The Bank Shot

Adapted from the Donald Westlake novel of the same title "The Bank Shot" stars George C. Scott and a very young Joanna Cassidy (Zora, the snake-dancing replicant of "Blade Runner" fame). A farcical entry in the caper genre whose hook is a plan to steal a bank (mind you, not rob the bank, but to heist, not to mention hoist, the very structure itself), the film exhibits the dry humor, zany sight gags, and whimsical plot twists characteristic of post-Alec Guinness and "Tom Jones" British cinematic comedy.

As a 1974 Hollywood release, "The Bank Shot" was somewhat ahead of its time, preceding both the Monty Python invasion and the American popularity of films like "A Fish Called Wanda." This film is nowhere near as successful as its more famous British counterparts, but it does have its moments and, viewed from a contemporary perspective, an appealing aura of mid-'70s nostalgia replete with long-haired disguises, peace signs, garish fashion, and a plot-central splashing of hot pink paint. Like "Tom Jones" but to a far lesser degree, the film's whimsy manifests itself in its visual an aural techniques not only in its storyline. Some instances include a stunning silhouette sequence that plays like a moving shadow box, an insistently self-conscious (and ultimately annoying) use of voice-over narration, and several outrageously choreographed chase scenes (one involving a golf cart and a caterpillar tractor and another in which everyone - even a pedestrian bystander - is moving backwards were memorably wacky).

Befittingly, the caper gang in "The Bank Shot" is a mixed bag of nut cases, some more effectively cast than others. In a minor role so early in his career that the credits still list him as "Robert," the always interesting-to-watch Bob Balaban is, well, interesting to watch. Also adding quirkiness and some adept physical humor to the cast is Don Calfa, who is perhaps best remembered for his role as Paulie the hapless hit man in "Weekend at Bernie's." Less successfully cast - indeed the killer of every scene he's in is Sorrel Booke as the sidekick who springs criminal mastermind Walter Ballantine (George C. Scott) from jail in order to pull off "the shot" on the bank.

Scott himself, despite his great success in heavy satires like "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Hospital," seems strangely miscast or under-directed in this film. He so underplays his role that he often seems quite nearly asleep. One might be tempted to attribute the sleepwalking to the sodium nitrate (saltpeter) his character continues to consume in large doses even after escaping from prison, but so far as I know the chemical only causes impotence, not somnambulance. Joanna Cassidy, on the other hand, plays the gang's money man, hanger-on, and would-be seductress with a grating manic intensity.

All in all, this gang isn't quite charming enough (British enough?) to make us care whether they succeed or fail in the heist nor does the screenplay supply enough chuckles to quite sustain the film's comic tone. "The Bank Shot" is nevertheless worth a look, but only in a widescreen version that preserves its original Panavision format. It can't afford to surrender even the slightest bit of the visual humor around its edges to cropping or panning.

This may be the one that George C Scott cringed about, but WHAT a laugh it was! Certainly not an intellectual feast, but why should every movie be just that? I like my mind to be tickeled, but laughs are always welcome and badly needed to! This is one of those movies that is small and light and fluffy and is simply truly great entertainment, simply because it is so unpretentious. If you want a break from every day life, this is great watching with gags galore, and it is precisely Scott's very annoyed attitude that makes it work. His "Leave me alone you crazies" attitude makes the other characters carry through a vision of a crazy world, that is despite its outrageous insanity closer to the truth of every day senselessness than we all would admit. I first saw this one as a kid, and I can still laugh about it. It is from the same period as "Harold and Maude" and while by no means carrying any social or philosophical comments like Harold and Maude, it certainly has that irreverent flair of the 70s. Does a movie always have to be serious? Whatever happened to simple laughter and charme and the kind of babedom and sexiness displayed by a young Joanna Cassidy? Every character punched through and was flavorful and strong. I will also take this movie's camera-work over anything done with the 90s vintage (and still in use) "new look" stupid jiggling camera and zoomiezoom wiggle-jiggle and zoom-in-zoom-out-pretending-to-be-documentary stuff that makes me sea sick and makes me hit the "off" button regardless of what the story line may be! This one is one of my all time favorite comedies , and I don't care what critics think or Scott thought! It feels right and it lives in a different world. Now isn't also what movies can be all about?

