They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968) User Reviews

Entertaining and amusing film by Antonio Isasi follows the twisted and complex robbing carried out by a peculiar team

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 7 December 2017]

A great European co-production , though mostly Spanish . Being Shot in San Francisco and Los Angeles and Splugues De Llobregrat , Barcelona , and Almeria. It deals with a big hold up carried out by a motley group . It contains International and Big name stars thanks to Warner Bros . The bunch hijacks and robs an armored lorry carrying a casino cash , a huge amount of money about seven million dollars , in route between between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.They touched the raw Vegas nerve with the wildest heist in history. The expert team challenged the syndicate boys in their own backyard.

A Spanish superproduction dealing with the wildest freak-out in Vegas history , including all-star-cast about a spectacular robbing on an armored truck . Being based on a novel titled The men of Las Vegas written by French author called Andre Lay , and being exhibited within a year of the book was published. The main cast is top-notch with the most famous actors by the time as Gary Lockwood, Jack Palance, Lee J Cobb and Elke Sommer . Support cast is pretty good , plenty of familiar Spanish faces as Gustavo Re , Enrique Ávila, Daniel Martín , Fernando Hilbeck , Jorge Rigaud , Ruben Rojo , Luis Barboo, Antonio Casas , Carlos Ballesteros, among others.And brief intervention from Roger Hanin , Georges Geret and Jean Servais.

Colorful cinematography by Juan Gelpi , shot on gorgeous locations , though the Nevada desert was actually shot in desert of Tabernas, Andalucia, where during the sixties and seventies had been filmed lots of Spaghetti Paella Westerns.Evocative and catching musical score by George Garvarentz in the sixties style . The motion picture was professionally directed by Antonio Isasi Isasmendi. Recently deceased Antonio was a craftsman who made a lot of successful films.As he directed El Perro ,Un Verano Para Matar , Monstruos Del Terror , Mask Scaramouche and his greatest hit was Istanbul 65. He directed great International stars as Karl Malden , Olivia Hussey , Jack Palance, Jason Miller , Lea Massari , Gary Lockwood ,and Lee J Cobb

Not Bad; Elke's presence helps!

[shepardjessica · 6/10 · 3 August 2004]

This is an average to above-average heist film that is helped immeasurably by the lovely Elke Sommer's presence. Once again, she wasn't able to do much with her character, beside being eye candy. Gary Lockwood is staid, Lee J. Cobb gruff, and Jack Palance wired tight as we have come to expect.

A 6 out of 10. Best performance = Elke Sommer. These late 60's crime pics were churned out ad nauseum, but the criminals' plan itself is fairly interesting. Elke adds a measure of class with her beauty and poise that helps it plug along. I remember seeing this at the drive-in on a double bill with THE WILD BUNCH.

I give it Two Breasts

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 5/10 · 31 May 2017]

That's what we were supposed to notice, right?

To be fair there's lots of cheesy fun when viewing this movie 50 years later: Lockwood's Mustang and all the other beautiful rides. The Strip at night. That long shot of the desert when Lockwood is scouting. Jack Palance and Lee J. Cobb simply being in the movie. The Skype-like devices the characters use to call each other. Horrible dubbing. The prototype of the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle popularized in Stripes. The man-made sand dunes that bring the EM-50 to a complete halt instead of just driving around them on the perfectly flat desert. The punch cards when Elke is doing data entry. And the magnetic tape storage. Did I mention Elke's rack?

I actually enjoyed the '60s music. Reminded me of my childhood when elevators played Muzak.

But by far my favorite part is the way the actors ''die.'' They throw themselves into dying fits like we did as kids when we played with toy guns.

Not a great film by any stretch. But plenty of cheese to fill a couple of hours.

great cast, shame about the script

[waldo-18 · 19 August 1999]

Lee J. Cobb, Jack Palance, Elke Sommer and Gary Lockwood (2001) in caper film set in Las Vegas. Some wonderful actors who don't really have the chance to interact. Elke is fabulous as usual, but we don't see enough of her, and her dalliances with Cobb and Lockwood to create any real excitement. Palance and Cobb growl their best but are let down by the ponderous pace. Some great scenes and ideas (hiding the armored car in the middle of the Nevada desert), and some truncated interplay between Palance and Sommer that suggests that a lot was left on the cutting room floor. But great fun to watch just to see a great looking classic sixties cast. Whatever happened to Gary Lockwood?

the plot centers around gary lockwood and elke sommers as lovers unbeknownst to lee j. cobb.

