I'm not a big Terry-Thomas fan -- too much overacting too often -- but in this little gem his comic intuition is well-tuned to the business at hand, and it produces some very fine moments indeed. Still, I'm rather more enchanted with the group dynamics of this hapless gang of thieves, and I think the script-writer's best lines are given to them. Of particular value are the always can't-wait-for-it lines of the ex-wrestler, who seems at every turn to plumb incisively the depths of human ignorance and stupidity. Kudos too to the character of the wife and the sudden transformation that, let's face it, saved the film from veering perhaps into the Awful Ditch of Ennui. And let's do try to remember that just because there is a genre pigeon-hole into which this movie may be placed, it doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed for the great fun that it is.
More mention should also be made of the musical score by Stanley Black. Mr. Black led his own orchestra in many a recording of what we'd now call elevator music, but he also has a thrilling recording of the lighter music of Aram Khatchaturian, and I seem to remember others in the classical vein. Here, he shows a deft gift for composing film music. The galop running behind the opening credits has a tightness that many an overture writer could do worse than emulate.