The Great Bank Robbery (1969 film)

The Great Bank Robbery
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Hy Averback
Produced by	Malcolm Stuart
Written by	Novel: Frank O'Rourke Screenplay: William Peter Blatty
Starring	Zero Mostel Kim Novak Clint Walker Claude Akins
Music by	Nelson Riddle
Cinematography	Fred J. Koenekamp
Edited by	Gene Milford
Production company	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Distributed by	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Release dates	September 10, 1969
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.5 million (US/ Canada rentals)

The Great Bank Robbery is a 1969 Western comedy film from Warner Brothers directed by Hy Averback and written by William Peter Blatty, based on the novel by Frank O'Rourke. The movie had a soundtrack with songs by Jimmy Van Heusen.

Plot

Gold stolen by outlaws is stashed in the impenetrable bank of Friendly, a small town in Texas. A preacher, Rev. Pious Blue, is actually a thief. He and his associates, including partner Lyda Kebanov, plan to tunnel into the vault and blow it up with TNT, just as a Fourth of July celebration drowns out the noise.

There are complications. A number of rival gangs also are after the loot. Then there is Ben Quick of the Texas Rangers, a lawman out to find evidence confirming the corruption of banker and mayor Kincaid that is also inside the vault.

The reverend's band is successful, distracting the bank's guards by having Lyda pretend to be Lady Godiva, riding nude on a white horse. They intend to escape by hot-air balloon. The gold is too heavy for liftoff, however. Lyda volunteers to abandon ship, in part because she has fallen for Quick, who finds the proof he needs to convict Kincaid while the reverend and the gold fly safely away.

Cast

Actor	Role
Zero Mostel	Rev. Pious Blue
Kim Novak	Sister Lyda Kebanov
Clint Walker	Ranger Ben Quick
Claude Akins	Slade
Sam Jaffe	Brother Lilac Bailey
Mako Iwamatsu (as Mako)	Secret Agent Fong
Akim Tamiroff	Papa (Juan's father)
Larry Storch	Juan
John Anderson	Mayor Kincaid
Sam Jaffe	Brother Lilac Bailey (art forger)
Elisha Cook, Jr.	Jeb (as Elisha Cook)
Ruth Warrick	Mrs. Applebee
John Fiedler	Brother Dismas Ostracorn (explosives)
John Larch	Sheriff of Friendly
Peter Whitney	Brother Jordan Cass (tunneling)
Norman Alden	The Great Gregory (balloonist)

Critical reception

Vincent Canby of The New York Times had nothing but disdain for the film:

The Great Bank Robbery, the Western farce that opened yesterday at neighborhood theaters, is probably the least interesting movie of 1969 through this date. I hedge because there are several films I haven't seen, and because The Great Bank Robbery is so casually inept it can't support even negative superlatives.

See also

• List of American films of 1969

External links

• The Great Bank Robbery at IMDb
• The Great Bank Robbery at AllMovie