"The Bank Job" movie outing

by Gene Carter

In mid-March, club member Tony Kipling sent out a note recommending a British film called "The Bank Job". He said it was a great action film with a wonderful display of classic British cars. Neal Weinman suggested a club outing and the wheels were set in motion. March 23rd was selected as the day to make the 4:35PM show at the Epic theaters in Hendersonville with dinner to follow at Lon Sen Chinese buffet. Club members were eager to join in as 21 of us turned out.

"The Bank Job" includes all of the elements of a (British) action movie - political corruption, a sex scandal tied to the Royal Family, robbery and murder. Overall it's a very good movie. The classic British cars are stunning. There are many different marques and models - a Jaguar XJ police car, an English Ford van, an E-Type, a Healey, a Mini, Rovers and many, many more. You root for the main character even though he robs the bank. The politicians and mob characters are the real bad guys here and they're truly despicable. There is a fair amount of nudity because part of the plot involves politicians getting caught with (and having their pictures taken with) prostitutes. If you don't mind some nudity and foul language, it's a movie worth seeing.

The following film information comes from The Internet Movie Database and Wikipedia.

"The Bank Job" is based in part on the true story of a bank robbery in London that took place in September 1971. A gang tunneled into a branch of Lloyds Bank at the intersection of Baker Street and Marylebone Road. They looted the safe deposit boxes of cash and jewelry worth over three million pounds. The surprise bonus items were the revealing photos that also turned up. This may explain why so few of the safe deposit box owners wanted to list their missing valuables.

The robbers had rented a leather goods shop named Le Sac, two doors down from the bank, and tunneled a distance of approximately 40 feet, passing under the intervening Chicken Inn restaurant. Robert Rowlands, a radio ham operator, overheard conversations between the gangsters and their rooftop lookout. He contacted police and tape recorded the conversations, which were subsequently made public. Following the robbery (and four days of news coverage), British authorities issued a D-Notice (Defense Notice), requesting news coverage be discontinued for reasons of national security.

The filmmakers say the details of the '71 Baker Street bank robbery were prevented from being told for over thirty years because of the Government gagging order. The film purports to tell the real story of how one of the biggest robberies in British history took place with no arrests ever made nor any money ever recovered. The film's producers claim they have an inside source, identified in press reports as George McIndoe, who served as an executive producer. The film claims the issuance of the D-Notice was because a safe deposit box held sex pictures of Princess Margaret. It also points up a possible connection to Michael X (a London radical from the 60's and 70's) and a Soho porn king/mobster.

"The Bank Job" stars Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows (rated R) Film plot summary, photos and trailers can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RZFwOoxJE0 and http://www.movietome.com/movie/364019/the-bank-job/index.html

All photos from the Bank Job are credited to Jack English