[seccap03 · 7/10 · 6 May 2005]

I have searched high and low for this movie as i had seen it 'way back in 1968 when it first came out. the movie has an intricate plot as both elke sommers and gary lockwood are lovers while the owner of the casino (lee j. cobb) is not aware of this. the revenge factor kicks in as gary lockwood's brother leo,is killed. gary is not after the money he just want to prove that the robbery is possible,as the casino owner always brags that his casino is inmune to robbery.gary plays a cold-blooded killer as an innocent passerby is wasted during the heist as he wants to make sure that no one is a witness to the robbery which was executed by his henchmen.

not the best but fine

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 4 June 2022]

Steve Skorsky (Lee J. Cobb) has a fleet of specially-designed impenetrable armored trucks. Blackjack dealer Tony Ferris (Gary Lockwood) and his girlfriend Ann Bennett (Elke Sommer) work their scam stealing from the casino. She works for the transport company while he's tracking the scheduled shipment from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. They and their fellow criminals plan to take down one of the trucks. Douglas (Jack Palance) is a Treasury agent.

The gang needs fewer members and the other members need more screen time. An Oceans movie would have fun with each member of the gang. In this one, only Tony and Ann are interesting and given enough screen time. The truck looks a little silly but I'm willing to live with that. I get the idea of a 60's futurist vehicle. The same goes for the Skorsky headquarters. They are basically robbing a Winnebago dressed up with some pretend cladding. The other issue about the heist is the desert location. I hoped for a high speed road chase. This is less compelling. It really needs a high speed car chase to inject kinetic energy. The heist gets a bit static after the underground hideout. This is a fine caper flick but it's not the best.

Where In the Hell Did THESE Guys Get a Helicopter?

[snowcop18 · 4/10 · 4 May 2012]

This gets a 4 for some great set decor and Vegas-in-the-60's pastiche. It's filled with cliché Euro-perceptions about American culture and organized crime, suffers from ponderous dramatics, over-posed (and under- talented) character actors, and underdeveloped leads with phantom motivation. Somehow I get the feeling the director dropped a couple of pallets of footage on some half-suspecting, chain-smoking Spanish editor, then got too tied up making a film centered on his new fascination with forklifts to be available to sort out the mess.

It's the same thing that happens when a European chef tries to make chili or barbecue sauce. It tastes strangely like beef Bourgignon or Bolognese.

It's the last spin and this time the ball will land on my member

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 23 August 2015]

****SPOILERS*** Glitzy and dazzling as well as totally confusing robbery caper that ends up with what looks like a nuclear explosion in the Nevada Desert. Garry Lockwood as Tony Ferris is down back on earth fresh from his success in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey". Tony is the main man in this caper that has to do with the robbery of an impregnable Skorsky armored truck of its $7.000.000.00 in cash as well as gold bars headed for safe keeping at the 1st Nevada Saving Bank in Carson City. Tony had planned this robbery well using the president of Skorsky Armored Trucks Steve Sorsky. Lee J. Cobb,private secretary the sexy blond Ann Bennett, Elke Sommers, to tip him off when the truck is going to leave as well as what route it will take.

Getting together a crew to pull off the heist Tony has other reasons, with those working for him not knowing about it, to knock off the armored truck and it doesn't have anything to do with money but personal revenge: It was Tony's brother Gino, Jean Servais, who tried to rob a Skorsky armored truck two years ago in San Francisco and ended up, together with his crew, killed. Now Tony who always lived in his brother Gino's shadows whats to prove to himself that he can succeed where his big brother Gino didn't. Thrown into the mix is US Treasury Agent Douglas, Jack Palance, who's been on Steve Skorsky's case for the last six months in suspecting that he's been laundering mob money from the Las Vegas's casinos to supplement his high flying & jet-set lifestyle that his trucking business , with all the money it makes , can't quite keep up with!

