Favorite Heists on Film

[moirafinnie]

Some appreciative comments about the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) on the board made me start wondering if you have particular favorite movies centering on robberies? Maybe it appeals to the subversive in all of us, but a well done heist flick can be a thing of beauty, don't you think?

While I have a hard time remembering a heist movie in which things did not go awry, one that I have always enjoyed was The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1974), which deglamorizes the criminal life fairly completely and was filmed in places around Boston that I've known for many years. It also might be Robert Mitchum's last great performance. For pure, unalloyed style (noir, comic or simply well made films), I'd have to go for Jewel Robbery (1932), The Killers (1946), Armored Car Robbery (1950),Touchez pas au grisbi (1954), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), and The Sting (1973). The last one might be better in memory than it really was--but it was a fascinating, beautifully crafted pastiche/homage of the genre.

I hope you'll share your faves.

[MikeBSG]

Here's another vote for "Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three" (1974), and "The Killers" (1946) and "Criss Cross" (1949).

From France "Rififi" and "Bob le Flambeur." From Italy "Big Deal on Madonna Street."

From Britain "The Lavender Hill Mob" and "Gambit."

[JackFavell]

Oh, goody, I love heist flicks.

I probably like all of the films in the genre as long as they have a bit of style and fairly good writing. You guys already mentioned some of my favorites, Jewel Robbery and The Lavender Hill Mob, plus the aforementioned Taking of Pelham One Two Three....

Topkapi is probably my number one, and that's saying a lot.

Dog Day Afternoon is brilliant. This one vies with Topkapi for top place on my list.

Gun Crazy - thanks to the noir guys here for cluing me in about this gem.

Raffles

How to Steal a Million

The Hot Rock, with Robert Redford, George Segal, mainly because it has Paul Sand in it.

The Brinks Job, though it isn't quite as much fun as I remembered it.

Does White Heat count?

[moirafinnie]

These are great suggestions.

Mike, I really need to give Rififi another try. I haven't seen it in years and I think I was too young to appreciate it the first time. Thanks so much for reminding me of Criss Cross (1949), which really belongs next to The Killers as a real beauty of the genre. I have never seen Big Deal on Madonna Street. Now I really must try to catch it.

JF, why wouldn't you include White Heat? Especially for the crazed look Jimmy Cagney gets when he starts hatching his version of the Trojan Horse! It's funny, but I always think of Gun Crazy as a quirky love story more than a crime caper film, but it sure belongs since the couple spend most of their waking hours planning and executing robberies, (and the rest of the time they are caressing a gun or each other). I have tried to watch The Hot Rock to enjoy Paul Sand (don't you love him on The Mary Tyler Moore Show?)--and for Zero Mostel, but I have never seen the entire movie. There's something about it that distracts me. Maybe it is Robert Redford, who never really seems comfortable in his role, but maybe it is just me.

[Mr. Arkadin]

For me, a heist film is a movie which deals with the planning and carrying out of a specific crime. Therefore, I do not think of films like Gun Crazy or White Heat as such because the heists are merely a part of the story.

The top five that stick out for me would probably be:

Rififi (1955)
Top of the heap. Greatest heist film ever made in my opinion.

High Sierra (1941)
The movie that broke Bogart and still underrated. If any heist film has a heart, it's this one.

The Killing (1956)
Where Rififi deals with personal choice, The Killing plays with fate.

Bandits in Milan AKA The Violent Four (1968)
An incredibly brutal and political work, which has few (if any) equals.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Tarantino turns the genre on its ear--after cutting it off.

Other films:

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Criss Cross (1949) --best line: "You're the only crooks I know"
Sexy Beast (2001)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1958)
The Good Die Young (1954)
Le deuxième souffle (1966)
The Killers (1964)
Drive a Crooked Road (1954)
Payroll (1962)
Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Once a Thief (1965)
Bob le Flambeur (1956)
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
Touchez pas au grisbi (1954)
The Getaway (1972)
Thief (1981)
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The Italian Job (1969)

There's plenty more I'm forgetting, but I trust others to fill in the gaps.

[Rita Hayworth]

How about these four films: They are more Comedy than Heists ... its can go either way.

