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This too little known noir work was filmed five years after the events of which it treats, and employs the settings where it occurred, Southwest Bank and its environs in St. Louis, while carefully utilizing within its cast the actual policemen, bank customers and area residents who were involved in the affair, all of which produce somewhat of a documentary impression. Three ex-convicts are joined by a college expellee, George Fowler (Steve McQueen during his Method period), creating an abruptly formed criminal quartet, with Fowler, assigned as wheel man for his first organized illegal endeavour, and we watch them as the robbery is carefully planned by the group's leader, John Egan (Crahan Denton) amid an assortment of simmering frustrations and jealousies which infest the men. Producer Charles Guggenheim also directs, with assistance from John Stix, and the duo focus upon obtaining a naturalistic setting from the interesting script, which is very intense in feeling, with rather harsh dialogue, resulting in a dark film, at the heart of which is an old fashioned shootout where tactics are forgotten by both sides.

Let me begin by pointing out that IMDb makes a mistake when it lists Nell Roberts as "Woman in Bar Talking to George." The woman in the bar is George's girlfriend Ann, played by Molly McCarthy. Nell Roberts is the Salvation Army woman who appears in three places in the film but who speaks only at the end when she tells a cop, "Don't go in. They're robbing the bank." I speak from authority as the great-nephew of Nell Roberts, my grandmother's sister, who was active in community theater in St. Louis in the 1950s, and who also had a bit role (as an old woman who answers the door) in the film, "Hoodlum Priest" (starring Don Murray), which was also made in St. Louis. We always knew her as "Aunt Nelly," so I guess "Nell" was her stage name.

In any case, "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" is an interesting little movie -- though there really is nothing "great" about it. The noir approach fits the story line perfectly, but the execution strikes me as stiff and amateurish, especially in the acting and the editing. McQueen was doing what he could to be Brando, but Brando he wasn't. The three other members of the gang and the girlfriend have various small strengths as actors to commend them, but they wouldn't have been enough for professional survival today. The plethora of extras and bit players must have saved the producers some dinero, and they do give the film a certain documentary and amateur-theatrical charm, but their performances (including Aunt Nelly's) are of a type to make the viewer uncomfortable in the expectation of an embarrassing gaff. The homosexual subtext (mentioned by other reviewers) is certainly not imaginary. In fact, the things that make this movie most worth watching are, first, that homosexuality is included as a theme at all -- it was not necessary to the film's integrity unless the producers were aiming at some politically incorrect social commentary or had a personal ax to grind -- and, second, that the gay relationships had to be coded to make the finished work acceptable to the public in the late 1950s.

But I did enjoy the look of the cars and the streets of St. Louis (a la New York in "The Naked City") before the rapid urban disintegration that overtook it shortly afterwards, and from which it has still not recovered. The was the REAL "St. Louis Bank Robbery."

For fans of intelligent heist movies, this is one you should enjoy. Four well-developed characters come together in order to try and knock off a quiet small-town bank. They all have backstories that make the characters' success or failure interesting to the viewer. They take their job seriously and this draws in the viewer and holds our attention.

The acting is not aided by the most interesting writing, and among the actors Crahan Denton deserves the most credit, and the character who doesn't want to go back to prison is also quite good. A young Steve McQueen is astonishingly bland. The script is not particularly imaginative, but the characters are interesting enough and the direction is competent. If you like straight forward heist movies, this is one you'll enjoy.

The decent degree of realism plus one of Steve McQueen's earlier starring movie roles help make this crime feature worth watching. The story has some pretty interesting aspects, and it adds to the realism with the well-publicized inclusion of many of the actual police officers who were involved in the original events on which the movie is based. On the other hand, the rest of the cast does not come up to McQueen's stature as performers, and at times some potentially powerful scenes lack a little something as a result.

The setup has McQueen's character hired as the getaway driver for a gang of bank robbers. Their careful planning is thrown into complications by an old girlfriend of George's (McQueen), whose brother is also part of the gang. The resulting tensions, plus the various unexpected developments as they carry out their plan, add some interest to the basic story. Many of the scenes are written and filmed rather well, although at times the movie expends some screen time on less interesting material.

