The League of Gentlemen (1960)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

John Boland (novel)
Bryan Forbes (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 August 1960 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

A disgruntled veteran recruits a group of disgraced collegues to perform a bank robbery with military precision.

Plot Keywords:

Bank Robbery | Veteran | Planning | Raid | Explosive

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win

Cast

Jack Hawkins	...	Hyde
Nigel Patrick	...	Race
Roger Livesey	...	Mycroft
Richard Attenborough	...	Lexy
Bryan Forbes	...	Porthill
Kieron Moore	...	Stevens
Terence Alexander	...	Rupert
Norman Bird	...	Weaver
Robert Coote	...	Bunny Warren
Melissa Stribling	...	Peggy
Nanette Newman	...	Elizabeth
Lydia Sherwood	...	Hilda
Doris Hare	...	Molly Weaver
David Lodge	...	C.S.M.
Patrick Wymark	...	Wylie

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Iceland:L | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Belgrave Mews, Belgrave Square, Belgravia, London, England, UK

Company:

Allied Film Makers (AFM)

Trivia:

First film of Dinsdale Landen.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Elizabeth, played by Nanette Newman, is soaking, apparently naked, in a bubble bath and taunting her husband, the white strapless bra or swimsuit she is wearing can be seen when she moves her left arm.

Quotes:

Mycroft: [playing a Brigadier inspecting the training camp in response to some private who has 'complained to his MP' regarding the food]
[enters Mess Hall]
Mycroft: Carry on eating. Any complaints here?
Captain Saunders: Come along now. Answer the Brigadier.
Other Private in Mess: No, Sir.
Mycroft: You're, um, quite satisfied with the food. You can speak quite freely.
Chunky Grogan: Well, er, no, Sir. Not always, Sir.
[CSM gives a menacing look]
Mycroft: What exactly don't you like about it?
Chunky Grogan: Well, er, they sometimes give you good grub, sir, but, er, they mess it about like.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)

Superb caper film

Jack Hawkins, excellent as always, heads a superb cast in this marvelously entertaining look at the moral decay of Britain's upper classes in the post-war period. Some of Britain's greatest film talent was at work on this project, including screenwriter Bryan Forbes, director Basil Dearden, and cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson. If you want to see the granddaddy of caper films, this is it. It's also your chance to see Oliver Reed playing a flaming queen: believe it or not!