The St. Louis Bank Robbery

Trailer—The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

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source: The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

The St. Louis Bank Robbery

A very realistic heist film that is based on an actual crime and uses as a location the bank where the robbery took place. The makers of this film were very professional and did a good job. The only downside to the movie is that it is so sombre; the characters aren't charismatic, witty, or cheerful, and they aren't in the habit of saying things like "Do you feel lucky?" or "Make my day." (On the other hand, that fact adds to the realism.) Steve McQueen performs well, and he's not trying to be Marlon Brando. His character is a young, inexperienced man just out of college who's not too sure of himself and who is trying not to become a habitual criminal. Since the film is in the public domain, a high-resolution copy can be downloaded here: http://www.archive.org/details/Saint_Louis_Bank_Robbery

There's no doubt here, this script was designed for Steve McQueen to star. He does a good job doing so. This is an early effort, based upon on a true story of a failed robbery attempt. The black and white film is designed as a late 1950's B film as the length indicates. It uses the real St. Louis police (uncredited) who lived and performed in the real robbery. The big 1950's cars are mostly period as the original robbery took place in 1953, and all but one car dates to before that period. It is interesting that the recent remake of this one is rated lower than this original. That proves the remake did not have Steve McQueen and it bombed big time. The actual locations are ued in the film, and the period is pretty well recreated. All the characters are good in support. This is not a great film, but it is okay.

I like film noirs that are stylish, witty and fun -- like the Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, and Out of the Past. They may not represent reality, but they do create an alternate world that is enticing and one you want to visit -- even if only for 90 minutes at a time. The Great Saint Louis Bank Robbery chooses to focus on the gritty, grimy side of crime in an effort to seem more "realistic". It may be closer to the truth than the stylized noirs of the 40's but it is also much less entertaining. The dialog is boring, the acting contrived (McQueen is trying so hard to be the next Brando or James Dean and it's just painful to watch), and the plot so predictable. For a movie like this to work, you have to sympathize with a least one of the characters and I couldn't. Three of the four leads were certifiable mental cases and the other one was dumb as a stump. For a much better heist noir, try KC Confidential or the Asphalt Jungle...

George Fowler (Steve McQueen) is the driver of a crew planning to rob a Southwest bank branch in St. Louis. Steve McQueen was still relatively new. The Blob came out a year earlier. Despite that, his star quality is undeniable. This is a rather lower budget affair. The style is closer to a documentary. Guggenheim seems to be mostly a documentary filmmaker. I wish the filmmaking is better. There is a lot of conversations in the outside and the sound quality isn't that good. There is still a quality to this like a Tarantino movie without the cool violence. There is some shooting and a dab of blood. Mostly, it's a lot of conversation.

"The St. Louis Bank Robbery" is a film that I expected so much from...and it delivered so little. After all, considering it's based on real events and has teh actual cops in the film who were involved with the robbery, you'd think it would be better. But instead, I just felt bored and found myself falling to sleep while I watched. The film centers on one of the robbers, George Fowler (Steve McQueen)...the driver for the caper. He's inexperienced and despite being told to avoid women, well, he doesn't. And, an awful lot of the film centers on him...which was a mistake because he wasn't very interesting. More time should have been on the robbery itself. Overall, a time passer at best.

I first saw this in the early 90s. Revisited it recently. As a fan of McQueen, I liked this film. George (Steve McQueen), an expelled college student is recruited as a wheelman for a bank robbery by a gang consisting of three ex convicts, one a woman hater with a disturbed childhood, another is the brother of George's ex girlfriend, who is also not mentally stable n the third a fella with an inferiority complex. This one doesnt have action or car chasing stuff but a simple straight out robbery based on true events. The best part is the character development n most of the characters r shown with a disturbed n sad past. While the ending is predictable, the film manages to hold our interest throughout.