User reviews

I actually enjoyed this. Saw it on TCM and was glad I stumbled upon it flicking the channels.

It's fun.

It's not as slapstick as BS as I said, but it entertains, and is a little deeper comedy wise than some folk give it credit for. It's meant to be very stereotypical... the story line, characters etc Only the song in the Church i felt was not needed... felt a little Disney-ish.

The lead actress Kim Novac is absolutely stunning, worth watching just to see her. Will def be looking in to other films she made. Reminded me a bit of a cross between Doris Day and Goldie Hawn.

In the western town of Friendly, there's a bank so impenetrable that even as hordes of Mexicans stampede down the street to rob it, people continue chatting and throwing horseshoes because it's just that impossible to rob. This is the bank referred to in the title of this spoofy western, in which no less than four separate teams are planning to break in, most of whom want the loot that famous outlaws have stashed there (because of it's fortress-like stature and a manager who keeps the books hidden from authorities.) Mostel plays a faux-reverend whose flock include a tunnel-digger, a demolitions man, an artist and a decoy (played by a shockingly curvy and flesh-flashing Novak.) He is the top-billed star of the film, but it's really an ensemble piece not unlike "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" or any other overdone comedy in which disparate people want the same thing and wind up fighting for it in an extended chase at the end. Walker plays a Texas Ranger who wants inside the bank for it's account information. Other potential bank robbers include Tamiroff and Storch leading the Mexican contingent of bandits and Akins as an outlaw who claims to hate killing people, though he does so frequently. The film is broad and occasionally loud, but has been unfairly dismissed as worthless and unfunny. Though the humor is low and sometimes lame, there are still a number of laughs to be had. All of the performers are quite dedicated to their roles and to the parodic elements of the story. Some of them just tend to overplay it. Mostel has an outlandishly ridiculous musical number which is funny in spite of itself. It's so tacky and ludicrous it winds up being entertaining on a camp level. Novak, not exactly a strong comedienne, has a lot to offer physically. She betrays all her fine earlier work in films like "Vertigo" (!) and "The Man with the Golden Arm" taking on such a decorative and exploitive role, but does deliver on those terms. Walker is everyone's ideal authority figure. Sure and proud, he's the perfect choice for his role. He has a dazzlingly bizarre picnic scene with Novak in which he is slipped some peyote and is given a rare opportunity to cut loose and have some fun while displaying (for one of the last times?) his tremendous chest. At 42, he puts anyone else on earth to shame hanging from a tree by one arm and rolling around in the grass with his head upside down. Many other familiar actors round out the cast, notably "All My Children"'s Warrick in a weak role that she makes the very most of. Cook also does well as Akin's nervous sidekick. It's all a big, overblown mess by the end (and in a grievous error, Walker is offscreen for ages in the climax), but it's worth a look for several amusing moments and the physical attributes of Novak and Walker. The approach to drugs is dated and it doesn't always hold up completely, but there is a certain degree of cleverness in it. One note: A free bag of peanuts to anyone who can understand what Tamiroff is saying in his opening scene.

About five years before this film hit the movie theaters, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World proved a box office success. It was a cartoonish, madcap collection of skits bound together by its central theme--a race to find a buried treasure.

One might wonder if the success of that film inspired The Great Bank Robbery and other films. TGBR is also cartoonlike and wacky. Like Mad World, it features competing factions out to find wealth--this time to rob a bank of its gold. It does not boast the array of film and television stars that Mad World does, but there are a few: Zero Mostel, Kim Novak, Clint Walker, Claude Akins, Larry Storch, Sam Jaffe, Elisha Cook, Jr.

I am not sure what rating the film earned, but it contains some nudity that might deserve an R, which is surprising, because the film has the feel of a Disney product, like The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975). It even features two songs with words by Sammy Cahn.

In the end, this is an uneven film. But if you like the kind of mugging you can expect from Larry Storch or Zero Mostel, it has a certain charm.

Zero Mostel managed, after being blacklisted in the McCarthy period, to climb back to his place as one of the leading stage personalities of his day. UlYSSES IN NIGHTOWN, RHINOCEROS, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF made him a Broadway immortal. The film versions of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED and THE PRODUCERS showed he could have been one of the great screen comedic actors. Then, came GREAT CATHERINE and THE GREAT BANK ROBBERY, and Zero soon was seen as good as support but not in leads. He would have other screen highlights in the future (THE HOT ROCK, THE FRONT), but the possible great film career was screwed up.