The movie gets carried away with the overlong robbery that after the Skorsky truck was captured it took more then half of the remaining time in the movie to crack it open. With almost all the robbery crew dead as well as those in the truck who had enough food water and oxygen to last for 72 hours joining them. With one surprise after another the film ended with a big bang that rivaled the Trinity Bomb explosion back in 1945 that woke up those of us watching who in how confusing the movie was had trouble staying awake.

P.S The big star of the film Gary Lockwood just dropped off the radar screen after making this overcooked turkey of and movie and never quit made it back to the big screen again. Lockwood ended up doing bit and guest parts on TV series that never had him use his full talents as an actor that he showed earlier in his film career.

Time Capsule To The Sixties

[Lechuguilla · 5/10 · 21 February 2016]

After his aging mentor gets killed in a holdup, a youthful criminal protégé named Tony (Gary Lockwood) and his girlfriend Ann (Elke Sommer) plot an armored car heist in the desert southwest of Las Vegas. But things get complicated as Ann works for the armored car owner named Skorsky (Lee J. Cobb) who has ties to the Mafia. And the Feds are trying to nail Skorsky. Still, Tony thinks he can pull it off because, unlike his mentor, Tony has a more modern outlook. When Ann says to Tony: "Nobody can get into a Skorsky truck", Tony replies: " ... it can be done, just a question of information, like where's the key ... see, it's all so simple; information".

The plot starts out okay but bogs down in the middle; the film could probably have been shortened by at least twenty minutes. But I have to say that Tony's solution to hiding the armored car is ingenious; and the film is worth watching if for no other reason.

This is a European production, and it shows. Dialogue is dubbed; some of the actors are Italian or French. And the score sounds like what one would hear in a Spaghetti Western, cold and haunting. But it's the production design and costumes that render this film locked into a cinematic time capsule.

Blonde bimbos wear mini-skirts. Vehicles include Olds Toronados, Pontiac GTOs, Vokswagon bugs, station wagons, and Corvairs. In desert scenes, men use walkie-talkies. And the casting of Elke Sommer adds to the time capsule feel, with her ten-inch long false eyelashes. Computers are big clunky stand-alone machines that use cardboard punch cards and reel-to-reel tapes. And the dialogue doesn't help either; at one point Ann is referred to as a "broad".

Acting is borderline acceptable, except for Elke Sommer, whose robotic movements and emotionless expressions make her seem like some kind of futuristic mannequin. Cinematography is dark, and there are lots of close-up and extreme close-up shots. At one point in the second half there's a physical fight. Because of the photography or maybe because of the Direction, I couldn't tell who was doing what to whom. Rear-screen projection in some scenes also dates the production. And there are a lot of scenes shot along the Sunset Strip in Vegas, which may have been stock footage.

Undeniably different, especially in the way the armored truck is concealed, this gritty film is worth watching once. But the viewer needs to have high tolerance for dated elements, which make the film time-bound, to the point of unintentional humor at times.

Spanish Spaghetti Heist Homage

[TheFearmakers · 7/10 · 15 April 2024]

Spanish auteur Antonio Isasi was definitely a fan of gangster films since almost every single shot of his heist-caper THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS epitomizes the classic crime genre's style and structure, making this a combination of steely homage and groovy/fast-paced 1960's kitsch, jazzy soundtrack and all...

Starring American import Gary Lockwood the same year he'd soar through Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, the biggest flaw is the budget spent on two other name-actors, Lee J. Cobb as the targeted armored car company owner, and Jack Palance as an insurance investigator with eyes on both Cobb and Lockwood...

Their roles are basically innocuous, especially Palance, over-pronouncing each syllable since, like any Spaghetti production, the dialogue's dubbed, sometimes badly: so any leftover money could've gone to then-budding character-actors (like Robert Duvall or Warren Oates) for Lockwood's edgy, double-crossing gang, providing more anticipated suspense and tension in what's an intriguing yet overlong/overly-complicated heist...

Wherein the first half (following a glorious blood-soaked robbery) fleshes-out the central caper with meticulous editing and creative camera angles, while the second takes place around the armored car that Lockwood first robs then buries in the desert, where, once underground, the claustrophobic screen-time stands still (as lawmen search vainly above)...

