The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959)

For fans of intelligent heist movies, this is one you should enjoy. Four well-developed characters come together in order to try and knock off a quiet small-town bank. They all have backstories that make the characters' success or failure interesting to the viewer. They take their job seriously and this draws in the viewer and holds our attention.The acting is not aided by the most interesting writing, and among the actors Crahan Denton deserves the most credit, and the character who doesn't want to go back to prison is also quite good. A young Steve McQueen is astonishingly bland. The script is not particularly imaginative, but the characters are interesting enough and the direction is competent. If you like straight forward heist movies, this is one you'll enjoy.

I came across the DVD of this by accident at the library. I'd never heard of it but figured, hey, its Steve McQueen so it must be good. And it is.Very noir, no heroes (one borderline heroine though) or villains here - just four guys that took the wrong path and can't figure out any other way to live. One of them even needs the cash from the bank job to pay his lawyer who is defending him on another robbery charge! They're all losers and they know it but the idea of doing anything differently is beyond them. McQueen's character is about as sharp as Moose from Archie comics and probably the dumbest of the bunch. His former girlfriend tries to be his saving grace but he isn't smart enough to see it and you feel sadder for her than any of the four robbers. The weed of crime bears only bitter fruit for all the main characters by the end of the film whether they deserve it or not.The film is done somewhere between the semi-documentary approach of the then-current Untouchables TV series and a straight crime film. Lots of detail, lots of character definition and pretty much zero action until the last ten minutes or so. Had they put quotation marks around the word great it would have made for an accurate ironic title. The lack of budget helps quite a bit - no fancy props or effects could be used, it had to be in b & w and it was probably filmed on location more for the sake of saving the cost of building or renting a set than authenticity.If you like gritty crime films give it a try.

This is like one of Donald Westlake's early Parker novels, without Parker. Steve McQueen plays a young man falling in with a gang of bank robbers through the brother of his ex-girlfriend (David Clarke as Gino -excellent; Molly McCarthy as Ann - adequate). The robbery is planned in detail, which is interesting and has the feel of Asphalt Jungle, while personal resentments seethe as the misogynist gang leader (Crahan Denton as Egan - unforgettable) seeks to replace Willie (James Dukas), his right-hand man/lover who is going to seed, with the young and good-looking McQueen. The film is bleak as can be, and deliberately paced, but Victor Duncan's arresting on-location cinematography is reminiscent of Odds Against Tomorrow, the sound (supervised by Edward Johnson) is naturalistic, and the music moody without resorting to saxophones. What could have been a fine piece of noir art is let down only by McQueen's James Dean histrionics in the final ten minutes. Fans of noir shouldn't miss it.

Heralded, "This story is based on a true incident. Men of the Saint Louis Police Department play the same parts they did in the actual crime," which is one of the less interesting elements about this film. Directors Charles Guggenheim and John Stix' documentary-style approach is more interesting. And, an early Steve McQueen stars; although, obviously, this is before he found a feature film persona that worked. Trumping all in the interest department, however, is the homosexual relationships between the characters, both real and imagined.Mr. McQueen (as George Fowler) is a college drop-out, trying to lead the straight life. He is tempted into a life of crime, however, by ex-girlfriend Molly McCarthy (as Ann)'s brother David Clarke (as Gino). McQueen and Mr. Clarke have partnered up; but, the roommates have had a difficult time finding honest work. So, they involve themselves with a bank heist, masterminded by Crahan Denton (as John Eagan).The fifth wheel in the cast is getaway driver James Dukas (as Willie). Mr. Dukas gives the film's best performance; and, he has the most interesting role. Dukas began with head honcho Denton when he was a younger, thinner "kid", a fact Denton cruelly enjoys mentioning; and, the two obviously became lovers. They have a terrific bickering scene, which ends with Denton ordering Dukas, "Go take a bath, Willie." Denton wants the younger McQueen to drive his getaway car, which makes Dukas very jealous.Too bad that jukebox could only afford to play one record. With a bigger budget, "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" coulda been a contenda.