Maidexpl
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Eric Stevenson
I was interested in seeing this movie because it was based on a true story. It wasn't just that, it's that the people in the bank depicted in the scenes were actually people from the real life robbery! It is in fact important to properly represent an actual historical event, but it's rather easy enough to do it when you are yourself an actual person there. You know, not much actual acting. The bank scene that concludes the movie is really well done. Of course, I expected no less from the real life people were a part of it. I didn't know people actually died in that incident.Now, the thing is, while the bank scene is great, the rest of the movie is just mediocre. I mean, I guess I haven't done my research so I don't know how accurate the buildup was. These are the scenes that have too much talking and aren't that interesting. I do understand that the real life people had no problem with the way the movie was filmed and I have to respect the bravery they showed in the event. It's just that I think this movie would have worked a lot better as a short film. That's really all the time you need to show this.I harbor no ill will towards the people involved in the robbery, although as it happened in the 1950's, they are all probably dead now. That's still not an excuse to not honor them. In a weird way, I would recommend this movie if only because the bank scene is done well with the real life people involved. This is certainly better than other movies based on true stories like "Pearl Harbor" or "Patch Adams" (even though the real Patch Adams supports homeopathy, which has been scientifically proved to be the least effective medicine in existence). It doesn't become as good as "To Hell And Back" which also featured the real life person doing the acting and is a far superior movie. If you're into history, then I suggest this even though it isn't really all that good. **1/2
oscar-35
A gang is out to rob a St Louis Bank. The film is based on an actual events. And this film features the real police that were involved in the robber. Stars- Steve McQueen. Very early McQueen kid role. He gets mixed up with several unfortunate obvious gangster types actor doing their worst performances. McQueen is the only real performance light in this '57 film. This film is shot at and in St Louis. A nice view into McQueen's genesis as a struggling actor getting his feet wet on screen. A must see for McQueen fans. A viewer can see in Mcqueen's work here that many little extra 'business' he would put in a role to make him stand out and make even the most mundane role into something watchable on the screen. Truly a look into his work and future greatness.
bkoganbing
Steve McQueen has certainly a lot of loyal fans out there. He certainly was a charismatic fellow, one of the most charismatic the big screen ever knew. But even McQueen can't save this turkey of a film, shot with what looks like a brownie camera in the actual locations in St. Louis.McQueen's a new kid with no criminal record brought into the planning of a bank heist by one of the other gang. There's more than a broad hint that there's a gay relationship going on between young Steve and David Clarke. He's not liked at all by the other heist members, mainly because of his lack of criminal resume. Steve also has a girl friend in Molly McCarthy and she suspects something afoot, especially when he starts hanging around with Crahan Denton and James Dukas as well as Clarke, all pretty rough characters. That would certainly get my suspicions aroused.The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery had two directors Charles Guggenheim and John Stix. Guggenheim did mostly documentaries and Stix didn't do much of anything. One of those two jokers decided Steve's performance was best served by doing a bad Marlon Brando imitation. This film may go down as the worst ever done by Steve McQueen. I'm willing to bet that Dick Powell and Four Star Productions had already signed him for Wanted Dead or Alive because I can't believe they would have if they saw this.Or they would have seen something the public would have overlooked except for the dressing for this turkey.
sol1218
(Some Spoilers) True story about the armed robbery of the Southwest Bank in St. Louis and the fate of the four bank robbers who participated in it. Getting a crew together to knock off the Southwest Bank head crook John Egan, Crahan Denton, wan't his boys to case out the bank for a week before they rob it. The robbers spends hours at a time checking every angle and escape route to make sure that the robbery goes off without a hitch. Right from the start things start to go sour when one of the robbers Gino, David Clarke, recruits young George Fowler, Steve McQueen, as the wheel man in the operation. George isn't a hardened criminal and only want's to pull off this job to get enough money for him to finish college and make something of himself.Gino knows Geroge from him being his sisters Ann , Molly McCarthy, boyfriend and feels that he won't choke up when things get hot. That very fact, George being romantically involved with Ann, turns out to be the Achillese Heel of the "Great St. Louis Bank Robbery".Needing a place to stay until the day of the robbery Gino tells George to go see Ann, whom he recently broke up with, an ask her for $50.00 and tell her that he needs it to keep him from being sent back to prison in Chicago.Reluctant at first Ann gives George the money, with a personal check to send to Gino. Later Ann sees him in the city, St. Louis, and knows that he and George are up to no good.Depressed at the thought of Gino and George robbing the Southwest Bank, she saw George case it out from a diner across the street, Ann starts to get so out of hand that she jeopardies the impending bank robbery by getting drunk one evening. Later Ann goes a step farther writing in lipstick "this bank is going to be robbed" on the Southwest Bank's windows. Outraged at Ann's behavior, and George and Gino not being able to control or shut her up, John and his partner Willie take Ann to their hideout where John in a fit of anger throws Ann off the fire-escape killing her. With both Gino and George totally in he dark to what happened to Ann, John and Willie tell them that she flew off to Chicago, the four get ready for the big bank heist. Then for some strange reason George is told that he'll have to take part in the robbery and that Willie is to replace him as the wheel man; it was John's way of keeping Willie quite about his murdering Ann. The fact that Willie is put behind the wheel and George, who's not only a better driver but far more responsible and loyal to the group, was sent into rob the bank turned out to be a complete disaster. John gets shot by the cops with Gino killing himself when he saw there was no way out, and the thought of him going back to prison was just too much for him to take. George ending up badly wounded is arrested and sent to prison for the rest of his life. This destroys his dream of being able to finish his education and become an honest and upstanding citizen in the community. The man responsible for all this mess happening Willie, the getaway driver, gets away without as much as a scratch on him leaving the three other crooks to face the music, and police bullets. Solid crime caper with Steve McQueen, as George Fowler, doing his best as he methods acts his way through the movie. McQueen goes from a quite and scared college kid to a hardened and unfeeling criminal within the 89 minutes of the film. The ending is something to watch as George almost bleeding to death and holding a young couple hostage in the bank, Eddie and his wife of two months( Larry Gerst & Martha Gable), finally sees the light to what he got himself involved in. If George was as smart as he though he was he should have listen to Ann, when she was still alive,and all this would have never happened to him or her.