McQueen does a good job with an unsympathetic character, and the supporting cast is mostly solid. Molly McCarthy is believable and generally sympathetic as Ann, but she does not always give her character a lot of depth. Crahan Denton gives the gang's boss a good, solid persona at the beginning, but afterward the character remains rather one-dimensional even when there are chances to bring out some interesting characteristics.

The straightforward, almost documentary style cinematography works pretty well, and makes a good combination with the downbeat story. Despite a few things that could have been better, this is not bad at all for its genre, and it is certainly worth seeing.

This 1959 film, co-directed by Charles Guggenheim and John Stix, is for all its weaknesses a most commendable attempt to photograph a standard heist film in semi-documentary style. Shot on the locations in St. Louis where the actual robbery occurred, it almost succeeds. Unlike many earlier crime films in this genre, the screenplay by Richard Heffron makes no attempt to have us sympathize with the professional criminals. Few crime films of the era or before portrayed the common bank robber and his accomplices with such cold reality, going so far as to hint at the homosexual relationships that occur among hardened criminals who spent their lives incarcerated. The major weakness of the film is the time it spends attempting to establish a relationship between McQueen and the sister of one of the bank robbers. Molly McCarthy, physically believable and sympathetic, is not quite up to carrying off her admittedly complex role, particularly in comparison to the brilliance of the then 29-year-old Steve McQueen. McQueen received only $4,000 for his work, but he steals the picture, making the psychology of the young man beyond his depth who gets involved with a gang of professionals and cannot get out thoroughly believable. He is especially effective in the end of the film. The film is also helped by an original minimal score by Bernardo Segall, whose orchestration resembles that of European films of the same time. Guggenheim who had a talent for this sort of film later went on to direct many award-winning documentaries, leaving the crime film behind him. Too bad. He was after something here.

is a must to see. Before he became "one of the System's bad boys". He is refreshing and I would tell any true Steve McQueen fan to see this movie just on the strength of his performance.

The movie itself is a hoot! I mean with not so evasive homosexual references and shades of Noir...and in the early 50's!!....it is worth seeing. I liked it.

It is a story of the "Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" in the early 50's....great period piece for those of us who were alive then....and for those who were not to see what a section of Americana looked like....

Using the real people involved in the actual heist is great! Non-Actors who are reliving their dream or nightmare....depending.

See it. You won't be disappointed.

I like film noirs that are stylish, witty and fun -- like the Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, and Out of the Past. They may not represent reality, but they do create an alternate world that is enticing and one you want to visit -- even if only for 90 minutes at a time.

The Great Saint Louis Bank Robbery chooses to focus on the gritty, grimy side of crime in an effort to seem more "realistic". It may be closer to the truth than the stylized noirs of the 40's but it is also much less entertaining. The dialog is boring, the acting contrived (McQueen is trying so hard to be the next Brando or James Dean and it's just painful to watch), and the plot so predictable.

For a movie like this to work, you have to sympathize with a least one of the characters and I couldn't. Three of the four leads were certifiable mental cases and the other one was dumb as a stump.

For a much better heist noir, try KC Confidential or the Asphalt Jungle...

A very realistic heist film that is based on an actual crime and uses as a location the bank where the robbery took place.

The makers of this film were very professional and did a good job. The only downside to the movie is that it is so sombre; the characters aren't charismatic, witty, or cheerful, and they aren't in the habit of saying things like "Do you feel lucky?" or "Make my day." (On the other hand, that fact adds to the realism.)

Steve McQueen performs well, and he's not trying to be Marlon Brando. His character is a young, inexperienced man just out of college who's not too sure of himself and who is trying not to become a habitual criminal.

Since the film is in the public domain, a high-resolution copy can be downloaded here: http://www.archive.org/details/Saint_Louis_Bank_Robbery

Heralded, "This story is based on a true incident. Men of the Saint Louis Police Department play the same parts they did in the actual crime," which is one of the less interesting elements about this film. Directors Charles Guggenheim and John Stix' documentary-style approach is more interesting. And, an early Steve McQueen stars; although, obviously, this is before he found a feature film persona that worked. Trumping all in the interest department, however, is the homosexual relationships between the characters, both real and imagined.

Mr. McQueen (as George Fowler) is a college drop-out, trying to lead the straight life. He is tempted into a life of crime, however, by ex-girlfriend Molly McCarthy (as Ann)'s brother David Clarke (as Gino). McQueen and Mr. Clarke have partnered up; but, the roommates have had a difficult time finding honest work. So, they involve themselves with a bank heist, masterminded by Crahan Denton (as John Eagan).

