Le casse de Berkeley Square

I recently bought this movie on DVD at a discount store for $5. Although it is a no-frills DVD on the Geneon label (just the movie that starts playing immediately - no menu, no special features) the picture and sound quality were EXCELLENT. The movie is based on the true story of one of the biggest bank robberies in history.

Richard Jordan, who I must admit to not having heard of, plays the lead - Pinky Green. A charming young man who had spent too much of his few years in prison and now wanted to go straight but is not allowed to do so! He portrays an American in England. David Niven plays the lead bad guy, also with the great charm for which he is famous. Bad, but with scruples as when he refuses to deny Pinky his "whack" for the job. Whack, in England, apparently is the fair share of the take and not a bullet in the head as in American gangster films! All the supporting cast do an excellent job producing a very believable movie.

What is perhaps best, to me, is that the whole movie is quite enjoyable and understandable (I frequently find myself lost in plot confusions and various characters) without ANY special effects. NO blood. No violence. Not even a single car chase! Just a well written story, well acted, well directed and well photographed! If I had any complaints about the movie, I would question the music. WHAT is bluegrass music doing in a bank heist story that takes place in England?

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.

Like Michael Corleone Richard Jordan keeps trying to go straight in A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square and they keep dragging him back in again. But unlike Corleone, Jordan after a while likes the idea of making that easy tax free money. And with his skill he actually does make robbery look easy.

Jordan plays an American expatriate who gets training as an electrician while serving a sentence in Great Britain. His brain dead parole officer gets him assigned to work in a bank on their wiring. Does that ever interest criminal mastermind David Niven who was in prison with Jordan.

He forces Jordan to work with him and after a while not much force is needed. But the inevitable problems do come up and it's what happens to Niven and Jordan and their criminal gang that is the basis for this semi-lighthearted caper film.

Gloria Grahame has one of her last roles as Jordan's mother and the very last performance of Hugh Griffith is in this film. Griffith plays a pawnbroker and Jordan buys a telescope from him. What he does with the telescope I can't reveal, but it does show just how insecure that bank was for all their bragging about their security.

The title of course is based on the famous British pop song of the Thirties which a few American artists like Bing Crosby managed to record as well. The song is heard a few times, but the last bank heisted is in London's Berkeley Square and what do nightingale's do, but sing.

This is a nice caper film, somewhat reminiscent of The Brink's Job with a British touch.

A gem of a British caper-comedy. Poor American schlub Pinky Green (Richard Jordan, playing another bad guy but this time an adorable one) gets out of a British jail and tries to go straight, but his maintenance man job in a bank is too attractive for his never-reformed criminal friends, headed up by a really nasty Ivan (David Niven in one of his last roles). Pinky resists, but the lure of all that money is just too much for him. Things unravel and reravel and it's all joyous to watch. Jordan must have played 20 bad guys in his career, but he never played the same one twice - this one is just too lovable to hate. Niven never played a slicker bad guy, oil all over. Two fine actors we've lost that I wish we had back.

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