''Crooks Anonymous'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin, and starring

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

and

Stanley Baxter Stanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a retired Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows '' The Stanley ...

and

Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institu ...

, in her film debut. It was written by Henry Blyth and Jack Davies.

Plot

Captain "Dandy Forsdyke" is a habitual criminal who can't resist a tempting robbery. His gifts are for pickpocketing and safecracking. He never uses his real name, of which he's ashamed. However, he is engaged to Babette, a stripper who wants him to go straight before they marry. In love with Babette, he desperately wants to quit, but is always lured back into another crime by his associates. Babette comes across a society known as Crooks Anonymous which helps hardened thieves go straight. Founded by Mr Montague, and funded by a generous legacy, they have an excellent track record. Babette agrees to help them cure Forsdyke. Forsdyke is picked up during a robbery by a Crooks Anonymous man, Brother Widdowes, who is disguised as a policeman, and taken to the Crooks Anonymous' headquarters. Confronted by Montague, Forsdyke admits that he wants to give up crime and marry Babette. They begin to interrogate him, and discover that he is a habitual liar, whose real name is Cox, who has never seen military service, despite his claim to be a decorated veteran. Widdowes and Montague embark Forsdyke on a dose of punishment therapy and rehabilitation. They begin by locking him in a room filled with safes, which contain cigarettes, food, drink and a number of booby traps which make opening them a hazardous business. After a week of this torture, Forsdyke is beginning to crack. Nonetheless, he fails a test to see how much progress he has made, reverting to his old ways as soon as he is outside. After a month of correctional therapy and

reinforcement In Behaviorism, behavioral psychology, reinforcement refers to consequences that increase the likelihood of an organism's future behavior, typically in the presence of a particular ''Antecedent (behavioral psychology), antecedent stimulus''. Fo ...

training, Forsdyke finally passes the test and is released into society. He moves into a house with Babette, gets a job working as Father Christmas in a department store and refuses an offer by one of his old pals to go back into criminality. However, after consuming large amounts of alcohol at a Christmas party he passes out and finds himself alone in the department store, with £250,000 of takings near him in the safe. Forsdyke breaks in intending to steal the money, and then panicking at his relapse, calls Crooks Anonymous for help. They send their two top men, including Brother Widdowes, who also cave at the sight of the money. They in turn call for Senior Brother, who arrives with his Secretary. Confronted with this unique opportunity, the five of them decide to steal the money and split it among themselves. They go to Forsdyke's house, only to be confronted by an outraged Babette, who demands they put the money back. Grudgingly they agree, as she threatens to call

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

and inform them of the burglary. They successfully manage to return the money, unfortunately triggering an alarm which brings the night watchmen out. Forsdyke marries Babette and as a sign of appreciation they make her a Guardian Angel of Crooks Anonymous, for keeping them all honest.

Cast

as Captain "Dandy" Forsdyke/Fred Cox *

as Brother Widdowes * Wilfrid Hyde-White as Senior Brother Montague *

as Babette *

James Robertson Justice James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He often portrayed pompous authority figures in comedies, including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Gregory Peck in seve ...

as Sir Harvey Russelrod *

Michael Medwin Michael Hugh Medwin (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer. Life and career Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He first ...

as Ronnie * Pauline Jameson as Sister Prunella * Robertson Hare as Grimsdale *

Raymond Huntley Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as the pragmatic family soli ...

as Wagstaffe * Dermot Kelly as Stanley * Norman Rossington as Bert *

Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lambeth, so ...

as Woods *

Charles Lloyd-Pack Charles Lloyd-Pack (10 October 1902 – 22 December 1983) was a British film, television and stage actor. Life and career Lloyd Pack was born in Wapping, East London, to working-class parents. He appeared in several horror films produced by ...

as Fletcher * Harold Goodwin as George * Harry Locke as Fred * Colin Gordon as drunk *

Jeremy Lloyd John Jeremy Lloyd (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful British sitcoms, including '' Are You Being Served?'' and '' 'Allo 'Allo!''. Early ...