The fifth wheel in the cast is getaway driver James Dukas (as Willie). Mr. Dukas gives the film's best performance; and, he has the most interesting role. Dukas began with head honcho Denton when he was a younger, thinner "kid", a fact Denton cruelly enjoys mentioning; and, the two obviously became lovers. They have a terrific bickering scene, which ends with Denton ordering Dukas, "Go take a bath, Willie." Denton wants the younger McQueen to drive his getaway car, which makes Dukas very jealous.

Too bad that jukebox could only afford to play one record. With a bigger budget, "The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" coulda been a contenda.

This film, as much the story of the personal lives of the robbers as of the heist, features terrific performances, a highly original script for the genre, and exceptional visuals and direction. Each of the would-be bandits is emotionally damaged in some way and the film reveals their individual quirky weaknesses with raw style. In one such sequence, Gino (David Clarke) is shaving and becomes intensely disturbed and claustrophobic when his roommate and fellow member of the gang (Steve McQueen) unexpectedly closes the bathroom door, a scene which stylistically seems to anticipate "Psycho", released in the following year. The look of late 50's St. Louis, the bandits' clothes and hats, the cars they drive, all provide a fascinating edge to this true story of a bank robbery, and one of the last great Noir films.

This is like one of Donald Westlake's early Parker novels, without Parker. Steve McQueen plays a young man falling in with a gang of bank robbers through the brother of his ex-girlfriend (David Clarke as Gino -excellent; Molly McCarthy as Ann - adequate). The robbery is planned in detail, which is interesting and has the feel of Asphalt Jungle, while personal resentments seethe as the misogynist gang leader (Crahan Denton as Egan - unforgettable) seeks to replace Willie (James Dukas), his right-hand man/lover who is going to seed, with the young and good-looking McQueen. The film is bleak as can be, and deliberately paced, but Victor Duncan's arresting on-location cinematography is reminiscent of Odds Against Tomorrow, the sound (supervised by Edward Johnson) is naturalistic, and the music moody without resorting to saxophones. What could have been a fine piece of noir art is let down only by McQueen's James Dean histrionics in the final ten minutes. Fans of noir shouldn't miss it.

I tuned this in to catch a glimpse of early Steve McQueen. I stayed to watch it. The scenes of St. Louis were very interesting from a historic point of view. So much attention on the cars and the buildings -- this is an accidental snapshot in time. Steve McQueen grabs the attention as very angst ridden about his decisions, seemingly being drawn in a bad situation inch by inch. His girlfriend, although encouraging him to stay on the right path, also abets by funding the duo and not going to the police. Although not a well-known film, overall the acting and the dialog is quite natural. I can see why there is question of a homosexual relationship -- but in those days, hotels/motels were frequently not much more than a tiny bedroom with a double bed and a common bathroom down the hall. Kids frequently slept 2 or 3 to a bed and it wasn't uncommon for adults to share beds to save money.

George Fowler (Steve McQueen) is the driver of a crew planning to rob a Southwest bank branch in St. Louis. Steve McQueen was still relatively new. The Blob came out a year earlier. Despite that, his star quality is undeniable. This is a rather lower budget affair. The style is closer to a documentary. Guggenheim seems to be mostly a documentary filmmaker. I wish the filmmaking is better. There is a lot of conversations in the outside and the sound quality isn't that good. There is still a quality to this like a Tarantino movie without the cool violence. There is some shooting and a dab of blood. Mostly, it's a lot of conversation.

Straight No-Frills Docu-Style Minimalism with On-Location Low-Key Realism of Time and Place.

Interiors as well as Exteriors are Cold and Realistic.

Steve McQueen is the Go-To Character and Budding Star of this Unfettered Inner-Look on the Planning and Execution of the Heist.

There are some Deep Displays of Interpersonal Relationships of Low-Lifes and College-Boy McQueen and His Ex-Girlfriend.

Heightened Violence is on Display in a Few Scenes, especially During the Robbery

That Drama is Surrounded by Mid-Level Gangsters Planning a Heist with Pseudo-Intellectual Hubris and Macho Posturing.

The Heist Itself is the High-Light and the Lead-In somewhat Interesting but Methodical and Melancholy to a Fault.

