The Bank Raiders

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.

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.

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.

A typical 'Cops and Robbers' of the era in true British style. A third rate con man lands himself the job of a get-away driver for a bank heist that has complications. He is seen by a bank employee who is able to identify him, though refuses to do so as the gang has kidnapped the employee's girl and threatens revenge should he reveal the criminal's identity.

Things start to unravel as the criminal splashes his share of the robbery on booze and his off-handed lover. The police are soon on the trail but are thwarted by lack of evidence and the refusal of the bank employee to assist them. As in any decent movie of the genre, the thieves fall out and the whole robbery falls apart.

The movie, though short, moves at a good pace and holds the viewer's attention at all times. The acting ranges from good to mediocre, but that doesn't detract from the story in any way. Overall it is well worth catching and won't leave you disappointed with the hour spent watching it.

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.