The Bank Raiders

Very much a B-movie of its era, with Peter Reynolds playing a small-time criminal who joins a bigger gang to take part in a bank raid. It seems to go off successfully, but complications soon arise with romance and rivalry causing fallings out. It's rather short and thus never dull, but it does go through the motions in a rather routine way. Sandra Dorne as a kind of femme fatale and Sydney Tafler as the bad guy stand out in this one.

It's a nicely planned bank robbery that almost goes right; a witness spots driver Peter Reynolds. After he's paid off with instructions to lie low, he takes mercenary Sandra Dorne on a night on the town. Meanwhile, the police are closing in, so planner Sidney Taffler abducts the witness and tells the henchman to take care of Reynolds.

It's a nicely done second feature, even if its short length means everyone's a type instead of a character. Scotland Yard, in the person of Lloyd Lamble has things pretty well figured out by the halfway mark, even if he has to wait for the suspects to show up. A few minutes of bright tension help, but it's one of those movies whose competence makes it unremarkable.

A very poor man's 'Asphalt Jungle' in which 'B' movie favourite Peter Reynolds supplies the getaway driver for an unholy three in which Sydney Tafler supplies the brain, Arthur Mullard (no really!) the brawn and Reynolds very little of either.

The women he tangles with include Sandra Dorne playing her usual chain-smoking, high maintenance dragon lady and Rose Hill as Reynolds' cynical and venal landlady. Naturally it all ends in tears.

Even for the time this is pretty bad. The acting, apart from Sydney Taffler is barely competent and laughable at times. The couple in the doorway at the ginning was a LOL moment.

Arthur Mullard was very familier on TV during the 1960s, and landlady Rose Hill had a long running part in Allo, Allo.

The story revolves around a small-time hoodlum who gets involved in a successful bank robbery. He gets his share of the loot and is told to lie low. Instead, he goes on the town with Della, a greedy party girl. Terry is questioned and released by police. Sydney Taffler is the gang boss, but this is story of the love of money being the root of evil.

Peter Reynolds was always a welcome presence in these typical small studio B pics; sharp, urbane and witty and far too nice to be a dyed-in-the-wool bad guy. Sandra Dorne plays the femme fatale on a revenge mission as the ex-girlfriend of the main baddie (Sydney Tafler, always great value)

Yes, folks, that really is Arthur Mullard ("Yus my dear"), as the heavy, not over-burdened with brains, who ends up on the wrong end of a tussle with our anti-hero.

The chap playing the bank teller Jack (Tim Ellison) looked familiar, but his acting career seems to have completely evaporated soon after this. Well that's feedback for you. Rose Hill (later of Allo Allo fame) has fun with her role as the grasping landlady.

All in all a very watchable 61 mins filmed around St John's Wood and harks back to the days when producing a £5 note settled weeks of back-dated bar bills!