Although There Was A Crooked Man… is rather low-keyed and takes its own sweet time to reveal itself, it is a movie of the sort of taste, intelligence and somewhat bitter humor I associate with Mr. Mankiewicz who, in real life, is one of America’s most sophisticated, least folksy raconteurs, especially of stories about the old Hollywood […] A duel between two men, one good, one bad, and it’s these smaller, more civilized confrontations, done with irony and wit, that make the film one of the more pleasant things you’re likely to see this season. — Vincent Canby, 1970.