The League of Gentlemen (1960)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

John Boland (novel)
Bryan Forbes (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 August 1960 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

A disgruntled veteran recruits a group of disgraced collegues to perform a bank robbery with military precision.

Plot Keywords:

Bank Robbery | Veteran | Planning | Raid | Explosive

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win

Cast

Jack Hawkins	...	Hyde
Nigel Patrick	...	Race
Roger Livesey	...	Mycroft
Richard Attenborough	...	Lexy
Bryan Forbes	...	Porthill
Kieron Moore	...	Stevens
Terence Alexander	...	Rupert
Norman Bird	...	Weaver
Robert Coote	...	Bunny Warren
Melissa Stribling	...	Peggy
Nanette Newman	...	Elizabeth
Lydia Sherwood	...	Hilda
Doris Hare	...	Molly Weaver
David Lodge	...	C.S.M.
Patrick Wymark	...	Wylie

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Iceland:L | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Belgrave Mews, Belgrave Square, Belgravia, London, England, UK

Company:

Allied Film Makers (AFM)

Trivia:

Cary Grant turned down the role of Hyde.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the weapons robbery at the army camp, Porthill, played by Bryan Forbes, is wearing a uniform with an RASC (Royal Army Service Corps) shoulder flash. But he is missing the striped lanyard which he should have been wearing over his left shoulder. Such a lanyard, usually attached to a clasp knife stored in the left breast pocket of the battledress jacket, was standard equipment for members of the RASC in 1960.

Quotes:

Major Race: [after Hyde has explained his plan]
Major Race: Alright, I'm sold. I'll sign on, for the duration.
Lt. Col. Hyde: On my terms? Equal shares for all?
Major Race: Well, if you insist on this socialistic nonsense, yes. You're losing a friend, but gaining a second-in-command.
Lt. Col. Hyde: I'll settle for that.
[they drink a toast]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)

Unforgettable British Post-War Melodrama with bite

This 1959 (or 1960) film shares the same title as the 1990's comedy about weird northern folk, but is a far more savage satire of decay in the establishment.

A redundant Colonel recruits a unit of marginally more corrupted subordinate Army officers, to stage an American Style heist, based on a US pulp fiction novel. Very few of the characters would initially be associated with the establishment. Their past failings include treason, war-crimes and negligence resulting in deaths.

Jack Hawkins (Colonel Hyde) knits the characters together over the course of the film. By reinventing a form of army discipline the characters appear to rediscover their aplomb.

The actual robbery is almost incidental, occupying ~ 10% of the film.

My real fascination was with the development and interaction of the characters. Even 40 years on their callousness is at times shocking and the 'Blame Ireland' example of scapegoating still resonates, especially in the context of the characters' personal failures in other theatres of the ex-empire.

The film is nearly 2 hours long, but seemed much shorter. Post war film of the City of London (and elsewhere) before 60s redevelopment is a bonus.