Casino Heist Movie
| Seven Thieves | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Produced by | Sydney Boehm |
| Written by | Sydney Boehm Max Catto (novel) |
| Starring | Edward G. Robinson Rod Steiger Joan Collins Eli Wallach |
| Music by | Dominic Frontiere |
| Cinematography | Sam Leavitt |
| Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
Release date | March 12, 1960 (New York City) |
| 102 min | |
| Language | English/French |
| Budget | $1,650,000[1] |
Seven Thieves is a 1960 American film noirheistcrime drama film shot in CinemaScope. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger, Joan Collins and Eli Wallach.
The newly-released video shows a suspect, who is still on the run, walk into the casino in a disguise of glasses, a wig, a hat and a bandage across his face. Casino heist movies deserve a category of their own, considering how tough the job the heroes (antiheroes) of the movies have to accomplish. They have to outsmart the clever security measures of the establishment, they have to hide from the usually powerful and tough owner of the place, and they have to do that in a usually limited timeframe. Ocean’s 11 – The quintessential “how-to” of casino heist movies in terms of budget, A-List star power, box-office takings and sheer irresistible suavity, has to be 2001’s Ocean’s 11. Riffing on the classic “one last job” yarn, Danny Ocean (Clooney), assembles, with the help of trusted friend Rusty, (Pitt), a gang of eleven.
Directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Sydney Boehm, it was adapted for the screen by Sydney Boehm, based on the 1959 novelThe Lions At The Kill by Max Catto.[2] Technical advisor was Candy Barr, who, as choreographer, taught dance routines to Collins.
Seven Thieves received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design Black-and-White (Bill Thomas).
Synopsis[edit]
A discredited expatriate American professor, Theo Wilkins (Edward G. Robinson), has called on a young protégé and sophisticated thief, Paul Mason (Rod Steiger), to come over from the US to the south of France and help him pull off one final heist. He has masterminded a caper to steal $4,000,000 in French francs from the underground vault of the casino of Monte Carlo, Monaco. Wilkins has recruited a team of thieves – including Melanie (Joan Collins), an exotic dancer – but he needs someone he can trust, Mason, to keep them all in line during the crime.
The heist takes place on the night of a grand celebration at the casino. Melanie's protector, the saxophone player Pancho (Eli Wallach), and Wilkins enter the casino in the guises of (respectively) 'Baron von Roelitz,' an aristocrat with a disability who uses a wheelchair, and his physician, 'Dr. Vidal.' At the same time, Melanie, the safecracker Louis (Michael Dante) and Mason attend the party with invitations procured by the gang's inside man at the casino, the meek assistant to the director, Le May (Alexander Scourby), who is under Melanie's spell.
Mason and Louis go out of a window, which Melanie shuts behind them, and make their way along a narrow ledge high above the sea to the casino director's office. From there, they descend by elevator to the vault four floors below. They cut through a barred gate in front of the vault and drill through the lock, secure the cash and make their way back to the director's elevator.
Pancho's part of the plan is to ingest a cyanide capsule to simulate a heart attack. Afraid, he fails to do so, necessitating that Wilkins inject him with cyanide instead. Pancho collapses and Wilkins maneuvers the casino director (Sebastian Cabot), in the name of 'discretion,' into transporting 'the baron' to his office. Here, Wilkins pretends to phone for an ambulance, and informs the director that the baron is dead. They leave the office with the inert baron in it.
Immediately re-entering the director's office, Louis and Mason stash the money in the hollow seat of the baron's wheelchair. They then return along the ledge to the window into the casino, which Melanie has reopened for them, narrowly avoiding being caught by casino security. Louis and Melanie depart the party together, while Mason makes his way out separately.
The 'ambulance' summoned by Wilkins is in reality part of the plan, and is driven by the last accomplice, Fritz (Berry Kroeger). Pancho is strapped into the wheelchair, taken to the side entrance of the casino and loaded into the ambulance. The conspirators then make their getaway. Just as Pancho is regaining consciousness in the back of the ambulance, Wilkins, smiling in the excitement of his success, peacefully and unexpectedly dies. Mason and Melanie drive him back to his hotel. While driving back to the hideout, Mason breaks down and Melanie realizes that Wilkins was his father.
Mason and Melanie decide they want no part of the stolen money. They return to the hideout, where the others are squabbling over how to split the take. Mason examines the money and discovers that it is brand new currency and that all the serial numbers are on file with the Bank of France, which will make it next to impossible to spend. Mason and Melanie, realizing that the others will be unable to resist spending the cash, will be caught and will implicate them, forcibly take the cash away and return it to the casino. Ironically, while returning the money they hit it big on the roulette table. Thus the two of them, who by now have decided to take their chances in life together, emerge as the only members of the gang to come out ahead.
