''The Great Van Robbery'' is a 1959 black-and-white British
crime film
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
starring
Denis Shaw and
Kay Callard, directed by
Max Varnel
Max Varnel (21 March 1925 – 15 January 1996) was a French-born Australian film director, film and television director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom and Australia. Biography
Born Max Le Bozec in Paris, France, he was the son of the ...
. It was written by
Brian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens (30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an English screenwriter and television producer. He worked on the British TV series '' The Avengers'' and created '' The New Avengers'' and '' The Professionals''.
Early life
Clemen ...
and Eldon Howard and produced by
The Danzigers.
Plot
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 ...
teams up with
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
to discover the origins of stolen money in a private bank account in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. Assigning their best detective Caesar Smith to the case, the money is soon traced to a robbery from a
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968.
Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...
van. Investigations lead to a coffee storehouse where a worker is found murdered and the remaining loot discovered.
Cast
Production
The film's
camera operator
A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task.
...
was future director
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg ( ; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance (film), Performance'' (1970), ''Walkabout (film), Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973) ...
(credited as Nick Roeg).
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 basically routine in plot and substance, this lively crime thriller has the particular advantage of a freshly observed hero in Caesar Smith, convincingly played by Denis Shaw as a heavily built but agile Scotland Yard man with a dexterous line in judo."
''Boxoffice'' said: "Denis Shaw is the hero, ever resolute and resourceful – and upon his fast-stepping form the film's dramatic intensity rests. The audience for which it's designed will be happy."
In ''British Sound Films''
David Quinlan says: "Routine crooks' tour with an unusual hero."
Franz Antony Clinton writes in ''British Thrillers, 1950–1979'': "In one of the better
Danzinger brothers B movies, ''The Great Van Robbery'' features a bright script and efficient direction that keeps things moving at a brisk pace."
In ''The British 'B' Film'' Chibnall & McFarlane write: "Nicolas Roeg's camerwork brought some distinction to ''The Great Van Robbery.''"
References
External links
*
''The Great Van Robbery''a
ReelStreets
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Van Robbery, The
1959 films
British crime films
1950s English-language films
1950s British films
Films scored by Albert Elms
English-language crime films