On the peripheral is a romance between Lockwood and Elke Sommer, connected to mob-backed Cobb: but her initial expository input eventually means little compared to the inevitable action she'll have practically nothing to do with...

Featuring a terrifically-maneuvered desert terrain helicopter, scorching flame throwers and a barrage of Western-style gunfights -- overall making Isasi's VEGAS a really great presentation harboring a pretty good motion picture.

Who Robbed this Film? Came to Rob Vegas **

[edwagreen · 4/10 · 20 May 2012]

Despite the all-star cast, this is a poorly constructed and rather uneven film.

We think that Gary Lockwood is money crazy and that's why he plants his girlfriend in the office of Lee J. Cobb, so as to get the necessary information and rob the truck filled with cash.

We see the disaster of a robbery for the thieves at the beginning. Only towards the end do we find out who the slain older man was in relation to Farris. No, it wasn't his father.

For a change, Jack Palance plays an honest person, the man from the insurance company. Give Palance's roles, you expect him to break out any moment and reveal his true nature. Perhaps, that's why I didn't like this film. Both Palance and Lee J. Cobb, the latter the owner of the security firm, are both given very little to do here. Elke Sommer surrendered her good girl often foolish roles to play the girlfriend recruited for the plot.

The picture can become winding as it again proves that there is no honor among thieves.

If Antonioni or Bergman had been the director

[kuciak · 9/10 · 2 March 2013]

When this film came out in 68, being that it was foreign, and the worst crime of all, dubbed, it was generally ignored or poorly received by the American film critics. One so called reviewer (I wonder if he really saw the film) wrote that it was not the worst movie of the year, but it will do.

Some have suggested that Michael Angelo Antonioni might have seen this film and been influenced by it when he made his critically panned Zabriske's Point. Certainly this film has been influenced by Antonioni.

The film is about a robbery of an armored truck, and the unusual circumstances that complicate matters as three sides collide. However underlying it perhaps is a comment on modern society of the time, and the idea of wanting to reclaim a lost or innocent past of heroism, even if it is criminal. This is brought out in the character of Geno, played by Jean Servais who became better known due to his staring role in the 56 heist film Rififi from the mid 50's, and I think it is no accident that he is in the film, though briefly, as his participation may mean a heroic past, but one that will not work in 1968. Gary Lockwood as Tony, was 31 at the time, while Servias was 58. The film makes references to the past as with movie posters seen on a street that would probably have not been seen on those streets of 68, and one of Tony's friends referring to some of Geno's friends as from a George Raft movie.

There is also an interesting connection made between Geno, and the adversary to Tony, named Skorsky played by Lee J Cobb. One man has lived in the past and will die with it, and the other Skorsky (note they were about the same age)has adapted to this new age, outwardly respectable, but below a criminal. He will want out of his criminal activities, though as one of the mob men points out, it is not easy, and "you have eaten off the table". Tony will refer to both of Geno and Sorsky as ugly, but the meaning is different.

ideas of loyalty are also noted. The older group of Geno's feel a sense of loyalty, no mater how stupid something is. But as it will be shown with Tony's group, loyalty might not mean much, unless you are the older man of that group, who will remain loyal to the end. Some may be turned off by the fact that some of the ones with poor loyalty are shown to be gay, and probably today would not pass muster. But this was 1968, and the portrayal of gays were not always shown in a good light. But it is interesting that Tony is shown to have them as friends, if not loyal ones.

Many have criticized the cast of Lockwood, feeling that he is a weak leading man. I felt this way at the beginning, feeling that Jack Palance would have been better as Tony, and perhaps in relation to Geno more believable. While Palance would have been a more attractive choice, Lockwood is showing the modern man of that time, and I think is the proper choice. As the film gets to its climax, I realized that his casting was correct, and we see that Tony is a man who perhaps has been in great pain and guilt, but until the near end, has been able to hide it from us and his partners, and most certainly Elke Sommer as Ann. Interesting also that Geno had accused Tony of not being interested in money, while Ann a few minutes later in the film will say otherwise.

