Le casse de Berkeley Square

When Pinky, a qualified electrician, is released from prison, his parole officer has found him a job working at a big city bank. When some of the crime underworld from his past learn of his position they plan to exploit it and rob the bank. Pinky is at first horrified because he really wants to go straight, but when a twist of fate happens Pinky begins to think one shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Also known as The Mayfair Bank Caper {amongst others!}, this is a hugely enjoyable piece that is quintessential 1970s. London and all it's highly dubious fashions are lit up like a Christmas tree in Ralph Thomas and Guy Elmes' cunningly crafty caper. If the viewer can accept David Niven as an aged crime lord of some evility {it's not easy i can tell you}, then A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square could well surprise you. The actors aren't pulling up any trees for sure, but it's really not hurting the picture at all, it has an honest fun quality that is never less than entertaining. The score and soundtrack is perhaps guilty of over jollification during the dramatic criminal moments, but it's a minor complaint to leave me thinking this is an under seen British gem.

Richard Jordan takes the lead role of Pinky (obviously hoping to lure in American viewers}, 70s heart throb Oliver Tobias {a mass of hair} is in there to keep the ladies interested, whilst the blokes get the pleasurable sight of Elke Sommer and her delightful legs for company. Moving along at a decent enough clip and containing a seriously rewarding finale, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square deserves far better than the paltry 5.7 rating here on IMDb, but just how many people have seen it i wonder?, hmm, go on give it a go if you the chance, it's good stuff. 7/10

I provided location services on the this film every Sunday we would shoot in London's Berkeley Square. David Niven ever the gentleman thoroughly enjoyed the role, sadly to be his last. we had a moment of panic when a trunk load of fake Krugerrands (cast for the film..) tipped down a storm drain.

Imagine frantic crew opening all the drains to recover every last one. If you know and love London you'll love this comedy romp - also starts Richard Jordan who sadly died from a brain tumour. A good film, great crew ,superb cast. look for the current stars of coronation street then playing crowd scenes or extras.The car lot and Ivan's retail enterprises were all shot in west London, Chiswick the entire shopping parade and the American used car lot were dressed overnight, the car lot is still there as are the shops. A restaurant was suddenly turned into a funeral parlour. If you see the film on the listings make an effort to see it! By the way Sally Harrison the Bank receptionist was married to the production designer Tony Curtis..

April 2007 Just thought I would add a few extra comments on locations:

Pub: just off Berkeley Square Elke Sommers Cottage: in back Road alongide Twickenham Film Studios Ivans Used Car Lot: along Chiswick High Street and all shop locations near roundabout. Workshops (converting armoured vans)Factory on roundabout opposite Fullers Brewery Jail (see workshops above) Telephone box see Elke Sommers cottage ( it was the wooden studio prop box used in many films, look for the lighting cable at gound level and the wood hinges on the door!!! Computer room Honeywells near Olympia Graveyard - Chiswick - Grave just outside the boundary on common land Bank interiors, ceiling void and strongroom :Twickenham studios

And just to add David Niven ever the gentleman, joked and mixed with the crew, extras and so on......Niven would dine in the Connaught hotel bu join the crew for coffee!

Really enjoyable film full of some great British character actors.

Excellent use of outdoor scenes, mainly of London, but not the usual recognisable holiday brochure zones.

Not a complicated plot, but who needs them. Just good fun, well executed and fine entertainment.

I've a reasonable copy of the film, lifted off the English television, English Pal, on VHS, and would be happy to let you have a copy if you need one.

Just ingenious enough to be plausible and still a lot of fun, this is a pure slice of the 1970s (Even the cops need haircuts badly!). Shot in and around London, the plot of the American ex-con who tries going straight but finds himself sent as an electrician to a bank in Mayfair, and then has the screws put on by crime lord David Niven, and finds himself plotting the crime of the century is well-handled.

I liked its simplicity and even innocence, it harks back to a time when caper films where just that, a caper, and violence wasn't a part of the deal.

All in all you could do a lot worse than watch this: it has enough twists and turns to give it some oomph and a cast that obviously had fun making it.

Nicely made and watchable.

One of those lovely little films that would be more or less lost to the 21st-century viewer, were it not for the interest of certain Freeview TV channels, such as Talking Pictures, in broadcasting such gems.

Not a great film, it has to be said, but an opportunity to see the talented David Niven in what was sadly to be one of his last roles. Also catch the much-missed American actor Richard Jordan (whose portrayal of a terrifying killer in 1985's 'The Mean Season' has ever stayed in my memory) as the lead character. A charming - if not stretched - role for one of the leads of the film classic 'Logan's Run'.

There are a few crashing disappointments. The American actress of sultry 1940s/'50s film noir roles, Gloria Grahame, is criminally underused in the role of Richard Jordan's mother. And Elke Sommer's character ends up as nothing more than the role in which, unfortunately, she was always typecast: the token sexpot female. A waste of skills in both cases.

Re the musical score: there are a few inexplicable - & inappropriate to the scene - motifs in the incidental music that are redolent of a Benny Hill theme. Being a 'caper' movie does not also make it a farce! This badly judged feature might in fact have been more to with the film's director - Ralph Thomas - having had a film career that included directing a string of lightweight sex comedies such as two 'Carry On...' movies & the 'Doctor...' films. But in most scenes the score - by Stanley Myers, the composer of the entrancing 'Cavatina' theme tune from 'The Deer Hunter' - has moments of great perceptive interpretation of the storyline.

The film must also be noted for a few novitiate roles by now well-known actors: spot Alfred Molina in his second ever film role as a ferry port official; uncredited, too! And Duncan Preston (he of superb comedic roles in 'Dinnerladies' & 'Surgical Spirit') as a blink-and-you'll-miss-him policeman driver. Even John Rhys-Davies shows his future capacity to play a role with gravitas, in a small part as a solicitor.

Oliver Tobias takes a sizeable role, a charismatic man if ever there was one. And Joss Ackland has a cameo. The fact that Auckland's role as the prison warden is uncredited on the film's cast list surely must mean that he took the role for fun. What with David Niven's stature as an actor, especially as the 1st part of his superb & witty autobiography - "The Moon's a Balloon" - had recently hit the bestseller list, I should think several people got involved in the film just for a chance to act with the great man. In fact it would be nice to dream that lots of old film career friendships were consolidated in the making of this London-set film! The director Ralph Thomas had not made a film in five years when he made this 1979 movie; & it turned out to be the last film he made before retiring.

It is frankly preferable to gloss over the sad fact that this was to be the last film for too many of the actors. David Niven's quietly threatening & manipulative crime lord was one of his last film roles (and the last role he voiced himself after disease affected his voice). Plus this was the last film of Hugh Griffith. And Gloria Grahame only made a few more movies before passing away.

If you know London then the locations will be of interest to you. West London features heavily, as do central parts of the city. And I would even be so bold as to swear that I recognised the micro-house of Gloria Grahame's character, as the same split-level London house that was lived in by the character of Bodie (or was it Doyle?!) in TV's 'The Professionals'! I remember so well the trendy 1970s' house layout from watching the series reruns, because as a teenager I always used to daydream that my first flat would look like it! So, more fond memories...

A little 'find' on the Freeview TV schedule, well worth a perusal.