Customer Reviews

League of Gentlemen [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great acting throughout, fantastic lighting and overall quality. This movie will keep you in suspense until the end credits.

Funny, sharp witted, well-made. A clear influence on THE DIRTY DOZEN. Nigel Patrick is a stand-out. Roger Livesy steals the film with his imitation of a General. British life is well-observed; "Bunny" is a high-light. Don't miss this!

An underappreciated British classic full of wit and irony. A cadre of ex-servicemen seek to escape their dreary, pinched lives in postwar Britain by reuniting for one last 'mission'.

"Think of it as a full-scale military operation," says involuntarily retired Colonel Hyde (Jack Hawkins) to cashiered ex-major Race (Nigel Patrick). "What chance has a bunch of ordinary civilians have against a trained, armed and disciplined military group?" Hyde did not for one moment like being forced into retirement after 25 years in the British army. He spent the last few days of active duty doing some research among personnel files. Now, Hyde plans to get a bit of his own back...and Race, along with six other former officers, are going to be the means.

The League of Gentlemen is a cynical, stylish, witty film about a bank heist carried out with the precision of a Swiss watch, all thanks to Hyde's meticulous research. Among the seven men he recruits are Race, charming, shrewd, imperturbable and a reliable second-in-command...even if he does tend to call people "old darling." Race was forced to resign his commission because of a bit of black marketeering. Mycroft (Roger Livesey) was a superb quartermaster who was discovered in a bit of gross indecency in a public place. Lexy (Richard Attenborough), a talented and crooked mechanic and whiz with radios, was found to be selling secrets to the Russians. Porthill (Bryan Forbes) is always resourceful and is now a gigolo, but was discovered to be shooting prisoners in Cyprus. The others all had problems with being weak, or being discovered as one of those whose love dare not be spoken of, or of being responsible for the deaths of men under them. But, as Hyde points out, they were all superbly trained officers and they all need money.

Hyde brings them together with an anonymous invitation to lunch in the Maple Room of the elegant Cafe Royal. Included in the envelope is a copy of a book, The Golden Fleece, and half a five-pound note. After a fine lunch with a decent wine, brandy, cigars and the other half of the fiver, Hyde gets down to business. The mission? They will rob a very big and well-protected bank in the heart of central London, make off with at least 100,000 British pounds each and then live happily ever after. It will be called Operation Golden Fleece. With just a little reliance on greed, self-interest and perhaps a hint of coercion, he recruits them. Before long we're deep into training and organizing, setting up communications and stealing transport. In an amusing, tense sequence almost good enough to be a movie itself, they also bluff their way into an Army base and steal a substantial amount of arms. Do they actually pull off this complex heist that calls for split-second timing, nerves as cold as ice and flawless teamwork. Well, of course, and we get to watch it happen. Do they get away to lead a life of leisure? You'll need to see the movie. Be prepared for a very funny appearance by a twit of an old comrade of Hyde's, Bunny Warren (Robert Coote), and a twist which is handled with a stylish dollop of jaunty ruefulness.

Jack Hawkins, with that rough voice and no-nonsense face, does a fine job as Hyde, a man who can see the amusement in having few illusions. There is quite a collection of first-rate British actors in the men around Hawkins and they all are excellent. Bryan Forbes also wrote the screenplay. He was a clever actor who wrote and directed some fine movies, among them The L-Shaped Room, Seance on a Wet Afternoon and King Rat.

The League of Gentlemen is a wry, pleasantly cynical film which, after we get to meet the men Hyde recruits, builds up a nice momentum with action and irony. The Region 2 DVD and the American VHS tape both look just fine.

This B&W gem from 1960 had a cast of UK actors who were either well known or became famous in the 1960's. The plot of de-mobbed British army officers applying their WWII military expertise to rob a bank has been covered by reviews elsewhere, but the film is well crafted and its understated English humour is amusingly delivered throughout. Very enjoyable.

This movie might appear to be old fashioned, but it is a work of art from a bygone age when film making was a cherished art. Scripts were crafted and a story honed before fine actors took their places on the set. These were the days, in the UK at least, when there were no 'stars'. The actors all acted the part - and acted supremely well in whatever part they were given.

So it is with 'League of Gentlemen'. The cast ALL fit their parts admirably, to make a first class story come alive and very plausible.

This truly is a Classic although, being British, it is unlikely to gain the plaudits it truly deserves.

Basil Dearden's seldom seen 1960 heist film The League of Gentlemen has provided the template for almost every significant heist film which has followed it from Oceans 11 to the Italian Job and others.

