US Release date: 1 July 1949
First Melbourne Saturday Suburban: 15 July 1950
Genre: Crime
Country: USA.
Running time: 71 minutes.
Director: Don Siegel
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer & William Bendix
Australian Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Melbourne Premiere Venue: Three weeks at Hoyts Lyceum Theatre from 2 June 1950 with Make Mine Laughs as support.
Suburban Release Type: Hoyts Victory EX-2
Rankings
| Rank | ||
| EF Points | 247 | 92 |
| EF PPE | 4.57 | 115 |
| Metres Travelled | 536,746 | 73 |
| Average MT | 9,940 | 237 |
| Engagements | 54 | 34 |
| Slots | 62 | 92 |
| Weeks | 8 | 135 |
| Weeks as % of engagements | 14.81% | 165 |
| Saturdays | 25 | 80 |
| Sats as % of engagements | 46.30% | 129 |
| Tuesdays | 21 | 95 |
| Tues as % of engagements | 38.89% | 151 |
| First billed | 45 | 74 |
| Second billed | 9 | 196 |
| Feature only | 0 | 34* |
Hoyts Ratios
| Engagements weeks 1-10 | 50 |
| Ratio | 92.59% |
| Difference to chain ratio | 0.23% |
| Eng weeks 11-26 | 4 |
| Ratio | 7.41% |
| Difference to chain ratio | 2.02% |
| Eng weeks 27-52 | 0 |
| Ratio | 0.00% |
| Difference to chain ratio | -2.24% |
| Hoyts eng | 33 |
| Ratio | 61.11% |
| Difference to chain ratio | -4.67% |
| Independent eng | 7 |
| Ratio | 12.96% |
| Difference to chain ratio | 1.46% |
| Suburban eng | 14 |
| Ratio | 25.93% |
| Difference to chain ratio | 3.21% |
NOTES: Nifty star vehicle that spread its pairings amongst several titles. On Mitchum’s name alone it sold well on Saturdays and Tuesdays, enough to give it a spot in the top 100 EF rankings. Rarely moved from from the inner suburbs.
The Big Steal engagements
| SUBURB | VENUE | CHAIN | DATE | W | D | B | CO-FEATURE |
| St.Kilda | Victory | Hoyts | 15/7/50 | 1 | W | 2 | Adam and Evelyne |
| Albert Park | Park | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Fitzroy | Regent | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| North Fitzroy | Merri | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Port Melbourne | Eclipse | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Richmond | Cinema | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Caulfield | Crystal Palace | Suburban | 22/7/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Collingwood | Austral | Suburban | 22/7/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Abandoned |
| Malvern | New | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Brunswick | Padua | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | W | 1 | Adam and Evelyne |
| South Yarra | Regent | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | W | 2 | Adam and Evelyne |
| Windsor | New | Hoyts | 22/7/50 | 2 | W | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Northcote | Northcote | Suburban | 29/7/50 | 3 | S | 2 | Adam and Evelyne |
| Richmond | Globe | Suburban | 29/7/50 | 3 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Ascot Vale | Waratah | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Essendon | Plaza | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Glenhuntly | Glenhuntly | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Thornbury | Regent | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Ascot Vale | Ascot | Suburban | 29/7/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Camberwell | Rivoli | Suburban | 29/7/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Newmarket | Newmarket | Suburban | 29/7/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Abandoned |
| Brighton | Centre | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Elsternwick | Renown | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Essendon | Circle | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Coburg | Grand | Hoyts | 29/7/50 | 3 | W | 1 | Adam and Evelyne |
| Camberwell | Broadway | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | S | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Carnegie | Carnegie | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Preston | Circle | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | S | 2 | Lucky Stiff |
| Balwyn | Time | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Bentleigh | Bentleigh | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Glenferrie | Palace | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Hampton | Southern | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Kew | Rialto | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Footscray | Trocadero | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | W | 1 | Adam and Evelyne |
| Gardiner | Regent | Hoyts | 5/8/50 | 4 | W | 2 | Adam and Evelyne |
| Hartwell | Regal | Suburban | 12/8/50 | 5 | S | 2 | Adam and Evelyne |
| North Fitzroy | Palace | Suburban | 12/8/50 | 5 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Brunswick | Lygon | Hoyts | 12/8/50 | 5 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Fairfield | Fairfield | Suburban | 12/8/50 | 5 | T | 1 | Abandoned |
| Canterbury | Maling | Hoyts | 12/8/50 | 5 | T | 2 | Christopher Columbus |
| Ivanhoe | Ivanhoe | Hoyts | 12/8/50 | 5 | T | 1 | Christopher Columbus |
| Malvern | Victory | Hoyts | 12/8/50 | 5 | T | 2 | Christopher Columbus |
| North Melbourne | Loco | Independent | 19/8/50 | 6 | S | 1 | Abandoned |
| Yarraville | St. George | Suburban | 19/8/50 | 6 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Williamstown | Shore | Hoyts | 19/8/50 | 6 | S | 1 | Lucky Stiff |
| Elwood | Broadway | Independent | 19/8/50 | 6 | T | 1 | Miraculous Journey |
| Oakleigh | Paramount | Independent | 26/8/50 | 7 | S | 1 | Adventure in Baltimore |
| Clifton Hill | Clifton | Suburban | 26/8/50 | 7 | W | 1 | Adam and Evelyne |
| Box Hill | Rialto | Suburban | 2/9/50 | 8 | S | 1 | Under Nevada Skies |
| North Richmond | Victoria | Independent | 9/9/50 | 9 | S | 2 | Whiplash |
| Reservoir | Plaza | Independent | 30/9/50 | 12 | T | 1 | El Paso |
| Preston West | Rivoli | Independent | 7/10/50 | 13 | S | 1 | Adventure in Baltimore |
| Malvern East | Verne | Suburban | 28/10/50 | 16 | S | 1 | Tarzan’s Magic Fountain |
| Coburg West | Progress | Independent | 2/12/50 | 21 | T | 1 | Adventure in Baltimore |
The 1950 Project 