DVD Review: Robbery (1967)

Being a fan of the British crime flick, I'm pleased to see Robbery finally get a DVD release - a semi-forgotten movie based (very loosely) on the 1963 Great Train Robbery.

A 1967 film, with direction from Peter Yates (who also did Bullitt), the movie is a mix of old and new school, made just before British cinema got truly gritty. Essentially, it's a tale of two men - Paul Clifton (Stanley Baker) on the crime side and Inspector George Langdon (James Booth) as the Sweeney's man on his trail - ironic really, as Booth is probably best known as villain Vic Labbett from the Sweeney TV series.

It all gets off at a cracking pace as Clifton's gang pull off a robbery to raise finds for the 'big job', before being pursued throughout London in one of the best big screen car chases you'll see for a long time. Despite one man getting caught, the job is successful - freeing up funds to pull together the right team for the big train robbery, which also means springing a key part of that gang (Robinson, played by Frank Finlay) from jail.

But The Sweeney know there's a job being planned - they even guess the date - but they don't know what will be hit. The train robbery goes like a dream, but changes to the original plan and two small errors gradually bring everything crashing down.

If you like your old school crime flicks, you'll love this. The Great Train Robbery obviously helped formulate the plot, but the detail in the script is second-to-none. Indeed, it could well have served as a 'how to' manual for any budding robbers in the late 60s. And there's some fine performances too - Baker and Booth both excel in their respective roles, but it's also worth mentioning Frank Finlay as the reluctant gang member, as well as the always-excellent Barry Foster as young upstart Frank.

But it might not be to everyone's taste. Action fans will love the early car chase round the streets of London, but will probably be disappointed with the fairly slow nature of the remaining 70 minutes. And if you expect this big screen version of The Sweeney to be anything like the TV version, again, you're likely to disappointed with the pipe-smoking team of thief catchers.

But that's just minor criticism - Robbery is an above-average movie and a neat bridging point between early and late 60s crime flicks. If you love the era and the genre, this is one to seek out.

Find out more about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

Comments

[mat]

recently purchased this wonderful movie from amazon u.k. for those of us who have never been to London it gives the viewer an amazing glimpse of the time and the people of London in 1967.although not a letterbox print i was not disappointed with my purchase.great movie.