The Saint Louis Bank Robbery is a 1959 crime thriller about a gang’s plans for a bank robbery being complicated when the sister of one of the thieves starts voicing her well-founded suspicions.
There’s something about a bank heist that just makes for great entertainment at the movies, and if there’s one angle to these flicks that pique our interest most, it’s the getaway driver behind the wheel. 2017’s Baby Driver and 2011’s Drive are just the latest in a string of movies that put their focus on the wheelman, these cold as ice characters almost more fun than the grab for money. Turns out, it’s not all that new.
Any good movie fan knows the name Steve McQueen, the action star setting the big screen ablaze in the 60s and 70s with monster hits like Bullitt, Papillion, and of course The Great Escape. He was a dynamic screen presence that redefined the everyman hero, his untimely death at age 50 one that left many wondering what more he could have done while t the same time, cementing his legacy.
He got his start in the movies in 1958’s low budget The Blob, which has become a cult classic (rightfully so, this cheesy masterpiece), before making his way to stardom in 1960’s iconic The Magnificent Seven. In-between these two films, he landed parts in two small-time, poorly-received dramas, one being The Saint Louis Bank Robbery (sometimes called The Great Saint Louis Bank Robbery), playing a driver named George Fowler. It’s based on a true story, made sort of significant for casting the actual bank employees and a few of the cops who were involved in the real heist. That’s kinda cool.
The film centers on George, a college dropout who returns to St. Louis for a job as a wheelman for a goon named Gino (David Clarke), an off-balance ex-con and brother of George’s old flame, Ann (Molly McCarthy). Looking only to drive, George is eventually dragged further into the scheme by John Eagen (Crahan Denton), the guy behind the plot. Complications arise when Ann spots her brother casing the bank, and after a talk with George, puts together what’s going on, doing what she can to stop it and save George from making a big mistake. Unfortunately, things only spin out of control and a devastating murder marks the start of a plan gone to hell.
The Saint Louis Bank Robbery is an old time drive-in special, the film co-directed by John Stix and Charles Guggenheim, the latter of which would switch gears early in the 60s and commit to producing and directing documentaries, two that would earn him Oscar gold. It was probably a good idea as Guggenheim’s knack for shooting action and suspense don’t quite strike with all that impact it should.The camera pretty much stands still at eye level and cuts dutifully from talking head to talking head, stripped of most anything creative. At best, the movie ticks along with a perfuctory style, ticking off the must-haves for the genre without all that much innovation or personality (save for that artsy last shot, a rather powerful image).
That said, what’s interesting about this approach is the sort of mechanical precision it all has in setting up the robbery, where the gang practices and plans their operation. It kinda feels like, well, a documentary. Surprise. Of course, that’s not what we came here for but there is a weirdly satisfying appeal to this old style of moviemaking that – especially for fans of these cheaply-made old releases – is great fun.
McQueen is the whole show here, his potential still untapped and his youth not yet able to really layer the whole thing with the machismo and gravitas of his later projects, but because of that, it’s a joy to watch him work. He always looks good driving … anything … and while the film doesn’t truly take full advantage of that, the promise alone is good enough. Loaded with cheesy dialogue, poor editing, saturated black & white and over-the-top music, this is a bit of a gem worth sitting through for its old timey charms. Most of you can catch it in full on YouTube.