The First Two Acts Drag Occasionally but are done with a Pointed Procedure to Flesh-Out the Criminal Class and Their Short-Comings, especially at this Level.

Worth a Watch, the Feel of the Film is Different than Most in the Era, however Never Reaching the Electricity of the one to Beat...

Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956).

"The St. Louis Bank Robbery" is a film that I expected so much from...and it delivered so little. After all, considering it's based on real events and has teh actual cops in the film who were involved with the robbery, you'd think it would be better. But instead, I just felt bored and found myself falling to sleep while I watched.

The film centers on one of the robbers, George Fowler (Steve McQueen)...the driver for the caper. He's inexperienced and despite being told to avoid women, well, he doesn't. And, an awful lot of the film centers on him...which was a mistake because he wasn't very interesting. More time should have been on the robbery itself. Overall, a time passer at best.

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.

If you were to ask me, I'd definitely say that the word "Great" really ought to be forever deleted (like, pronto!) from this shoddy film's title, 'cause once you see what a ridiculously bungled job that this "St. Louis" bank robbery was you'll clearly realize that it was anything but great.... (Unless, of course, the word "great" is used in reference to what a laughable mess the whole criminal operation was from start to finish)

If you're like me, you'll quickly find this 1959 Crime/Drama so fricking amateurish (on every level) that you'll swear it was an Ed Wood production.

I thought "St. Louis" story sucked, the acting stank, and the dialog puked. About the only thing in this totally lame picture that sparked any of my interest were the spiffy, vintage automobiles. Yeah. They were very cool.

Had this picture's running time of 90 minutes been edited down to, say, 60 minutes, then, yes, perhaps that might have helped things somewhat by moving the story along at a much quicker and more lively pace.

But, as it stood (especially with its intense focus on the super-dumb romance that took place between Steve McQueen's character, George Fowler, and Ann, a real dizzy, small-town bimbo), this film lost my interest long before the robbery actually took place (which didn't happen until the last 15 minutes of the story). And by that time I was too bored and tired to care what the hell happened to anybody or who ended up double-crossing who.

Filmed in b&w, this movie was directed by Charles Guggenheim, a dude who was noted for his documentaries.

Grim,essentially pessimistic,documentary like crime movie,based on real events,and shot on location in St Louis.The supporting cast seems to include a lot of local non-professionals.The film is most interested in dealing with the damaged psyches of the 4 hold up men,rather than their elementary plot to rob a bank.All the lead parts are exceptionally well played,especially by a young Steve McQueen(as an ex-college boy sliding off the rails),and Crahan Denton(as the embittered,rather deranged gang boss).There are also hints(quite daring for the 50's)of a homosexual relationship between 2 of the criminals.Very different to typical Hollywood product of the period,and well worth a look-and not just as an example of McQueen in his apprenticeship period.Great cars and jukebox music as well!

Six years after beginning his movie career, Steve McQueen put himself in the driver's seat with this early film. Watch it closely and you'll see this true life story has him playing the 'wheel man' during the St. Louis bank robbery. Having watched this movie icon, grow and mature over the years, you can almost notice as McQueen chafes under the director's yoke and script constrains of this black and white film. Observe if you will his natural body language silently wish he could break out of the character's mold and do his on screen magic. However, this story is based on an actual incident and once you're in, we can only sit and watch as McQueen does his best to fill in the role of the by-gone athletic hero gone bad. The men he joins lack cohesiveness and each brings his own problem to a crime, fraught with pitfalls. But each needs their $20,000 share, so to hell with the dangers. Any fan of the late McQueen can readily see the 'diamond-in-the-rough' the young star is and realize what an exceptional gem, he will become. Unlike the movie itself which left much to be desired on nearly every level, Steve McQueen rises above it and we almost wish we could follow him to a sequel of this story. ***

This movie proves that acting can be learned ,if a person is given enough time. Molly and Steve would have embarrassed their acting coaches.The movie is almost painful to watch when you compare McQueens acting in this movie and then Tom Horn at the end of his career.There are comments about gay themes in this movie. I didn't get that idea although ,when the leader of the gang came into the bedroom of Steve and his uncle and they were in the same bed looking startled, it did run through my mind. Some of McQueens response to the police activity towards the end of the movie could be construed in this light. I must admit I didn't realize this theme till I read it in one of the reviews