As Reverend Pious Blue, Zero was supposed to be the head of a gang masquerading as revivalists, but actually a criminal gang planning to rob the bank owned by Big John Anderson (who is also the town Mayor). The gang includes Kim Novak and John Fiedler. The trouble is that others are considering a bank robbery: Claude Atkins, the film's stereotypical (?) bad man, and a gang of Mexican bandits led by Akim Tamiroff and Larry Storch. There is also a hero, who is romancing Kim, played by Clint Walker. These various elements, which also include Atkins' sidekick Elisha Cook Jr. and Ruth Warwick, simply do not jell. There are moments that are amusing, but more that are simply stupid. The robbery itself is not as good as the destruction of the theater by Zero, Gene Wilder, and Kenneth Mars in THE PRODUCERS, and that sequence only took five minutes of film (originally - now it's been cut to three minutes). The most notable point about it was the getaway (in a balloon).

But there was one bright spot - not Zero but Claude. Atkins was always a good actor, usually as heavies (even in INHERIT THE WIND he was the fundamentalist reverend who turns against his daughter for supporting Bertram Cates). Another typical role was in THE DEFIANT ONES, when he is the man who would turn Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis over to the Sheriff (Theodore Bickel) because of his racism. But in this film he was allowed to be unique. He is the most moralistic gunfighter I know of in film. Every time he faces one of the questionable characters in the film, he starts referring to them as "scum" or "scum of the earth". It becomes like a moralistic mantra. He is a man with a hot temper, as Cook discovers to his cost, but he can show a nice sense of remorse afterward. His over-the-top moral bad-guy is the best thing in the film. As a result watch it for that. But otherwise it was a dismal failure for everyone else involved.

John Anderson has come up with a great idea in The Great Train Robbery. He has a bank in the town of Friendly, Texas that caters to bank robbers who want to hide their loot. People like the James Brothers, the Daltons, the Youngers all swear by him and it's a pretty secure facility. In effect Anderson has invented money laundering.

The big gangs avoid this place especially since Claude Akins gang is responsible for security. But a Mexican gang headed by father and son Akim Tamiroff and Larry Storch want to take it down.

And also there's a gang of confidence men disguised as clergy people and Zero Mostel heads it as the new town preacher. Other members are Peter Whitney, John Fiedler, Sam Jaffe, and Kim Novak. They've got a rather involved scheme to rob this place.

Before there was Blazing Saddles there was The Great Bank Robbery. Maybe this could have used the touch of Mel Brooks, but it's funny enough for me.

Best scene for me is Kim Novak exposed to peyote and then treating Texas Ranger Clint Walker. Walker is busy satirizing the cowboy hero myth and what peyote does to a cowboy hero is something to see.

Lots of laughs in this forgotten comedy.

"Cat Ballou" meets "The Sting," though not as good as either. Zero Mostel leads a group of con artists scheming to rob a high security bank. It's a pretty standard comic heist story, except that it's set in the old west. The main charm of the film is the cast, led by Mostel and Kim Novak, but which also includes Clint Walker, Claude Akins, Larry Storch, Sam Jaffe, Mako, and Elisha Cook Jr. The film also features a peppy score by Nelson Riddle, but overall, it's pretty inconsequential fluff that I may have enjoyed more than most because of my affection for Kim Novak.

It was a bank that could not be taken but three different gangs tried and all the same morning . As there are three separate plans, one of them led by Clint Walker , the second commanded by Zero Mostel and third by Akim Tamiroff and his son Larry Storch . With apologies to Willie Sutton , Jesse James and Bonnie and Clyde !

Amusing take off on bank robbery films in which three group of outlandish , rambunctious characters attempt a bank heist with fateful and unexpected consequences . Western parody in which satire goes on and on the same premise and being really funny .This wacky spoof is packed with mayhem, a large number of silly laughters , great entertainment and a lot of amusement . Most of the laughs and sight gags galore work pretty well , humor is also bald and intelligent , with a myriad of imaginative sketches . Demystified as well as amiable Western was one of a group that during the 60s and 70s changed the concept of this particular genre each bent on disproving a popular myth , yet tinged with humor, spoof and combining with antiheroes or insane people . The formula tries to enhance the comical observation of the western created in the 60s decade , with filmmakers as Andrew McLagen , Burt Kennedy with Support you Local Gunfighter , Support you Local Sheriff, Dirty Dingus McGee and director Michael Gordon with Texas across the river . Along with three main stars : Zero Mostel , Clint Walker , Kim Novak giving sympathetic performances , appear a lot of familiar faces , such as : John Anderson , Sam Jaffe , Elisa Cook Jr , Peter Whitney , Norman Alden and many others.

