The film was based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Donald E. Westlake. It was the third book of Westlake's Dortmunder series.[4] One of the shooting locations was Bob Hope's Malibu Canyon plantation.[5]
Overall, critical reception of the family-friendly comedy was on the negative side. Critic Gene Siskel, who called himself "one of few Americans who publicly declared his affection for On the Right Track" concluded that Coleman's follow-up was "definitely on the wrong track."[7] Siskel's TV counterpart Roger Ebert also found little to like in the film, but admitted that kids may well enjoy it.[8]
Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun wrote in his review: "Jimmy the Kid proves a longstanding cinema law: Any movie calling itself a "comedy crime caper" is likely to be a misdemeanor against good taste."[9]
Carter Colwell of The Daytona Beach News-Journal wrote in his review: "ONCE UPON a time, Donald E. Westlake wrote a bunch of funny mystery stories. And then one day, he wrote one that was not very funny, but it was still pretty funny. In it, a bunch of klutzy burglars decide to conduct a kidnapping, following a plan laid out in a book one of them has read. And then Donald E. Westlake sold his pretty funny kidnapping story to Hollywood. And they made a movie out of it. It was called Jimmy the Kid. It was not very funny. And it was not pretty funny either."[10]
Jimmy the Kid was released in theatres on November 12, 1982. In the Lawrence Journal-World, a national newspaper advertisement used in November 1982 to advertise release of film.[12]Jimmy the Kid was released on VHS.[13]
Koetting, Christopher T (2013). Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures (1st ed.). Parkville, Maryland: Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. p. 222. ISBN978-1936168422.
