The Great Bank Robbery
| The Great Bank Robbery | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Hy Averback |
| Written by | Novel: Frank O'Rourke Screenplay: William Peter Blatty |
| Produced by | Malcolm Stuart |
| Starring | Zero Mostel Kim Novak Clint Walker Claude Akins |
| Cinematography | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| Edited by | Gene Milford |
| Music by | Nelson Riddle |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts |
Release date | September 10, 1969 |
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.5 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
The Great Bank Robbery is a 1969 Western comedy film from Warner Bros. directed by Hy Averback and written by William Peter Blatty, based on the novel by Frank O'Rourke. The movie had a soundtrack with songs by Jimmy Van Heusen.[2]
Plot
Gold stolen by outlaws is stashed in the impenetrable bank of Friendly, a small town in Texas. A preacher, Rev. Pious Blue, is actually a thief. He and his associates, including partner Lyda Kebanov, plan to tunnel into the vault and blow it up with TNT, just as a Fourth of July celebration drowns out the noise.
There are complications. A number of rival gangs also are after the loot. Then there is Ben Quick of the Texas Rangers, a lawman out to find evidence confirming the corruption of banker and mayor Kincaid that is also inside the vault.
The reverend's band is successful, distracting the bank's guards by having Lyda pretend to be Lady Godiva, riding nude on a white horse. They intend to escape by hot-air balloon. The gold is too heavy for liftoff, however. Lyda volunteers to abandon ship, in part because she has fallen for Quick, who finds the proof he needs to convict Kincaid while the reverend and the gold fly safely away.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Zero Mostel | Rev. Pious Blue |
| Kim Novak | Sister Lyda Kebanov |
| Clint Walker | Ranger Ben Quick |
| Claude Akins | Slade |
| Sam Jaffe | Brother Lilac Bailey |
| Mako Iwamatsu (as Mako) | Secret Agent Fong |
| Akim Tamiroff | Papa (Juan's father) |
| Larry Storch | Juan |
| John Anderson | Mayor Kincaid |
| Sam Jaffe | Brother Lilac Bailey (art forger) |
| Elisha Cook, Jr. | Jeb (as Elisha Cook) |
| Ruth Warrick | Mrs. Applebee |
| John Fiedler | Brother Dismas Ostracorn (explosives) |
| John Larch | Sheriff of Friendly |
| Peter Whitney | Brother Jordan Cass (tunneling) |
| Norman Alden | The Great Gregory (balloonist) |
Critical reception
Vincent Canby of The New York Times had nothing but disdain for the film:
The Great Bank Robbery, the Western farce that opened yesterday at neighborhood theaters, is probably the least interesting movie of 1969 through this date. I hedge because there are several films I haven't seen, and because The Great Bank Robbery is so casually inept it can't support even negative superlatives.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15
- ^ "The Great Bank Robbery (1969) : Soundtracks". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (1969-09-11). "Movie Review - The Great Bank Robbery - An Inept Western Farce Opens on Local Screens - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
External links
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- 1969 films
- 1960s comedy films
- 1960s Western (genre) films
- American films
- American comedy films
- American Western (genre) films
- English-language films
- Films based on American novels
- Films directed by Hy Averback
- Films set in the 1880s
- Films set in Texas
- Heist films
- Warner Bros. films
- Western (genre) comedy films
- 1960s Western (genre) film stubs
- 1960s comedy film stubs