The motion picture was well directed Hy Averback . He was an expert on comedy genre , being his main films the following ones : Where were you when the lights went out ? , I love you Alice B Toklas ! , Suppose they gave a war and nobody came ?, Pearl , A guide for the narried woman, She's in the Army now , Where the Boys are , among others .

By 1969, Zero Mostel had finally achieved some Hollywood recognition. After a fine performance in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and an even better one in THE PRODUCERS, I suppose Warner Brothers figured Mostel had a charmed film career. Well, after back to back disasters like THE GREAT BANK ROBBERY and GREAT CATHERINE, I don't believe Mostel ever had another starring role. Actually, Mostel comes off better than most of the cast.

t this point in her career, Kim Novak was apparently reduced to displaying lots of cleavage (as does Ruth Warrick), and she and everyone else overacts pretty horribly. This is especially surprising with as talented a comedy director as Hy Averback (I LOVE LUCY) at

the helm. Actually, the only cast members left standing with much of their dignity are Elisha Cook, Jr. and Clint Walker. Especially terrible are Larry Storch and Claude Akins. Today, the drug usage gags would probably get this movie a PG-13 or an R. As it is, they are no funnier than the rest of the movie. Oh well, the cinematography is pretty...

Warner Bros made a great PR note that Kim Novak was to star in her first Warner Bros film The Great Bank Robbery. At first when I heard it I was dismayed because Kim Novak took second billing to Zero Mostel who true to his name the fine actor had 'Zero' box office, and also because I believe Kim replaced Melina Mecouri, not a good sign for a major star of the then magnitude of Kim Novak's stardom. Also Kim Novak had just starred in the flop The Legend of Lylah Clare at MGM and I thought Kim took the first big paycheck offered to her; I was wrong. Ms Novak is gorgeous and delightful in this zany comedy directed by Hy Averback and co starring WB rugged Clint Walker along with a cast of fine character actors. This film is a delightful surprise.

Scripted by William Peter Blatty, based on a novel by Frank O'Rourke, "The Great Bank Robbery" offers some genial fun for lovers of Westerns & comedies. The story revolves around three separate attempts to plunder the riches of the bank in the town of Friendly; two of these attempts involve the digging of tunnels. Zero Mostel ("The Producers") plays a bogus preacher with a bogus flock, Clint Walker ("The Night of the Grizzly") is a jut-jawed Texas ranger, and Akim Tamiroff ("Touch of Evil") is a hard-luck bandito with a dopey son (Larry Storch, 'F Troop').

"The Great Bank Robbery" is the kind of comedy that made me smile often, but rarely laugh out loud. I found it all rather mild, at least until the over-the-top, chaotic finale that pulls out all the stops.

It's the cast that makes this work as well as it does; they're certainly working hard themselves. Kim Novak ("Vertigo") is Mostels' sexy companion, who naturally develops a yen for the studly Walker. Claude Akins ("Rio Bravo"), John Anderson ("Psycho"), Mako ("The Sand Pebbles"), Sam Jaffe ("Gunga Din"), Elisha Cook Jr. ("The Maltese Falcon"), Ruth Warrick ("Citizen Kane"), John Fiedler ("12 Angry Man"), John Larch ("Dirty Harry"), Peter Whitney ("The Big Heat"), Norman Alden ("Back to the Future"), Grady Sutton ("The Bank Dick"), and Bob Steele ("The Big Sleep") all contribute heavily as well, creating a lot of audience goodwill.

Overall, this likeable movie delivers some good zany humor; it hits the ground running, and has some fine action as well as comedy.

Six out of 10.

Zero Mostel and Kim Novak. Larry Storch. How can it go wrong? Well, it can. And did.

At this writing, there are no "memorable quotes" from this movie on the IMDb site, and for good reason: I really can't remember anything particularly funny or witty from this script.

