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The Great Bank Robbery

The Great Bank Robbery (1969)

June. 24,1969
|
5.6
|
PG
| Comedy Western

A motley group of phony church leaders attempts to rob a bank controlled by brothers in 1880's Texas.

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a_chinn
1969/06/24

"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.

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bbrebozo
1969/06/25

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.

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williwaw
1969/06/26

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.

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artzau
1969/06/27

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.

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