Cast[edit]
- Edward G. Robinson – Professor Theo Wilkins
- Rod Steiger – Paul Mason
- Joan Collins – Melanie
- Eli Wallach – Pancho
- Alexander Scourby – Raymond Le May
- Michael Dante – Louis Antonizzi
- Berry Kroeger – Hugo Baumer aka Fritz
- Sebastian Cabot – Director of Casino
References[edit]
- ^Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN978-0-8108-4244-1. p252
- ^http://wn.com/Max_Catto
External links[edit]
- Seven Thieves at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Seven Thieves on IMDb
- Seven Thieves at AllMovie
- Seven Thieves at the TCM Movie Database
Who doesn’t love a good heist movie with a lot of trickery and clever thinking, like the good Old Italian Job? – Watching movies about some criminal activities and feeling good about it is a strange thing to explain. The plot gets better if the gang is trying to outplay the bad guy who is the situation in most movies.
Whether it is robbing a bank, casino, or an antique relic, something about this kind of movies makes them very appealing to the public. In today’s article, we will go through some of the best “heist movies” that have a carefully planned plot and unpredictable outcome. Just to be clear, we are not ranking the actual heists in the movies, but the movies as a finished product.
So, let’s jump to the list and see what we have.
1. Inside man
If you still haven’t watched this heist-hostage film, you should grab some popcorn and jump in front of your TV. We guarantee that you won’t even blink throughout the movie.
It is directed by Spike Lee, and it Is about Clive Owen and his carefully planned bank robbery, which will bring an entire Wall Street Bank under his control. The main star of this movie is Denzel Washington who is a detective and the hostage negotiator in charge of the operation.
The best thing about this movie is the criminal mastermind that drives Denzel to the edge. It seems like the detective is always one step behind the criminals that are trying to rob the bank.
It is truly an amazing movie that is worth the watch.
2. Ocean’s Thirteen
Ocean’s movies are well known for their heists and criminal operation that involves robbing expensive antique relics, banks, and it this movie probably the most mind-blowing casino operation that will make you sweat the entire movie.
If you love casino movies and that involves a lot of money, this movie should be in your top watch list category.
The Ocean’s thirteen is about the famous well-known gang and their return to Vegas with a vengeance. The casino owner is played by Al Pacino, which makes the movie even more exciting, as well as other stars like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon and many more.
This movie probably changed some of the regulations they have in casinos and made the increase their security. Don’t forget to visit BetAmerica website to understand how blackjack and other casino games really work, so you understand all the plot lines of the movie.
3. Point Break
If you want to watch an old-time classic, Point Break is just the right choice for you. The main role for this movie is given to Keanu Reeves, who is an FBI agent and must go undercover with a gang of surfers who rob banks in their spare time.
This is probably some of the early days in Keanu’s career, and with its brilliant acting, this movie has become one of the all-time favorites for many people.
The most surprising thing about this movie is the directing level. It is directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and considering this was one of the first films she directed, she did a marvelous job.
4. Baby Driver
Best Casino Heist Movies
This movie is not as good as Edgar Wright’s past films (the director), but it truly shows tactical excellence. Baby is a young man that has some exceptional driving skills, which is why he is recruited in a gang as a getaway driver.
The stunts in this movie are incredible, but the plot feels somehow pushed to the limits. Just when you think the film is going to end, everything goes back to the beginning.
5. The Bank Job
If you want a smart heist film that doesn’t include too much violence and bloody work, the bank job is the right choice for you. It is directed by Saffron Burrows, and the leading role is given to Jason Statham which is responsible for robbing a bank in London. More specifically, they want to enter a room full of safe deposit boxes.
However, safe deposit boxes don’t contain only cash, do they? – In the end, they get much more than they planned, which will bring the excitement even more.
6. The Italian Job
We cannot make a top heist movie list and not include the all-time favorite The Italian Job. This movie was released back in 2001, and many directors and cast members were trying to make a sequel which unfortunately still didn’t happen. They said that they wouldn’t start doing the second Italian job if they are not sure that it would be better than the first, and that is a bar set very high.
Even though this movie is a remake of the original Italian Job, it still captures the soul of the heist and involves creative outsmarting by the gang and Edward Norton (the villain).
The production design and camera work are going over the top, which is why this movie is so popular.
7. Fast Five
We also have to feature heist movies that do not involve such delicate work when it comes to robbing someone. Fast five is an action movie that involves a lot of driving with nice cars, shooting, and violence. In other words, the director wanted to focus on the action rather than masterminding the heists.
It is a pretty unrealistic movie as they will take down an entire city pulling a huge safe with their cars, but in the end, it is a fun movie to watch.
8. Now You See Me 2
What would you say if we tell you that there is a movie that combines magic and heists together? Now You See Me 2 is an impressive heist movie that involves a couple of magicians that want to steal a powerful chip that controls all the computers in the world.
Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are one of the top cast members of this movie, and even though many people think that this movie was worse than the first one, it stills involves impressive heists that will blow your mind.
Casino Heist Movies
There are rumors that suggest that Now You See Me 3 is in production, but unfortunately, we still didn’t get a release date.