as M.C. at the Peekaboo Club *

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', ''Minder (TV series), Minder'' and ''New Tricks'', singing the ...

as boy in park * Bryan Coleman as Holding * Arthur Mullard as Grogan * Joyce Blair as Carol * Timothy Bateson as Partrige * John Bennett as Thomas * Victor Brooks as police officer * Julian Orchard as 1st jeweller * Patrick Newell as 2nd jeweller * Alfred Burke as Caulfield * Arthur Lovegrove as Jones *

Cardew Robinson Douglas John Cardew Robinson (14 August 1917 – 28 December 1992) was a British comic whose career was rooted in the music hall and Gang Shows. Early life and career Born in Goodmayes, Essex, Robinson was educated at Harrow County Schoo ...

as Wiseman as Helicopter Brother * Dick Emery as Reginald Cundell * Totti Truman Taylor * Joby Blanshard as Peekaboo doorman * Frank Gatliff as policeman in the park *

Marianne Stone Marianne Stone (23 August 1922 – 21 December 2009) was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone app ...

* Jerold Wells as Sydney as large nightwatchman * Dandy Nichols as Mrs Cundell * David Drummond as assistant to Sir Harvey Russelrod

Production

Annakin prepared the film as he was recovering from polio he contracted while making '' The Hellions'' (1961). He wanted

Alistair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish actor. He began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his death in 1976. S ...

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...

and

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period ...

to play the leads but they were too expensive so instead he used Wilfrid Hyde White, Stanley Baxter and Leslie Phillips. The movie was one of several comedies financed by Nat Cohen at Anglo Amalgamated. Annakin later wrote "Despite all my directorial efforts, ''Crooks Anonymous'' remained a typical low-budget picture, making a small profit to the very insular producer and British distributors. Once again, I learned you may write the best script in the world, but if it is a comedy depending on certain type of offbeat characters, unless you cast them with the A-team, it is all a complete waste of time and effort. We accepted the ‘second team’ casting because the set-up with Independent Artists was easy, the cast were our friends, and I was exasperated with going out to seek independent financing. It is one of the regrets of my life that I did not stick out for dear old Alistair Sim, Joyce Grenfell and Terry-Thomas. If we had, I believe we would have finished up with as big a critical and commercial success, even in America, as ''

A Fish Called Wanda ''A Fish Called Wanda'' is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double- ...

988 Year 988 ( CMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Fall – Emperor Basil II, supported by a contingent of 6,000 Varangians (the future Varangian Guard), organiz ...

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Though by no means blessed with subtle wit, this film does not disgrace the novel idea that supports it. The broad fun relies quite a lot on the experienced innuendo and know-how that such players as Leslie Phillips, Wilfrid Hyde White, James Robertson Justice and Michael Medwin can bring to it. But some sequences – notably the tests devised for the weaker-willed members of Crooks reveal real ingenuity and lunatic flair. For all that, though, it would hardly be more than a "Carry On Crooks" were it not for the superbly Goonish mimicry of Stanley Baxter, who works for Dandy's salvation in a variety of splendidly absurd disguises."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

said: "Amusingly devised and plotted minor comedy with an exceptional cast." ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Playing a stripper was hardly the most auspicious start to Julie Christie's career, but she manages to cover herself in some glory in this amiable if unremarkable comedy. It's an amusing but limited idea: what else would the members of a villains' self-help group do but put their individual expertise to collective misuse? Stanley Baxter and Leslie Phillips run through their usual tricks, while Wilfrid Hyde White, James Robertson-Justice and Robertson Hare steal scenes at will." ''TV Guide'' found "some amusing moments."

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...

called the film an "amusing, lightweight" comedy.

References

External links

* * {{Ken Annakin 1962 films 1962 comedy films British comedy films British crime comedy films British black-and-white films Films set in department stores Films directed by Ken Annakin 1960s English-language films 1960s British films Films scored by George Martin