A quartet of Vietnam vets stage a bold bank robbery, posing as guys starting up a toy company. They make their escape across L.A. rooftops, but in the end, only Murdock (Bo Svenson, "The Inglorious Bastards") is able to make a clean getaway. Still, in order to do this, he dumps his share of the loot into a mailbox. Now, he has to wait for an opportunity to retrieve his ill-gotten gains before the mailman makes his late night pick-up at a quarter to midnight.

The hitch is that two people have witnessed his desperate act. Eccentric but gorgeous artist Mary Jane (Cybill Shepherd, 'Moonlighting') watched from her nearby apartment window, and a lowlife bartender / pusher, Graff (Michael C. Gwynne, "Payday") just happened to be on the scene at the time. Graffs' knowledge spells trouble, because he puts two and two together and figures to profit nicely, but Mary Jane, despite being a pain in the ass, mostly just wants some excitement in her life. She's not about to rat out Murdock.

John Melson ("Battle of the Bulge") and James Edward Grant ("Sands of Iwo Jima") concocted this sadly overlooked and under-appreciated 70s heist comedy-thriller. (As of this writing, there's only one other review at IMDb.) It's so fresh and funny, not to mention intriguing, that it really holds your attention. Add to that capable direction by solid journeyman director Paul Wendkos ("The Mephisto Waltz"),a peppy soundtrack written by top composer Lalo Schifrin ("Dirty Harry"),and excellent use of a select few locations, and you have the ingredients for good entertainment. The action all takes place within 24 hours, so there is also a very effective story momentum.

Bo and Cybill are terrific leads, and do work together quite well. Often, a lot of what Bo does is to react to other characters, and he's consistently amusing. Cybill has rarely been as appealing as she is here. They're literally surrounded by familiar faces: Tom Atkins ("Halloween III: Season of the Witch") as a cop, Sorrell Booke ('The Dukes of Hazzard') as a bank manager, Gerrit Graham ("Used Cars") and Jeff Goldblum ("The Fly" '86) as swaggering punks, Vic Tayback ('Alice') and Robert Ito ('Quincy M.E.') as mobsters, John Quade ("The Last Hard Men") as their henchman, Kim Richards (the "Witch Mountain" movies) as a bratty young girl, Deidre Hall ('Days of Our Lives') as a massage parlour worker, and Charles Lampkin ("Five") as a mailman.

Overall, engaging material that keeps its grip and rarely offers a let-up until its ridiculous, but priceless, twist ending.

Eight out of 10.

A group of Vietnam veterans pull off a daring bank robbery, but almost all of them with the exception of ringleader Jack Murdock (an excellent and engaging performance by Bo Svenson) are arrested by the police. Although Murdock gets away, he's forced to stash the stolen loot in a mailbox and has difficulty retrieving said money in the forms of flaky artist Mary Jane (delightfully played by the insanely foxy Cybill Shepherd) and wormy dope pusher Graff (a nicely slimy turn by Michael C. Gwynne),both of whom witnessed the drop.

Director Paul Wendkos keeps the engrossing and entertaining story zipping along at a brisk pace, stages the exciting action sequences with considerable skill and aplomb, and maintains a pleasingly easy'n'breezy tone throughout. The sharp script by John Nelson and James Edward Grant presents a neat array of colorful offbeat characters as well as a real doozy of a final plot twist. Svenson and Shepherd display a wonderfully loose and natural chemistry in the appealing lead roles. This film further benefits from a terrific supporting cast: Robert Ito as formidable crime kingpin Mr. Chu, Vic Tayback as vicious mobster Wyatt, John Quade as flunky Barney, Jeff Goldblum and Gerrit Graham as a couple of lowlife hoodlums, Sorrell Booke as antsy bank president Hubert Zane, Tom Atkins as a street cop, and Kim Richards as a bratty little girl. Harry Stradling Jr.'s slick cinematography gives this picture an impressive polished look. Lalo Schifrin's funky score hits the get-down groovy spot. A super fun flick.

Quirky low-budget action-comedy with a puzzling script that doesn't bear close scrutiny, but which is enjoyable nevertheless. Bo Svenson plays a first-time bank robber who stashes his loot in a mailbox; Cybill Shepherd is a kooky divorcée who wants a little fun--and part of the action. The film takes place in one day and, within this tight framework, the four credited screenwriters (John Melson, James Edward Grant, Gilbert Ralston and Don Gazzaniga) manage to skillfully create characters who are amusing and colorful. The Vietnam vet angle used at the beginning is weak (it serves as both excuse and apologia for Svenson's bank robbing) and some of the action is poorly staged and filmed (and visually confusing). However, the final heist and car chase is exciting, and Svenson and Shepherd are a nice match. The two don't set off cinematic sparks, but they have an easy camaraderie; Shepherd is relaxed, even soft, while Svenson displays a surprisingly light touch (he's up for just about anything, including impersonating a gay dog-lover). Jeff Goldblum's name is all over the video-box, however his role as a mugger is (thankfully) brief. **1/2 from ****