The League of Gentlemen (1961)

Colonel Hyde invites seven other other disgruntled ex-military for a secret job. He's been forced to retire. Each one have some personal problems and were pushed out of the military. It turns out that the job is to rob a bank. Hyde proposes to split the money evenly. They steal to get equipment for the heist.The structure is fine. It's got the bones of a good bank heist movie. Many have followed using the same road map. I just didn't find any of the characters interesting. It doesn't help that I don't know these actors other than Richard Attenborough from when he's older. The start is slow and loses me a little. I couldn't really bother to follow each of these characters and their individual stories.

Yes they get busted at the end. It's 1960 in England, who were more conservative then France, and maybe even America at this point, when it comes to crime films. Still, a great film for us men to watch, especially veterans who can relate to the camaraderie. I knew from the start they would get busted, somewhere along the line they would get revealed, a kid taking down license plate numbers? Whatever. It could have been a person in the street who recognized something, it's like whatever we all knew they would get busted because ALL films back then demanded that. I'm thinking this film actually brought on some back lash as to how lame crime films were. In about 5 or so years the endings would most likely stay the same but then again, maybe not? The times were changing and you can't fault this film too much for an ending that was demanded of it. 8 of 10, great caper film despite the state demanded ending. BTW, doesn't the Adjunct (XO in America) look like a mid aged Bill Murray? Thats the way I watched it through. Cheers.

This is a caper film that just kind of fell flat for me.The premise is that a forced to retire army officer gets together a bunch of disgraced army men to rob a bank. We watch as the plan is hatched, and executed in stages before the big job itself.While I like the idea of the film it just didn't work for me.It's much too talky so that it's kind of dull in an all talk no action sort of way. The real problem is the direction which is much too artificially staged. It's directed so everyone is always in a line up or standing so they are facing the camera. It weird and unnatural. It takes the edge off everything.It really fell flat for me and I ended up zipping through the last half hour because I had stopped caring

After the second world war thousands of ex-servicemen,trained to use firearms,well-disciplined,ruthless and fit,found themselves rather unceremoniously made surplus to requirements.Whilst that might have suited the vast majority of conscripts,a significant number of former officers and NCOs who had been career soldiers felt embittered at being discarded - as they saw it - after having served their purpose. These men,quick - thinking,intelligent,resourceful and courageous,found themselves presented with the opportunity of either knuckling down to a life of stifling domesticity in which none of the attributes the army had encouraged and developed would be of any use to them,or the perceived excitement and glamour of a life of crime. It is perhaps not so surprising that a number of major robberies in post-war Britain were carried out by such men . Military Training was turning out to be a bit of a double - edged sword. Mr Jack Hawkins represents the "bad" side as the aptly named Colonel Hyde.He assembles a motley crew of ex - comrades down on their luck whom he coerces to rob a bank. After a lot of initial grumbling they all begin to enjoy the training, reminding them as it does of the army days.Gradually he moulds them into a team where the needs of the group supersede those of the individual. The highlight of the film without doubt is the long sequence where they raid an army base in broad daylight to obtain their weapons. Its depiction of the late 50s military mind is spot on and would have struck a chord with its contemporary audience,many of whom would have spent time in just such an establishment. The bank robbery itself goes off without a hitch,but the team are undone by a schoolboy indulging in the long - forgotten practise of "taking car numbers". "The League of Gentlemen" has a notable cast,the wonderful Mr Nigel Patrick being outstanding;his best role after Mr Jingle in "The Pickwick Papers". The British Cinema was blessed at that time with a positive cornucopia of versatile actors whose faces and voices remain in ones mind nearly half a century on.Mr Hawkins,MrLivesey,Mr Patrick,Mr Moore,Mr Forbes,Mr Attenborough.............I salute you all.A League of Gentlemen indeed.