My understanding from some sources is that this movie had a fat bankroll, and Mostel, Novak, and some of the others in this movie were doing what they were told and collecting a big paycheck. Mostel, for example, had just recovered from being blacklisted, and after a series of Broadway and movie successes, was trying to earn money to make up for lost time. Don't get me wrong, however, a poorly utilized Zero Mostel is still better than a well utilized almost anyone else. Unfortunately, he didn't have the support to really make it sizzle.

But the saddest part is the tragic misuse of Kim Novak. She is in this movie solely to decorate the screen. (Which she does, admirably. One good thing about this movie is that this may be Kim Novak at her most beautiful.) It is amazing, however, how many scenes she has where she has absolutely no lines, and just is there to look pretty. The Lady Godiva scene is a classic example of the "shut up and look pretty" mentality, and it's a pointless embarrassment. Give her some lines to say! As an actress, she was good enough for Hitchcock, so she should have been good enough for Hy Averback and this piece of drivel.

Sorry, I'm getting more and more worked up as I write this review. I'll quit now. BOTTOM LINE: I could have used a pleasant movie on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. This wasn't it.

This is a funny piece of work by Exorcist author Blatty. Hey, it has every character actor on the list in crazy situations which play off our ever-loving Western Movie stereotypes. It was done before the great ones like Blazing Saddles, Rustler's Rhapsody and The Villain. See it and judge for yourself. The cast is great and the situations amusing.

Did the actual William Peter Blatty write this?!? Whoever wrote this wrote an awful script that's unfunny and filled with loose ends and subplots not fully explained. It feels at times like it was written by someone who had only seen one other comedy in their life - knowing the words but not the music, if you follow me. An embarrassment for all concerned.

Anyone who was not in stitches after watching this movie should take another look. This was quite simply one of the best comedies ever made. Hopefully, someday the powers that be will recognize the worth of this film and release it on DVD. Fans of Clint Walker and Kim Novak owe it to themselves to have this movie as a part of their collection, because the scope of their careers and the range of their abilities can not be adequately represented without it.

This is one of those movies that makes some of us laugh out loud no matter how many times we watch it, while it leaves other people cold, and to my mind that's one kind of classic. Calling it a "comedy" may be a little misleading, because it's more of a live-action cartoon -- it's not so much funny as it is silly, but it's silly in ways that have as much to do with the dialog as with the physical comedy. To me it has much in common with the Marx Brothers classics. So it's rather beside the point to discuss how good the acting wasn't, when to some of us just watching Kim Novak and Clint Walker trying to do comedy is itself highly entertaining. And although it does illustrate its moral ("Crime doesn't pay"? "Cheaters never win"?) in a form suitable for children (and also teaches the valuable lesson that bad people can be acting as clergymen, but that doesn't undercut religion itself), I think adults generally enjoy this film more than kids do. But not all adults.

This was an excellent "escape" movie. I mean, if you wanted to escape reality for a couple of hours...this is a humorous way to escape. It truly was almost a laugh a minute. You could keep ahead of the action and guess what was coming. It did not disappoint you! It was a FUNNY movie. With all the chases going on and so many main characters to follow; it truly kept your mind occupied and kept you following the ever-changing plot lines. The inter-mingling of so many sub-plots just added to the overall effect of the movie. Just when you thought you had seen the end of the plot line, there was even more intermingling between the various groups involved in "Harmony". Does anyone know where I can buy a copy for home viewing? DC III

Beautiful Kim Novak when announced for this film was touted by a WB Press Release as "The First Warner Bros. Movie for a star of Ms. Novak's magnitude" Kim does a sexy romp as a Lady Godiva nearly very bare on a horse to distract attention as a gang robbing the bank. Kim is gorgeous and the sequence hilarious.

Kim is co starred with Clint Walker of Cheyenne TV fame and Larry Storch of WB TV comedy Troop. I wish wb had cast Peter Brown, Will Hutchins, and Ty Hardin in cameos. Broadway Star Zero Mostel. Is the top billed star! The film is beautifully photographed and Ms. Novak lovely. Kim just came off The Legend Of Lylah Clare big budget film at MGM that remains one of the weirdest.movies I have seen.

Kim Novak likely decided to star in this comedy take a great paycheck and move on from the Lylah Clare debacle.

This is a funny comedy and fans of Kim Novak will see the star having a fun time.