SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Jonathon Dabell The caper movie was all the rage in the 1970s, especially after the 1972 film The Hot Rock had shown critics and audiences just how good a well-thought-out caper film could be. The Hot Rock was based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake, and it is another Westlake novel that provides the inspiration this time around, as Gower Champion takes to the directorial chair for Bank Shot.Criminal genius Walter Ballantine (George C. Scott) is approached while doing time in a desert penitentiary and asked to participate in a bank heist. First he needs to bust out of jail, which he does with a little help from a bulldozer and sexy lady-crook El (Joanna Cassidy). El is just one of a team of villainous oddballs with whom Ballantine will be carrying out his next villainous project. The others include Al G. Karp (Sorrell Booke), Victor Karp (Bob Balaban), Herman X (Frank McRae), and Mums (Bibi Osterwald). Their plan is to rob a bank and, after careful planning, Ballantine comes up with the ingenious idea of stealing the entire building. It seems that the bank in question is a rather small building, rather like a portable wooden home or caravan. With incredible audacity, the team of criminals steal the building one night by putting it on wheels and disguising it so that it appears like a trailer home. Having booked their new "house" into a trailer park while the heat cools, the gang of misfits seem to have succeeded with their brilliant robbery. But there's a final twist in store as obsessed cop Bulldog Streiger (Clifton James) – a long-time nemesis of Ballantine's - refuses to give in without a fight….Bank Shot is a short, snappy and frequently very funny film. Scott proves himself a surprisingly capable comedian in a role that is far removed from the likes of "Dr. Strangelove" and "Patton" (the latter of which had earned him an Oscar). In fact, the whole cast sizzle in this wacky film, most notably Clifton James as the persistent cop whose goal in life is to nail Walter Ballantine whatever the cost. What really helps the film is the fact that the heist is so unique and unusual – no mere robbery here, but the very clever and very amusing concept of the crooks stealing the entire building. It's just outrageous enough to add a delightfully zany edge to the proceedings. The film is tightly paced and runs for a mere 80 minutes or so, which may sound somewhat brief but actually works in the film's favour, making the events move along with urgency rather than dwelling on superfluities. Wendell Mayes deserves credit for this, having done a splendid job of adapting the Westlake novel for his screenplay. There are occasional shades of heavy-handedness, such as a silly final sequence in which Scott is cast adrift in the Pacific Ocean, but these misjudgements are few and far between and do not particularly ruin one's enjoyment of the film.

Silly_Whyte_boye Can you imagine if some brilliant producer in 1971 decided 'Deliverance' would be 'better' if they changed Ned Beatty's character 'Bobby' to 'Bobbi' and cast Shelly Winters instead? And instead of going down a river in canoes they are going down the highway on motorcycles. And Bobbi's big squeeee-eeel takes place in a canyon off the highway thru Monument Valley! Or Could you imagine some Hollywood suit in 1972 coming up with the brilliant changes for 'The Exorcist': They make Father Karras struggling with his sexual repression and sexual identity having to face his demons before he acts upon them! Change Regan's character from a girl to a Scottish terrier, oh and, of course, get this: Change The Devil to Jesus Christ. 'Bank Shot' is a perfect example of what happens when novels are adapted to the screen...some 'writer' thinks they can improve a tried a true novel! Oh, here's a brilliant Idea for 'Good Fellas'! All the males are gay and they would substitute their acts of violence for acts of sex which is expressed rage at their fathers seed and for their fathers lack of affection and Love. The club they go to they attend in drag. Of course, all guns would be replaced with latex replicas of their manhood! The 'Clown Scene' would make it NC 17. 'Bank Shot' the novel has those lovable guys from 'The Hot Rock'; Dortmunder, Kelp, Greenberg, Stan Murch and his ma! But, they turned it into a campy, I don't know what. All the characters were so animated they didn't resemble anything Donald E. Westlake wrote.As far as a movie goes They pretty much kept the plot of (going by the book) Dortmunder and Co. stealing the WHOLE bank! This is screwball enough because the bank is under construction and the temp bank is a trailer as in a Trailer Home. They put it on wheels and drive off with it. They paint it in a football stadium, then move it to a trailer park, where the neighbor's sprinklers wash the wet the paint off...as the police are looking for the Bank! Having to move the trailer while (Kelp-the Locksmith) is trying to rack the safe with little success! They end up parking on the side of a desolate road on a hill and quickly making it look like a roadside café to provide coffee and donuts for the cops who are looking for the bank. George C.Scott does comedy very well, don't get me wrong. And I am sure his character was funny...but I was expecting John Dortmunder, not this Ballentine guy who who rips off Donald E. Westlake's immortal character John Dortmunder! Not my fav. Joanna Cassidy...how can ya NOT like the twinkle in her eyes right before she laughs! She jiggles when she laughs, ya know?! I just can n to help but laugh with her! She is contagious in this way! I believed her, at least that she was having fun! and now, 30 years later...be still my heart! She still twinkles and jiggles! and has become an accomplished actress! She does have a great body...of work!In closing, my final but philosophical pitch: 1972 Walter Hill and Sam Peckinpah adapted Dr. Hunter S. Thompson's 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'. Sam Peckinpah would direct; Mr. Hill-AD. I would pick Dustin Hoffman to play 'Duke'. I think George C. would have done a great job as 'Dr. GonZo' if 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' was made in 1974, instead of this corny camp.1 star because of Joanne Cassidy! She is the ONLY reason worth watching this one.

rwint 8 out of 10 Completely wacky story involving seven nutty people who decide to rob a bank that is inside a mobile home. They do so by stealing the entire building only to find that trying to open the safe is even tougher. This is the type of comedy that works because although it is built around one gimmick it doesn't just stay dependent on it. Everything is offbeat here. It really is just one laugh after another and it comes at a extremely fast pace. Nearly every scene is diverting and some of it even memorable. It shows a good handle on the absurd with just the right balance of the irreverent particularly with the police and other authority figures. Scott's escape from his prison camp is good example of all these ingredients. He uses a stolen bulldozer to crash through the gate while the police chief tries to 'chase him down' while driving nothing more than a flimsy little golf cart. It all makes for one of the most unique chase sequences you will ever see. Of course the actual heist of the bank building is still the best. The innumerable and frustrating attempts at trying to open a most difficult safe comes in at a close second. There are also a lot of other fun ironic twists. Scott is not necessarily the best person for the part of the cunning and audacious criminal mastermind. He looks very old, grouchy, and tired here. He has your grandfathers big bushy eyebrows and talks with a very strange lisp. Yet he is also at his crumudgeon best and the film makes the most of it. Cassidy with her infectious laugh and very sunny disposition makes for a terrific counterpart. James though probably stands out the most in a over the top caricature of the hard nosed police sergeant. It's the best role of his career and a part he looks to have been born to play. If the film has any faults it is the fact that it tends to be too one dimensionally silly and at points seems almost cartoonish. A little more tension here and there wouldn't have hurt. It also goes by way too fast and the ending isn't very satisfying. Still this is a solid comedy that should appeal to anyone with a good sense of humor. It is also fun for the whole family.

Stu-42 This movie was lots of fun from start to finish with Scott in an unusual comic role. The madcap hijinxs that ensue are outrageous and the excellent cast of characters do a fine job. I'm not sure why the very low rating- were people looking for masterpiece theatre? Sit back and enjoy this 70s romp that's much better than most "great" movies I've seen lately.