Ocean Eleven (1960) ... Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin ... Rat Pack Crew

Ocean Eleven (2001) ... George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts ... and others.
Ocean Twelve (2004) ... See Above
Ocean Thirteen (2007) . See Above

There were talk about doing a Ocean Fourteen ... but, Steven Soderbergh said he will not do it without Bernie Mac.

Special Note to Mr. Ark ...

Fabulous List that you've shared with us.

[charliechaplinfan]

I really like a British movie called Hell Is a City with Stanley Baxter. My husband's favourite The Italian Job and Audrey and Peter in How to Steal A Million. The most recently seen heist movie for me is The Killing which I loved and The Asphalt Jungle too.

[JackFavell]

Moira, I fell hard for Paul Sand on the Mary Tyler Moore show when I was about 8 years old, watched his short lived series, and I find that when he turns up my heart starts palpitating again. The Hot Rock isn't the greatest movie, but Sand and Mostel are super in it. I'll admit that I can't remember one damn thing from it except Sand and Mostel.

I can't believe I didn't mention The Asphalt Jungle!

Ark, I tend to agree with you about heist films, however, if that's the criteria, then High Sierra is not a heist film either, since it is not strictly about the heist. A brilliant, heart wrenching movie, with that blue sky denoting freedom always on the horizon. I wish I'd thought of it.

Alison, Andrew's favorite is also The Italian Job.

And please, Ark, don't remind me about the ear.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Ark, I tend to agree with you about heist films, however, if that's the criteria, then High Sierra is not a heist film either, since it is not strictly about the heist.

Actually, the heist is the premise, on which every social aspect of Earle's life is explored. He is a criminal released from prison to perform a specific job and this is juxtaposed against every person he crosses. In the same reasoning, Odds against Tomorrow is a film that definitely explores race, but that exploration is placed within a strict genre. Gun Crazy and White Heat deal with crimes in passing, but they are not the focus of the plot.

These are just my thoughts however. We have a huge community which can't decide the definition of noir, so I don't expect us to agree here either.

[JackFavell]

Oh fine, I guess you are right, technically! I just don't think of it as a heist film... but the truth is, I don't care much for definitions of film genres and I am glad to discuss it as any kind of film at all. I am just happy to talk about it!

[ChiO]

For me, there is THE KILLING (then a bunch of others).

A couple that I like that haven't been mentioned: KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952) and GANGSTER STORY (1959).

[MikeBSG]

"Hell is a City" (dir. Val Guest) is a terrific film. Very tough, very bitter.

I think I would call it a police movie more than a heist movie myself, but I realize that such judgment calls are subjective.

In some ways, the bleak ending of "Hell is a City" reminded me of "Inspector Morse," which is odd because the two policemen move in very different circles.

[RedRiver]

Wow! This is a genre I almost always enjoy. I'm not sure I've ever seen one I didn't like at least a little bit. There was something about St. Louis, with young Steve McQueen. Steve would later appear in my favorite Peckinpah slammer, THE GETAWAY, a terrific example of this fascinating theme. Even David Mamet's HEIST is pretty good. Not one of the great ones, but fun and intriguing.

ASPHALT JUNGLE is the caper to end all capers. It is to the robbery film, what MALTESE FALCON is to the detective story. Not saying it was the first. But it better established the format than any other. Kubrick's film is so much like it I appreciate that too. But there's only one king of "the jungle."

I don't know JEWEL ROBBERY. That sounds like an early look at the now time tested storyline. RIFIFI is a brilliant European styling. CRISS-CROSS and THE KILLERS, by the same director I believe, are still more fine examples.

Two of my favorite crime dramas have been cited. WHITE HEAT and HIGH SIERRA. I don't know that I'd include them in this category. But there's no question that they're outstanding movies. In the long run, that's what we're here to discuss!

[moirafinnie]

Hell is a City (1960), along with Hell Drivers (1957) are two Stanley Baker movies that I've really liked. This one suits his no-nonsense character best. For anyone interested, it begins below. Love the jazzy score too. Thanks for reminding me of this movie:

[JackFavell]

Yay! More Stanley! Thanks Moira!