Robin And The 7 Hoods

Robin And The 7 Hoods (1964) starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk

Synopsis of Robin And The 7 Hoods

It’s The Rat Pack meets Robin Hood in this sly Runyonesque musical revision of the Robin Hood legend, done up Chicago gangland style. Frank Sinatra stars as Robbo, caught up in a gang war with rival mobster Guy Gisborne (Peter Falk) after mob chieftain Big Jim (Edward G. Robinson, in an uncredited cameo) get the big rub-out. With allies Will (Sammy Davis, Jr,) and John (Dean Martin) at his side, Robbo gets suborned by Big Jim’s daughter Marian (Barbara Rush) to ice the man that iced her dad to the tune of 50 Gs.

Cast of characters

• Frank Sinatra (Anchors Away, Take Me Out to the Ball Game) … Robbo.  The mobster whom Big Jim thought of as a son, and wanted to take over the rackets.  When a gang war is imminent, he takes a different tack.  He robs from the rich, takes his cut, and then gives to the poor.  This ingratiates him to the people …
• Peter Falk (Columbo, The Great Race) … Guy Gisborne.  Robbo’s rival, for both the territory, and Big Jim’s daughter
• Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes) … Big Jim. The gangster who gets rubbed out at the beginning of the film, leaving his territory behind … and his lovely daughter.
• Sammy Davis, Jr. (The Cannonball Run, Salt and Pepper) … Will. Robbo’s right-hand man, good with a gun. And prone to breaking into dance while using it!
• Bing Crosby (Holiday Inn, White Christmas) … Allen A. Dale. The world’s oldest orphan, who joins the gang to help Robbo distribute his charity.
• Dean Martin (Hollywood or Bust, Pardners) … John.
• Barbara Rush (It Came from Outer Space) … Marian.  Big Jim’s daughter, who has her own plans, and is willing to play both sides against each other. She sides first with Robbo. Then John. Then Guy. Then Potts. Then …
• Victor Buono (Batman season 1) … Sheriff Potts
• Hank Henry (Pal Joey) … Six Seconds
• Robert Foulk (Bonanza) … Sheriff Glick. The corrupt sheriff, firmly in Guy’s pocket. Until he becomes too greedy for his own gun. And gets entombed in the cornerstone of the new police station!
• Allen Jenkins (Five Came Back) … Vermin
• Jack La Rue (The Kennel Murder Case) … Tomatoes
• Robert Carricart … Blue Jaw
• Joseph Ruskin (The Scorpion King) … Twitch
• Phil Arnold … Hatrack
• Harry Swoger … Soupmeat
• Bernard Fein … Charlie Bananas
• Richard Bakalyan (Panic in the Year Zero) … Robbo’s Hood
• Sonny King … Robbo’s Hood
• Phillip Crosby … Robbo’s Hood
• Al Silvani … Robbo’s Hood
• Harry Wilson … Gisborne’s Hood
• Caryl Lee Hill … Cocktail Waitress
• Mickey Finn (The Spider) … Bartender
• Dick Simmons (Love Laughs at Andy Hardy) … Prosecutor

Songs

• My Kind of Town, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, Performed by Frank Sinatra
• Mr. Booze, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, Performed by Bing Crosby and cast
• All for One and One for All, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, Performed by Peter Falk & Chorus
• Don’t be a Do-Badder, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, Performed by Bing Crosby & The Mitchell Boy singers
• Any Man Who Loves His Mother, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, Performed by Dean Martin
• Style, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, Performed by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin
• Bang! Bang!, Lyrics by Sammy Cahn, Music by Jimmy Van Heusen, Performed by Sammy Davis Jr.
• Jingle Bells, Written by James Pierpont (1857), played during the Santa Claus scene near the end.

Editorial review of Robin And The 7 Hoods courtesy of Amazon.com

Robin and the 7 Hoods mirthfully gives the Robin Hood legend a Depression-era, mobtown Chicago setting. There, North Side boss Robbo (Frank Sinatra) hopes to get a leg up in his power struggle with rival racketeer Guy Gisborne (Peter Falk). Robbo sets himself up as a latter-day Robin Hood with philanthropic fronts enabling him to scam the rich, take his cut and then give to the poor. Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bing Crosby and Barbara Rush join in the giddy, gangsterish fun. And the jazzy Sammy Cahn/ James Van Heusen score (including Sinatra’s classic “My Kind of Town“) is the perfect match for this all-star cast. Chicago will be your kind of town, when you share the music and merriment of Robin and the 7 Hoods.