Take the Money and Run (1969)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writers:

Woody Allen (original screenplay) and
Mickey Rose (original screenplay)

Release Date:

13 March 1971 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

crime lives!

Plot:

The life and times of Virgil Starkwell, inept bank robber.

Plot Keywords:

Bank Robbery | Parade | Cello | Baseball | FBI

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Virgil Starkwell
Janet Margolin	...	Louise
Marcel Hillaire	...	Fritz - Director
Jacquelyn Hyde	...	Miss Blair
Lonny Chapman	...	Jake - Convict
Jan Merlin	...	Al - Bank Robber
James Anderson	...	Chain Gang Warden
Howard Storm	...	Fred
Mark Gordon	...	Vince
Micil Murphy	...	Frank
Minnow Moskowitz	...	Joe Agneta
Nate Jacobson	...	The Judge
Grace Bauer	...	Farm House Lady
Ethel Sokolow	...	Mother Starkwell
Dan Frazer	...	Julius Epstein - The Psychiatrist (as Don Frazier)
Henry Leff	...	Father Starkwell
Mike O'Dowd	...	Michael Sullivan
Jackson Beck	...	The Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louise Lasser	...	Kay Lewis
Stanley Ackerman	...	Stanley Krim, the photographer (uncredited)
Thomas Bellin	...	Member of Virgil's gang (uncredited)
Michael L. Davis	...	Police Officer in Coffee Shop (uncredited)
Dwight D. Eisenhower	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Prison guard captain (uncredited)
Kaiser Wilhelm II	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mickey Rose	...	Chain gang man (uncredited)
Paul Schumacher	...	Patrolman Lynch (uncredited)

Directed by
Woody Allen

Writing credits
Woody Allen		(original screenplay) and
Mickey Rose		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Sidney Glazier	....	executive producer
Jack Grossberg	....	associate producer
Charles H. Joffe	....	producer
Jack Rollins	....	producer (uncredited)
Edgar J. Scherick	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Marvin Hamlisch

Cinematography by
Lester Shorr		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Paul Jordan
Ron Kalish

Casting by
Marvin Paige

Art Direction by
Fred Harpman

Set Decoration by
Marvin March

Makeup Department
Stanley R. Dufford	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Fred T. Gallo	....	unit manager
Jack Grossberg	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Walter Hill	....	second assistant director
Louis A. Stroller	....	assistant director
Stanley Ackerman	....	second second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ted Moehnke	....	construction supervisor (as Theodore Moehnke)
Ken Phelps	....	set propertyman
Chardin W. Smith	....	chargeman painter

Sound Department
Bud Alper	....	sound mixer
Sanford Rackow	....	sound effects editor
John Strauss	....	sound effects editor
Dick Vorisek	....	re-recording engineer (as Richard Vorisek)

Special Effects by
A.D. Flowers	....	special effects

Stunts
Carol Daniels	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Til Gabani	....	camera operator (as Till Gabbani)
Morton Gorowitz	....	lighting supervisor
Fred Hoffman	....	photographer: second unit
Harry Stern	....	grip
Jack H. Wilson	....	gaffer
William Mendenhall	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Erick M. Hjemik	....	wardrobe supervisor
Bob Wolfe	....	set wardrobe

Editorial Department
James T. Heckert	....	supervising editor
Ralph Rosenblum	....	editorial consultant

Music Department
Felix Giglio	....	music supervisor
Frank Kulaga	....	music recordist
Kermit Levinsky	....	conductor
Kermit Levinsky	....	orchestrator
Sanford Rackow	....	music editor
John Strauss	....	music editor

Other crew
Don Boutyette	....	unit publicist
Jeanetta Lewis	....	script supervisor
Henry Polonsky	....	production assistant (as Hank Polonsky)
Fouad Said	....	location manager
Bert Schneiderman	....	production auditor
Lynn Vogel	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
• Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions
• Palomar Pictures International

Distributors

• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1978) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1995) (worldwide) (all media)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2001) (Spain) (DVD)
• Transvídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• VTF Multimedia S.L. (Spain) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Berkey Pathé  opticals
• National Recording Studios  music recording
• Paige Independent Casting  casting

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:12 | Iceland:L | USA:PG (DVD rating) | Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:M | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

The first time Woody Allen performed the triple duties of writing, directing and acting in a film.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the bicycle sequence Woody is chained in the middle of the prisoners, but when they enter the old lady's house, he is the first man on the chain.

Quotes:

Louise: He'd have the gang over for a meeting and I'd put out a little tray of pretzels and bullets... I had to. He's my husband.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: (#3.25)" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Soul Bossa Nova

Highly entertaining feature-length film debut from Woody Allen.

Take the Money and Run (1969) was Woody Allen's motion picture debut (sans 'Tiger Lily). The film follows the life of a criminal loser, shot in a faux documentary style. Allen used the most out of his small budget and made an amusing film. This was the beginning of his slapstick/farce phase that would last until the early 70's. An interesting start for one of America's most unique film-makers of that era. The script by Mickey Rose and Woody Allen is deeply engraved with screwball humor from their childhood icons such as the Marx Brothers and Charles Chaplin. This film showed the promise of a brilliant director who would become a major player in Hollywood in the years to come. Highly recommended.

A.