The film follows the exploits of Hyde (Jack Hawkins) an ex British military officer who has been forced into mandatory retirement as he plans and executes a major British bank robbery. Gathering around him a group of exmilitary experts he puts together a methodical robbery plan that he feels is gauranteed not to fail. The excellent ensemble cast includes Nigel Patrick (Race), Roger Livesey (Mycroft) and Richard Attenborough (Lexy).

The film starts rather slowly as the plan is hatched but then moves into overdrive as the actual planning of the robbery is organized. This is droll British comedy and takes some patience to get into but careful viewers will be rewarded. The film is a satire of British life as it moved from the rather rigid 1950's into the more freewheeling 1960's.

The comedy works because of the mood Dearden creates. Look for an especially funny arms depot robbery in the center of the film that successfully skewers British army life at the time. There is also a moral message that crime doesn't pay but I won't give away the details of how the robbery goes astray.

All in all a pleasurable viewing experience if one takes his time watching it. The film is only available on video from Homevision in Region 1 but there are no problems to speak of with the tape. The print is slightly faded but is not difficult to watch. The dialogue is crisp and clear even though slightly complex. This is a film to see if given the chance and if it can be found.

Highly recommended.

"Think of it as a full-scale military operation," says involuntarily retired Colonel Hyde (Jack Hawkins) to cashiered ex-Major Race (Nigel Patrick). "What chance has a bunch of ordinary civilians have against a trained, armed and disciplined military group?" Hyde did not for one moment like being forced into retirement after 25 years in the British army. He spent the last few days of active duty doing some research among personnel files. Now, Hyde plans to get a bit of his own back...and Race, along with six other former officers, are going to be the means. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed.

The League of Gentlemen is a cynical, stylish, witty film about a bank heist carried out with the precision of a Swiss watch, all thanks to Hyde's meticulous research. Among the seven men he recruits are Race, charming, shrewd, imperturbable and a reliable second-in-command...even if he does tend to call people "old darling." Race was forced to resign his commission because of a bit of black marketeering. Mycroft (Roger Livesey) was a superb quartermaster who was discovered in a bit of gross indecency in a public place. Lexy (Richard Attenborough), a talented and crooked mechanic and whiz with radios, was found to be selling secrets to the Russians. Porthill (Bryan Forbes) is always resourceful and is now a gigolo, but was discovered to be shooting prisoners in Cyprus. The others all had problems with being weak, or being discovered as one of those whose love dare not be spoken of, or of being responsible for the deaths of men under them. But, as Hyde points out, they were all superbly trained officers and they all need money.

Hyde brings them together with an anonymous invitation to lunch in the Maple Room of the elegant Cafe Royal. Included in the envelope is a copy of a book, The Golden Fleece, and half a five-pound note. After a fine lunch with a decent wine, brandy, cigars and the other half of the fiver, Hyde gets down to business. The mission? They will rob a very big and well-protected bank in the heart of central London, make off with at least 100,000 British pounds each and then live happily ever after. It will be called Operation Golden Fleece. With just a little reliance on greed, self-interest and perhaps a hint of coercion, he recruits them. Before long we're deep into training and organizing, setting up communications and stealing transport. In an amusing, tense sequence almost good enough to be a movie itself, they also bluff their way into an Army base and steal a substantial amount of arms. Do they actually pull off this complex heist that calls for split-second timing, nerves as cold as ice and flawless teamwork. Well, of course, and we get to watch it happen. Do they get away to lead a life of leisure? You'll need to see the movie. Be prepared for a very funny appearance by a twit of an old comrade of Hyde's, Bunny Warren (Robert Coote), and a twist which is handled with a stylish dollop of jaunty ruefulness.

Jack Hawkins, with that rough voice and no-nonsense face, does a fine job as Hyde, a man who can see the amusement in having few illusions. There is quite a collection of first-rate British actors in the men around Hawkins and they all are excellent. Bryan Forbes also wrote the screenplay. He was a clever actor who wrote and directed some fine movies, among them The L-Shaped Room, Seance on a Wet Afternoon and King Rat.

The movie's plot is well-described by other reviews. Look also for the scene where
Mr. Hawkins walks up the stairs in his house, past the portrait of his former wife,
and his reply to the inquiry re her status. This VHS is about the only format readily available, except for DVD's which are Region 2 and therefore require a special player.
Even better than the picture is the book of the same title, published in 1958, by John Boland; the story is much the same,although the ending is darker. It has taken some doing to find this book and it is pricey when found, but appears lately to be more on the market. (I read it when it was republished, right after the movie was made, but somehow was not inspired to a life of crime). The Gentlemen Reform (1961) and The Gentlemen at Large (1962) are sequels, also by Mr. Boland.