Elke Sommer has been said by some was only eye candy here in the film. But I think she represents a woman who is looking into the future while Tony may be in the past. Yes she is pretty here, but I think that she brings out the sense of being insecure in her role of a woman in 1968, and her involvement and use by both Tony and Skorsky, who she is having a relationship on the side despite his being married. her character and thoughts brought to my mind the women's liberation movement that was just around the corner.

jack Palance as Russel is great, I like the way Palance uses reading glasses in the film. While he is introduced at one time as James Bond by Skorsky, he is different from conventional Hollywood hero police types. He is not shown with a girl friend or wife, he also doesn't kill anyone, or punch anyone out. I also liked his relationship with the local police chief, the camaraderie they have, and loyalty.

Also the film does not make us hate anyone. We sometimes are made to understand Skorsky, and wish him to be able to be free of the mob. He is also not the most cold blooded character in the film, that person is also against conventions.

With its haunting music, used perfectly throughout the film. There is some lapses of logic, but this lapse helps move the story along. Often wonderful editing is used. If this is not director Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi of Spain greatest film, perhaps he needs a long overdue retrospective.

in a European heist in the US, the only color that counts is blonde

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 14 December 2023]

The '60s saw a number of spaghetti westerns, spy movies, and heist movies. Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi's "Las Vegas, 500 millones" ("They Came to Rob Las Vegas" in English) is one of the latter. It's a routine story of some guys trying to steal a bunch of money from an armored car. What's significant is the music that's characteristic of the era, and occasional lines that would've only gotten used in the '60s. And of course, there's Elke Sommer. It's a safe bet that the sight of her turned millions of boys into men back in the day. As far as I'm concerned, she's the main reason to watch the movie. Lest you think that I'm exaggerating, there's a scene where we get to see quite a bit of her.*

The rest of the cast includes Gary Lockwood (Frank Poole in "2001: A Space Odyssey"), Lee J. Cobb (the police detective in "The Exorcist") and Jack Palance. Part of the movie got filmed in Almería, Spain, also the filming location of some spaghetti westerns, and the tank chase in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".

*If you must know, I watched both "Dr. No" and "A Shot in the Dark" in 1995. I shouldn't have to tell you what it's like for an eleven-year-old boy to feast his eyes on both Ursula Andress and Elke Sommer.

Only the audience got robbed.....

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 6 November 2013]

There's little I can say about this violently bloody action thriller that seems to have slipped out for release and quickly slipped into obscurity except "skip it". Other than the opening shots of a van of criminals riding through San Francisco (obviously an attempt to take on some of the notoriety of the much better "Bullit") and a shot of a bank van disappearing into the desert sands near Vegas, there's little to remember. That is unless you don't count the obviously bad dubbing, the constant shots of Elke Sommer in bed (playing a character obviously playing both ends against the middle), the inappropriate musical score that just never shuts up or the seemingly gay man involved in the attempted heist of the bank van who wears flesh colored pants to make it appear he's naked from the waste down (I later discovered the pants to confirm he wasn't), or the presence of veteran actors such as Lee J. Cobb and Jack Palance. The action is violent and pointless, the plot ridiculous and attempts at comedy boring. There's only brief shots of Las Vegas (with obvious stock footage of many of the famous entertainers of the day appearing there with their names on casino marquees) and the plot doesn't really involve the casinos at all. I can give this one credit for one other thing; It actually made me consider 1982's really bad "Lookin' to Get Out" a bit better, although not by much.

A memorable heist caper

[dreaddy2 · 8/10 · 20 June 2005]

I saw this movie as a child and still remember it. It has one of those plots that's so interesting that you don't forget it. It reminds me of "Sudden Fury"(Canadian) and "Loophole" (UK). Wish they'd bring it out on DVD. I remember Elke Summer and Lee J. Cobb in it. Didn't recall Jack Palance at all. The movie is very believable and the plot and motives of the characters interesting. At one point it seems the whole thing has reached a stalemate and you didn't have a sense of what direction the plot is going to take which was right down my street. Hate those movies where you can guess how the plot will play out and it does just that. If you want a movie with an unpredictable and interesting plot this is it.

A fine plot, completely different to anything else.

[will-75 · 8 October 2000]

I can remember watching this film when it came out and it has been one of my favourites ever since.

