foster and Pat Morita, with quick uncredited cameos from Vic Tayback and Isabelle Sanford, but this 70s style of filmmaking uses the method of having the characters scream at each other to garner laughs. There’s also a scene with Pendleton and a dachshund that had me cringing the way he was carelessly handling the poor animal. He finally put the dog down with a clumsy thud and that was the last we saw of the poor thing. Thankfully.
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Redgrave does a decent job of holding the plotlines together as the other characters cause them to unravel at times. Mature seems to be enjoying himself getting to play the man in charge in his last leading role, Paul Sand is Paul Sand, quiet, low-key, befuddled but sometimes easily rattled. Pendleton is just a bit too manic and yelly. The real standout is Mina Kolb as Ida, Luther’s put-upon wife. Kolb has to reign in Pendleton’s mania while being a loving mother to this child that’s placed in her care, giving her a chance to finally be the mother she always wanted to be. The boy, Lewis (Phillip Graves), falls in love with her, telling her she’s a better mother than his own. Ida ends up being the one character in the film the viewers can actually root for, and that’s all thanks to Kolb’s performance. (Fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm may recognize Kolb from her role as Jeff’s mother.)
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For a film of this vintage, the 1972 production looks to be in remarkably good shape in this Warner Archive presentation. There is no discernible film damage, film grain is fine and natural looking, and the audio track is crisp and clear with no signs of loud hiss or popping. It’s not known if the folks at the Archive did any type of restoration for the DVD, but the image is fine, colors look accurate, and there are no complaints with the sound. The only extra on the DVD is the original theatrical trailer. If you’re a fan of Redgrave, Mature or just offbeat comedies from another era, then Every Little Crook and Nanny is worth adding to your collection.
The Warner Archive provided Hotchka with a DVD for reviewing purposes.
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