The Day They Robbed the Bank of England

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.

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.

Based on Aldo Ray's fine performance in "The Day They Robbed the Bank of England" as both the brains and the muscles behind the Irish movements attempt at independence by literally breaking into the Queens bank and robbing her of their gold bullion, this black and white film could have been the impetus for the latter 1966 TV series Mission Impossible.

The film starts off a bit slow as we get to know the two main characters, the Irish American Charles Norgate (Aldo Ray) and Captain Monty Finch (Peter O'Toole) who is more than just a tad bit bored of being responsible for protecting the heavily secured vault of the Bank of England.

As the movie progresses Aldo Ray shines brighter and brighter in his lead role which in my personal opinion should have lead to his serious consideration for the lead role in the very first James Bond film, 1962's Dr. No. Aldo Ray would have been 36 years of age when Dr. No was realeased and his physical presence, burly build, steely caged eyes and sharp wit would have made him perefectly cast to play James Bond. Peter O'Toole could also have been considered to play James Bond advanced contraption expert sidekick "M".

But I digress, this 1960 black and white crime/action/suspense film may have been a low budget production but what it lacks in big budget releases such as Ben Hur, it more than makes up with fine acting, and a story line that begs that the underdog Charles Norgate (Aldo Ray) make good on his bank robbery.

I enjoyed the film immensely and I will be sure to add it as a "keeper" in my personal film library. I give this film an appreciative 8 out of 10 rating.

This is actually quite an original heist movie, not because of its story or characters but more because of the fact that the movie is a period movie as well. The movie is set around 1900, thus making this not just your average normal bank robbers movie.

Yet the movie does not work out as good as it potentially could had. The movies takes too much time to build up to the actual heist. It makes the first halve of the movie mostly dragging and not interesting or exciting enough to watch. It even manages to throw in a love interest, which is completely redundant.

It's true that the movie only really gets off the ground once they start the break-in. From that point on the movie becomes actually quite good to watch. It only then becomes obvious that the movie its characters are actually quite interesting and its story can be actually quite clever and intriguing. A bit too late though, making this only a so-so movie, with one good second halve and one weaker first halve.

For 1960 standards its definitely a good and professional British looking movie, despite the fact that this obviously wasn't a movie with a very high budget. It knows to create a good, typical for its period, kind of atmosphere.

All of the actors in the movie are some big unknowns and none of them also really know to impress. At leas they don't leave a lasting impression. Except for the at the time still young Peter O'Toole. This actually was only O'Toole's second movie he ever appeared in but he already had his own trademark style of acting at the time. His character is also easily the best of the movie, which also makes you cheer more for him than his actual 'enemy' and main character of the bank, the professional thief and bank robber, played by Aldo Ray. Come to think of it, why should you even cheer in the first place for the movie its bank robbers? It's not like they are doing it for a good cause, which just doesn't make them the most sympathetic main characters for a movie.

Perhaps it would also had been a better movie if it was just a tad bit more entertaining. It should had paid some more attention to its 'fun', rather than its serious aspects.

A watchable movie, that however also leaves you with the feeling that it isn't as good as it truly could had been.

6/10

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Aldo Ray is sturdy and handsome as Irish-American recruited to help a group of disparate Irish characters rob the "impregnable" Bank of England in the early 1900s. Some suspense and neat ideas in this low-keyed, minimally-budgeted MGM production (one which rarely turns up on the Turner Classics channel). There's some confusion later on about the purpose of the bank robbery and why the wily coot who started the whole thing wants to pull out, but Peter O'Toole is wonderfully intense and suspicious (and incredibly young) as the chief soldier guarding the gold bullion, and Ray is always good to watch: he's not only the leader of this operation but the driving force behind the picture as well; his quick-thinking nature is mirrored in his eyes, and he never overdoes anything (he's all business). Straight-forward drama is given good direction and the supporting cast is colorful. As for the ending...do they get away with it? You may have to buy a bootleg copy to find out! **1/2 from ****