The atmosphere is slow but that is the correct pace as the relationship between Tony and Ann is explored as well as her relationship with Skorsky. Also, the tension between the thieves is very real especially as things don't go exactly to plan. Cooper is an idiot but there is always one in every gang and it sometimes doesn`t show up until they are put into a stress related situation.

There are two plots going through the film. Firstly we have Skorsky (played superbly by Cobb,) moving money for the Mob and wanting out and secondly we have Tony planning to steal one of Skorsky`s trucks. Tony doesn't realise what he is going to find when he finally gets inside the truck. Also, the treasury department are after Skorsky for his financial dealings and we have them just one step behind him all throughout the film.

There are some excellent moments of complete realism, the killing in the casino and the scant regard for life that the gang has as they murder a passer by in the dessert `Just in case'. Tony's instruction to end this unfortunate person's life was simply `Chop him'.

I have just managed to obtain a CD of the music to this film by George Garvarentz via Amazon. I wish the video of the film was available, a widescreen version would be very collectable. Especially if people knew that Gary Lockwood`s (Tony,) previous film had been 2001.

Very entertaining! Excelent rhythm! Some actual directors should learn about this good film!

[neldodm · 8/10 · 12 August 2018]

Great thriller. I can't believe that was filmed in 1968! That was a wonderful year for the cinema. The rhythm is excellent for a film of that time. The plot and twists shows a marvelous creativity (never seen in another film until 2018: the rob is so ingenious!). The music is so beautiful that became a classic! Unforgettable film to recommend to everyone that love police stories! OK, it's not perfect, some errors, etc., but you'll enjoy it anyway!

good robbery type film, but dated.

[langolier · 30 October 2001]

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** have not seen this movie in a while; it is rarely shown on television anymore. On television, the movie was called "They came to Rob Las Vegas." The movie is about a gang of thugs who rob an armored car while it is enroute between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Nobody has ever successfully robbed an armored car from this company (Skorskys), so they have the reputation for being the best in their business. If a robbery attempt does occur, then the Skorsky cars defend itself with a projectile proof metal shade that drops down over the windshield and side windows; this protects the driver. The inside of the truck (where the money is kept) houses the other two security guards, who are protected by many inches of steel from the outside. In addition, a couple of remote control cameras are mounted on the exterior of the car; these allow the two guards a safe 360 degree view outside of their fortress. Unlike any closed circuit camera that I have ever seen before, these cameras also contain a machine gun that can be operated from inside the car. The idea is that the car can defend itself until police help arrives. The gang leader "Tony" is portrayed by actor Gary Lockwood (from 2001 A Space Odyssey). Veteran actor Lee J Cobb portrays "Mr. Skorsky, who is the CEO of Skorsky armored transport. Actress Elke Sommer portrays "Ann," who is Skorskys personal secretary and Tony's lover. Veteran actor Jack Palance portrays "Douglas," who is a federal agent investigating the robbery. Douglas believes that it was an inside job, but wrongly suspects that Mr. Skorsky is the insider of the robbery of his own truck.

The story goes as this: Tony gets inside information from Ann about the delivery schedules of the Skorsky cars; this includes the routes, time schedules, and the amount of loot being carried. Tony decides their target will be a car making a delivery route from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The gang then prepares for the calculated robbery, which will take place on a lonely stretch of road out in the desert. The preparation also includes digging a very large hole in the sand. When the ambush takes place, the armored car puts up a heck of a fight, but Tony and his gang are able to disable the cars "machine-gun cameras" and overtake the driver up front. Since getting into the back of the car will take time, the gang slowly drive the truck (containing the other two guards inside of the back of the truck) off the road and into that big hole that they previously dug. The gang camouflages the hole by placing flooring over the top and covering the flooring with desert sand. When law enforcement finally arrives, there is no sign of the armored car or its three occupants. Law enforcement then start a massive search for the armored car, unaware that it is really hidden underground not far from where it was ambushed. Skorsky especially wants to find the car, especially since himself and his companies reputation is at stake. For Tony's gang , it becomes a race-against-time to grab the loot and escape before they are discovered. To say any more would spoil the ending.

