Search - The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery on DVD

Memories

Tony C. Pastorello | Carlsbad,New Mexico | 03/31/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At 63, and a friend knowing I was from "Dago Hill" in St.Louis, we were chatting about how things had changed in our world. He being an avid Cardinals fan, as myself, we starting telling stories about Ole' St. Louis. When I told him about being an early teenager, my father owning the quick shop"Tom's Grill" and watching the making of the movie, meeting Steve McQueen,in person, seeing the behind the scenes operation, he was intrigued and asked me a lot about the story. As we sat talking my wife looked at me and suggested we go to Amazon.com, see if the movie was downloadable and watch it. Well, needless to say it brought back many memories, and since my father died in 1981, I got to see him, alive, young and in the movie in the restaurant scenes when Steve was timing things and had the argument with the girl.

My father obviously is "Tom", owner of the grill, I remember many of the actual police officers in the movie as well as those that were involved in the real robbery. In the scene where the police cars are coming out of the station to respond to the bank, they are coming out of the 2nd district police station on Hampton Ave. which was right behind my house. Since I used to go to the station, shoot my .22 rifle in the basement range, put the flag up on week-ends, I got to know many of the officers that also knew my dad. As well as sometimes sneaking a ride on the back of one of the police motorcycles from time to time.

Yes, it brought back many memories, the movie itself was of course low budget, black and white, a very young Steve and refreshingly not full of sex, and tons of profanity.

To Amazon, I can only say thank you, from my heart, I am now a semi-retired former police officer, on reserves, and a PhD meteorologist here in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

In missing old St.Louis, the movie actually reminded me of the times as a kid, crawdad fishing and bike riding in Tower Grove park, having sat under that very pagoda in the movie when the gang members met.

So, especially if your an old St. Louis resident or just want to see how it looked with the old 50's cars, cheap gas, and a nostalgic hamburger fast food shop, I highly recommend you watch this movie: "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery"

Any comments or visitors you may e-mail me at: tpastorello@valornet.com
or feel free to visit my weather website: www.weatherwatchofnm.com ."

Worth watching mainly for McQueen

K. Swanson | Austin, TX United States | 07/13/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A rather standard heist flick, maybe a bit above average. One of Steve the Loner's early roles as Steve the Loner, and he's the best thing about the film, though the other character actors are all decent, if not outstanding.

This may be a true story, etc, but it all looks like an episode of Dragnet in many ways. With all the great bank robbery films out there it's hard to say watch this one first; once you've run out of heist flicks, this one will do. It would have been perfect finding this black and white chestnut in 1977 on tv at 3 am, but in the dvd age we have endless options. Go for the classics of this genre first, unless you are a major McQueen fan.

And even then, he doesn't do much but mumble and look distracted. Tough, but distracted. Careers have been carved from less..."

NOT SO GREAT

Moviefan | 11/26/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The DVD that I received was a big disappointment. The transfer to DVD
was very bad, so dark it was hard to determine what was going on. After
15 minutes I threw the thing in the trash."

A Foiled Robbery

Acute Observer | Jersey Shore USA | 04/27/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The St. Louis Bank Robbery, 1959 film

The film begins with a man driving a car on a highway. Three cars park off the street, across from a bank. `This story is based on a true incident." Men of the St. Louis Police Department play their actual parts. The four men discuss the bank: no guards, never been touched, easy access. There is a schedule to plan the job. The talk tells about the characters. [Notice the words.] George Fowler is the wheelman, he will get the license plates to disguise the car. [How many people check their rear license plates?] "Do you come here often?" [The talk and story drag.] Will Ann trust George? [Better fill-in lighting needed.] Is Willie getting old? Gino has fears of going back. Time passes slowly. Ann saw Gino and George together, she is suspicious.

They gather together to collate their observations. The robbery must be over in two minutes. They rehearse the timing of the operation. [The talk and story drag.] Will they go to Mexico after the job? A man brings in a shoebox with merchandise. A warning on the bank window? [Bad luck?] "It wasn't my fault." "Do you want to get me killed?" Can they trust Ann? Egan doesn't think so. There is conflict over the driver. They begin the robbery. "This is a hold-up!" The alarm is given. The police arrive before they can get away; they're trapped! Gino won't go back. Egan's taking of a hostage doesn't work. George takes a hostage, he's scared. Shooting continues. Then the police go in to end the robbery.

This film tells a story but runs on too long. There are better low-budget films."