So unexpected. Sterling Hayden's character was made out to be this stubborn, hardass cop. The entire film we're thinking, 'Whatever Gene Nelson does will never be good enough for this jerk'. And then the ending. He truly was a good guy all along! Loved it.
shareBut only for a moment... and never again. As soon as he sticks that toothpick back in his mouth, he's back to his uncompromising ways.
shareI agree that the ending is fun and that Hayden is great *but* it also was very dependent on (at least) two surprise revelations - that Lacey left a note, and that Hayden's cop read it and understood it and committed massive manpower on the strength of it. This is cute, but it makes everything we see a bit of a cheat. The script *could* show us Lacey frantically scribbling a note thereby creating suspense (Will Hayden find it? Understand it?) etc. but does not. We could (and realistically should) have seen Hayden ordering up the massive fire-power for the Bank (or at least for something!) but we don't. This is unsatisfying.
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