The Day They Robbed the Bank of England

I just saw The day they robbed the Bank of England. It is not a bad film. I think it was very low budget. I have no idea whether the story is true, but at times it was very suspenseful. Peter O'Toole gives a splendid and convincing performance. He was more at ease in this film than any other film that I have seen him. Aldo Ray, who is the main character, at times looks wooden and does not look like someone who cares for Ireland or a woman or anything. I recommend it if it is on TV and for 1 1/2 of relaxation.

Aldo Ray and Peter O'Toole star in "The Day They Robbed the Bank of England," a 1960 film directed by John Guillerman. Ray plays Norgate, an American who sympathizes with the Irish republican movement. To this end, he and his cronies plan to rob the Bank of England. Befriending a guard, Captain Finch (O'Toole) while in a pub, over time Norgate manages to gather many details about the layout of the bank and the whereabouts of the vault with the gold bullion.

This is the type of "caper" film very popular in the 1960s. It's a small British film and a little slow in spots, but intriguing. The Captain is one of O'Toole's early roles, so it's definitely of interest to see him.

One of my problems with this movie is the weak script - it seemed odd to me that the Captain didn't realize pretty quickly what Norgate was up to. The acting, however, is very good, with some fine character actors offering great support: Kieron Moore, Albert Sharpe, and others. The lovely Elizabeth Sellars plays the liaison with Ireland -- she was widowed as a result of the cause.

Entertaining.

An enjoyable film. Low budget, however, the film does not suffer in the least. Typical of this era of British films, with a solid American actor (Aldo Ray), as the lead. Broody, but not really convincing. Good acting by Albert Sharpe played "Tosher". Cameos aplenty from stock actors. First time seeing Peter O'Toole in a supporting role, playing the guards officer in charge of security at the Bank. In my opinion he stole the show, if you will pardon the pun. I see that the film is based on a novel, so wishful thinking as far as the plot goes. I was born and now work in the City of London, so I know that there was obviously a lot of research concerning the sewers and the streets above them. This made the film even more enjoyable.

A tight heist film from the 60's. The IRA is in the early days of their conflict w/mother Britain so they concoct a scheme to rob the Bank of England of a million pounds. An Irish American, played by Aldo Ray, has prior experience w/this kind of theft so he's brought in to lead a group of Paddies to pull off the job. Shot very well in black & white & acted w/rigorous aplomb, the film is 90 minutes of taut action & suspense. The only drawback is a romance that feels superfluous to the action at hand & the typical squabbles within the team which really amount to nothing as the caper is difficult enough to carry the picture across the finish line. Look for an early role by Peter O'Toole who plays a British bank official who Ray sidles to for information.

This modest but proficient thriller pretty much tells you its plot in the title.It deals with an attempt by the Irish republican movement at the turn of the twentieth century to break into the vaults of the Bank of England and extract the fortune in gold bullion stored there.They call in an American -woodenly played by Aldo Ray -to mastermind the venture and he extracts key information from a Britsh officer ,an early screen role for Peter O'Toole and from a Thames vagrant with knowledge of the sewer system. The climax sees the gang tunneling under the bank in a race against the military who have begun to suspect something is amiss. Cheaply made and slackly written this is still worth watching for the parade of British character actors who pop up and add substance to minor roles and for the touch of cynicism about politics -the Irish movement having plotted the heist find it politically expedient to try and stop it when the political scene changes in their favour

Also on the plus side is its brevity -the movie is under 90 minutes and never drags