| The Great Bank Robbery | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Hy Averback |
| Screenplay by | William Peter Blatty |
| Based on | The Great Bank Robbery byFrank O'Rourke |
| Produced by | Malcolm Stuart |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| Edited by | Gene Milford |
| Music by | Nelson Riddle |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.5 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
The Great Bank Robbery is a 1969Westerncomedy film fromWarner Bros. directed byHy Averback and written byWilliam Peter Blatty, based on the novel byFrank O'Rourke. The movie had a soundtrack with songs byJimmy Van Heusen.[2]
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 (which include Mexican bandits and a gunfighter called Slade) are also 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 beLady Godiva, riding nude on a white horse, with just small flower pasties covering her nipples and groin. 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.
Zero Mostel uses the line "What we have here is a failure to communicate" which is similar to (and possibly a parody of or simply just a misquote of) a line from 1967'sCool Hand Luke. This line by Rev. Pious Blue is actually more often quoted than the original line and usually categorized as merely a misquote.[citation needed] The railroad scenes were filmed on theSierra Railroad inTuolumne County, California.[3]
Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times had nothing but disdain for the picture: "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 becauseThe Great Bank Robbery is so casually inept it can't support even negative superlatives."[4]
Film historianLeonard Maltin seemed to agree: "...A total dud, hardly worthy of the writer who gave usA Shot in the Dark andThe Exorcist. Be warned."[5]