The Great Riviera Bank Robbery
| The Great Riviera Bank Robbery | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Francis Megahy |
| Produced by | Martin McKeand |
| Written by |
Francis Megahy Bernie Cooper |
| Starring |
Ian McShane Warren Clarke Stephen Greif Christopher Malcolm |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Cinematography | Peter Jessop |
| Edited by | Arthur Solomon |
| Distributed by | Incorporated Television Company |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £364,000 |
The Great Riviera Bank Robbery also known as Dirty Money and Sewers of Gold, is a 1979 British film written and directed by Francis Megahy and starring Ian McShane, Warren Clarke, Stephen Greif and Christopher Malcolm.
Plot
The film is based on a real-life event in 1976. A group of professional criminals team up with a fascist terrorist group known as "The Chain" to steal 15 million dollars' worth of tourist money from a bank in a French resort town.[1]4
Bert and Jean are members of a right-wing nationalist organisation closely connected to the Organisation de l'armée secrète. Both are ex-military, and now find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Nice, France. Needing to raise cash to buy arms, Bert, an ex-paratrooper known as 'The Brain', devises a plan to dig their way into a bank vault.
Needing criminal expertise, they persuade some local French gangsters to join them, in return for a cut of the haul. The gangsters' interest is purely mercenary while Bert is at pains to point out that his interest is political. After several nights spent digging through a wall in a sewer, they break their way into the deposit boxes, and try to make their getaway without being caught.
Miscellanea
Two movies were made at the same time that both dealt with the same subject—a true life event of ex-firebrands using the sewers to rob a bank.
The French version, made by Jose Giovanni, (Les Egouts du Paradis = Sewers of Paradise) kept the hero's real name but is rather listless. The "hero" becomes a nice guy, some kind of Arsene Lupin, who visits the old ladies in the hospital.
The English version, which features a better lead (Ian McShane billed as "Brain") and a more honest approach. The characters are fascists (anti communist) and their paramilitary activities are not passed over in silence—in the French attempt, all they show is weapons in the thieves' den in the country. When they left the vault, a parting message was written on the wall, which said; "we came with no malice; but went in peace".
Media releases
The film was released on Region Two DVD in 2007.
References
- ↑ "The Great Riviera Bank Robbery > Overview". allmovie.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 28, 2010.