The Great Van Robbery

Last updated

The Great Van Robbery
"The Great Van Robbery" (1959).jpg
Directed by Max Varnel
Written by Brian Clemens
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography James Wilson (as Jimmy Wilson)
Edited by Maurice Rootes
Music by Albert Elms (uncredited)
Production
company
Danziger Productions
Distributed by United Artists (US)
Release dates
  • January 1959 (1959-01)(UK)
  • 1963 (1963)(US)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Great Van Robbery is a low budget 1959 British crime film. [1]

Contents

Plot

Scotland Yard teams up with Interpol to discover the origins of stolen money in a private bank account in Rio de Janeiro. Assigning their best detective Caesar Smith to the case, the money is soon traced to a robbery from a Royal Mint van. Investigations lead to a coffee storehouse where a worker is found murdered and the remaining loot discovered.

Cast

Notes

The Britmovie website has referred to it as a "routine British crime thriller from second-feature specialists the Danziger Brothers. Denis Shaw convincingly plays Interpol detective Caesar Smith and belies his hefty build to display a nifty line in judo and self-defence." [2]

The camera operator on the film was the future film director Nicolas Roeg. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Train Robbery (1963)</span> 1963 robbery of a Royal Mail train in Ledburn, England

The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England.

<i>The Lavender Hill Mob</i> 1951 film directed by Charles Crichton

The Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers to Lavender Hill, a street in Battersea, a district of South London, in the postcode district SW11, near to Clapham Junction railway station.

Train robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains.

<i>The Bat</i> (1959 film) 1959 film

The Bat is a 1959 American crime-mystery thriller starring Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead. It is the fourth film adaptation of the story, which began as a 1908 novel The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart, which she later adapted into the 1920 play The Bat. The first film version of the play was the 1926 American silent film The Bat. The film version was adapted by playwright Crane Wilbur, who also directed.

<i>Sapphire</i> (film) 1959 film directed by Basil Dearden

Sapphire is a 1959 British crime drama film. It focuses on racism in London toward immigrants from the West Indies, and explores the "underlying insecurities and fears of ordinary people" about those of another race. The film was directed by Basil Dearden, and stars Nigel Patrick, Earl Cameron and Yvonne Mitchell. It received the BAFTA Award for Best Film and screenwriter Janet Green won a 1960 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Foreign Film Screenplay. It was considered a progressive film for its time.

Minder on the Orient Express is a comedy/thriller television film made in 1985 as a spin-off from the successful television series Minder. It was first broadcast on Christmas Day 1985, as the highlight of that year's ITV Christmas schedule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Shaw</span> British actor (1921–1971)

Denis Shaw was a British character actor specialising in slimy villains. Born in Dulwich, he was a rotund man, with dark, wavy hair and slanty eyes. This appearance meant he would often be found troubling countless heroes of the 1950s and 1960s on film and television, most memorably as the German guard Priem in The Colditz Story (1955).

<i>Crime Unlimited</i> 1935 British film

Crime Unlimited is a 1935 British crime film that was made as a Quota quickie. It was directed by Ralph Ince. The film marked the English-language debut of Lilli Palmer.

<i>Jigsaw</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by Val Guest

Jigsaw is a 1962 black and white British crime drama film written and directed by Val Guest, and starring Jack Warner and Ronald Lewis. It is based on the police procedural novel Sleep Long, My Love by Hillary Waugh, with the setting changed from the fictional small town of Stockford, Connecticut, to Brighton, Sussex, while retaining the names and basic natures of its two police protagonists and most of the other characters. It was filmed with the full cooperation of the Brighton Borough Police, which was under the shadow of a major corruption scandal, and the East Sussex Constabulary.

<i>A Weekend with Lulu</i> 1961 British film

A Weekend with Lulu is a 1961 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Bob Monkhouse, Leslie Phillips, Alfred Marks, Shirley Eaton and Irene Handl.

<i>Seven Keys</i> (film) 1962 British film

Seven Keys is a 1962 British crime thriller directed by Pat Jackson and starring Alan Dobie.

<i>The Challenge</i> (1960 film) 1960 film

The Challenge, released as It Takes a Thief in the United States, is a 1960 British neo noir crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Jayne Mansfield and Anthony Quayle.

Stolen Assignment is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Terence Fisher and starring John Bentley and Hy Hazell. The film was produced by Francis Searle for Act Films Ltd, and was a sequel to Fisher's Final Appointment of the previous year, featuring sleuthing journalists Mike Billings and Jenny Drew.

<i>Kate Plus Ten</i> (film) 1938 British film

Kate Plus Ten is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Jack Hulbert, Genevieve Tobin and Noel Madison. It was adapted from the Edgar Wallace novel Kate Plus Ten. It was also released as Queen of Crime.

Mail robbery

Mail robbery is the robbery of mail usually when it is in the possession, custody, or control, of the delivering authority, which in most countries is the postal operator and can involve the theft of money or luxury goods.

Mr. Reeder in Room 13 is a 1938 British crime film directed by Norman Lee and starring Peter Murray-Hill, Sally Gray and Gibb McLaughlin. It is based on the first J. G. Reeder book, Room 13 by Edgar Wallace. The film was released in the U.S. in 1941 as Mystery of Room 13.

<i>High Jump</i> (film) 1959 British film

High Jump is a low budget 1959 British crime film.

<i>Account Rendered</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

Account Rendered is a 1957 British crime film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Griffith Jones, Ursula Howells and Honor Blackman. The film's sets were designed by Norman G. Arnold. It was made as a second feature for release by the Rank Organisation.

<i>The Big Night</i> (1960 film) 1960 film

The Big Night is a 1960 American drama film directed by Sidney Salkow and written by Ric Hardman. The film stars Randy Sparks, Venetia Stevenson, Dick Foran, Jesse White, Dick Contino and Frank Ferguson. The film was released on February 17, 1960 by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Marauders</i> (2016 film) 2016 American film

Marauders is a 2016 American crime film directed by Steven C. Miller and written by Michael Cody and Chris Sivertson. The film stars Christopher Meloni, Bruce Willis, Dave Bautista, and Adrian Grenier. Meloni plays an FBI agent investigating a series of brutal bank robberies that seem to be personally targeting a ruthless CEO played by Willis. Lionsgate Premiere released the film on July 1.

References

  1. "The Great Van Robbery (1959)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  2. "Great Van Robbery". britmovie.co.uk.
  3. "The Great Van Robbery". TVGuide.com.