The movie was good, but not the best. It is worth seeing at least once. The only thing annoying is that the sound is dubbed in English; the actors moving mouths are not exactly in sync with the audio. The movie is dated 60ish with its hairstyles, clothing and music soundtrack, but that is expected since it came out in the late 60's.

Great film, stylish direction

[danthsmith-75606 · 9/10 · 4 October 2021]

I was surprised how excellent this was and how little known these days. It's very violent for its era with a brilliantly staged heist gone wrong at the start and several shoot outs along the way as the plan plays out. The cast are great and the Euro production is glossy with time capsule moments and soundtrack. Gary Lockwood appears to have come straight off 2001 to do this.

The Las Vegas Armored Car Heist

[profh-1 · 8/10 · 3 October 2023]

Tony Ferris' older brother Gino escapes from prison and plans to steal a casino's futuristic high-tech armored car. He and his gang are all killed... but then Tony plans a 2nd attempt, with far-more careful planning. This involves getting information from Ann Bennett-- the mistress of Steve Skorsky, whose security company built the "impregnable" armored car. They manage the seeming-impossible, and pull off an incredibly-complex heist in the middle of the Nevada desert-- before things go wrong, as they always do in old "heist" films.

But early on, the plot throws in a huge twist. It seems the "insurance investigator" is really a Federal agent from the Treasury Department (gee, like Elliot Ness!) who's out to NAIL Skorsky for something HE's doing that's illegal! So you have two different forces going after Skorsky at the same time, each unaware of the other's existence or intentions-- until the robbery happens.

What we have here is a European thriller (a Spanish-Italian-French-West German co-production) filmed partly in Spain and partly in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco-- with all that entails. There's English dubbing after-the-fact, some INCREDIBLY-cool jazz music, lots of style over personality, but with a plot that gets SO twisted, SO complex (especially in the last half-hour) that I was MESMERIZED, trying to guess from one moment to another, WHERE is this all going? I wouldn't say this was the greatest heist film ever made, but I LOVED it!

Gary Lockwood (STAR TREK, 2001) is "Tony Ferris", who very determinedly plans and executes the incredible heist, with the sometime-reluctant help of his girlfriend. Even when things go wrong (among other things, one of his own gang goes rebel and really should have been killed about halfway through the film), Tony keeps his head.

Elke Sommer (A SHOT IN THE DARK) is "Ann Bennett", Skorsky's mistress and Tony's lover, who winds up being trailed both by the cops and by the Mafia in the last act.

Lee J. Cobb (12 ANGRY MEN, COOGAN'S BLUFF) is "Steve Skorsky", whose reputation for his security company masks his MAFIA connections.

Jack Palance (Dan Curtis' DRACULA) is "Douglas", who's posing as an insurance investigator while all the time is secretly trying to take down not only Skorsky but his Mafia bosses. WHO ever imagined Palance would be playing a GOOD guy in one of these things? Certainly not me. One of the best parts was his relationship with the local sheriff, who's as anxious to clear up the case as Douglas is, and helps him keep the top people in D. C. at bay when it looks like the whole operation may fall apart. When they finally get a lead, you can see both men are really thrilled about just doing their jobs.

Jean Servais is "Gino", whose robbery attempt goes tragically, fatally wrong. Back in 1955, he played "Tony le Stéphanois", who masterminded the jewelry heist in RIFIFI.

I never even heard of this movie until a few weeks before I got the 2010 Warner Archive DVD. I heard about it from IMDB reviewer "SearchAndDestroy-1", who pointed out that the actual robbery in this film apparently was swiped outright for the 1972 TV pilot of BANACEK, with George Peppard as the freelance insurance investigator who gets 10% of whatever he recovers. I'm planning to get my hands on that series on DVD sometime soon, but wanted to get this film first! One of the best things about this film is that they never tell you how Tony plans to steal the truck in advance-- you find out AS it's happening!

I was half surprised the Warner DVD didn't have a foreign language dub on it. Or any extras at all. Oh well! At least it was CHEAP. The ending left me wondering about the fate of Tony & Ann. SURE, they were guilty of so many things (including the murder of TWO Federal agents and one innocent bystander). But the way things panned out, I wouldn't be surprised if some Federal judge didn't give both of them a suspended sentence.