The music and the script both show that this will be a silly heist caper. George Scott had won the oscar for Patton a couple years earlier, so this was pretty lightweight fun compared to that. Sorrell Booke was the Boss on Dukes of Hazzard for YEARS in the 1980s. and Bob Balaban was so serious in so many Christopher Guest films, years after this. G. Scott is "Ballantine".. still in jail, but already planning his next heist with his "lawyer" Al Karp, played by Booke. fun, older, character actor Liam Dunn is in here as "Painter". Mel Brooks used Dunn in his films for YEARS... was the judge in "Whats up Doc?". supporting Don Calfa was in Foul Play. Joanna Cassidy co-stars, but I don't know much about her. this was one of her early credited roles. lots of laughing. she hits it off with Ballentine. Lots of planning, riding on motorcycles, driving around. we're half-way through, and not much progress has been made on the heist. Then, things start to happen...Can they hide a bank, that was housed in a mobile home, and then dragged away ? Mr. Carlin, from the Bob Newhart Show ( Jack Riley) is in here as the FBI agent, looking for the missing mobile bank. it's kinda slow, by today's standards, but fun for back in the day. some fun twists near the end. Directed by Gower Champion. didn't direct much. acted. directed, some crew credits. not the best, biggest ending. ah well. sadly, Champion died quite young at 59.

George C. Scott didn't make many comedies, and when he did he played the straight man. Any movie buff who has seen much of his work would probably doubt his ability to do comedy any other way. "The Bank Shot" turned out not very good. But the plot for this film had real potential. All it needed to be successful would have been to eliminate the character or most of the role that Clifton James plays, as Streiger.

Once Scott's Walter Ballentine escapes from prison, there's no further need for Streiger in the movie. But the decision to sort of build a double plot - around Ballentine's bank heist efforts, and the Streiger-led efforts to catch Ballentine's gang, ruins this film. It creates overload, and removes any suspense there might be about the heist working. Besides, who ever heard of a warden leading a police network and manhunt?

No, I think the plot without the organized chase by Streiger would have been a very good comedy, with the gang encountering and dodging the usual police presence. Then, the time and space saved from the Streiger removal could have had a little more comedy put into the dialog of the crooks. And, the ending could have been kept as is, with regular police arriving on the scene, or changed to something else creatively funny.

I was quickly annoyed by the diversions to Streiger after the first one, and instead tried to enjoy the heist plot and antics without letting the diversions take away from the film. With that I can give this film six stars. Take Streiger out after the prison break and it would jump at least one notch. Put in some more comedy around the gang and it could climb to an 8-star film for entertainment.

Although I think George C. Scott is much better at drama than at comedy, he controls his normal intensity and does well with Bank Shot. Scott plays a master criminal who's on temporary hiatus in prison when his disbarred lawyer Sorrell Booke visits him with an idea for a heisting a bank.

Scott escapes with relative ease the penal institution run by Clifton James where he's incarcerated. Which gives James an obsession to catch him that he leaves the job and supervises the manhunt. But that's like the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.

Booke's only half right. He wants to rob a bank where a bank is temporarily housed in a mobile home. But Scott doesn't like his original plan. Let's heist the bank itself.

Some pretty funny gags are in Bank Shot and the crew Booke gives Scott would be closer to The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Funniest is his nephew Bob Balaban former FBI employee who apparently developed an admiration for the criminal lifestyle while employed there. A gambit you could never use while J. Edgar Hoover was running the show.

Best bit is the faux railroad impending crash at a crossing where James and security guards are forced to flee for their lives after the temporary bank has been heisted.

Scott also is of the opinion that women and his kind of work don't mix. With reluctance he has Joanne Cassidy who assisted with his escape as part of his team. The saltpeter in his prison diet have made him somewhat resistant to her beauty although Cassidy does her best to see it her way.

Scott and the cast do a wonderful job. James is really the funny one here. Scott plays it absolutely straight and let's the rest of the cast get the laughs. It works out well in Bank Shot.