The Great Riviera Bank Robbery

This is a nice companion piece to SEWERS OF PARADISE. It was also filmed on location in Nice, France where the actual robbery took place and, naturally, uses many of the same locations as PARADISE. I wonder how the locals liked having two films about the embarrassing robbery shooting at the exact same time? Young looking Ian McShane is the photographer/heist planner this go around. This is just as good as the aforementioned film and might be a little bit better as they delve into the political history of the group a bit more. Interestingly, both films end with a similar shot of the getaway motorcycle driving off into the distance.

This film is just perfect. Why it is not available on video is a mystery. It is a great caper film.

I do not know much about the Algerian/French nonsense but the implementation of the bank robbery is done very well.

The politics mean nothing. The crime is the thing.

Planning the operation, getting the help, and then getting away are all you really need for a good caper film.

Yeah, they get caught later but spending the cash is where they catch everyone.

Damn good film.

We need this available once again!

This was a glossy television movie shown on ITV as Dirty Money. It was made by its then ATV subsidiary ITC.

Dirty Money has a charismatic turn from Ian McShane. He plays an ex soldier knows as The Brains who teams up with another ex soldier Jean (Warren Clarke) who has fascist sympathies to rob a bank vault in Nice.

Although Jean and The Brains have a right wing agenda to rob the vaults as they intend to buy arms for their struggle. They have to recruit local criminals whose sole interest is money and a greater share of the proceeds.

Based on a true incident; the gang had to several nights spent digging through a wall in a sewer. Hence why the film is also known as Sewers of Gold.

As the film was based in Nice and shot on location. There are lots of glamorous women but also lots of power tools. This is a great movie if you like to see men digging through walls or blow-torching safes.

The political angle is murky. The Brains is a neo fascist but he is keen to stress that no violence was used in the robbery and draws a CND insignia before leaving. His motive for the robbery was to incite an armed revolt by nationalists, something that does not go unnoticed by one of the hired criminals.

It is a straightforward and glossy television movie. You have the planning, too much time with the digging. After the robbery the focus moves to the police who hunt for the robbers and a daring escape. Although your mileage might vary about how much you want to cheer on neo nazis trying to escape from the police.

I have seen this film several times and impressed with its sharp action. It almost has a slight documentary feel to it.

I am really surprised this film is not wider known. It was on video several years back, but then withdrawn. I have been begging for a copy for years and hope it will be re released soon.

'Dirty Money' is one of the greatest heist films of all time and also probably one of the least known.

Starring a much younger Ian McShane before his 'Deadwood' days ably assisted by Warren Clarke, Christopher Malcolm and Stephen Grief this film details the events which took place in France in 1976.

Following description taken from video release from 1981

'Strongly committed to the ideals of a French right wing alliance with links in high places all over the world, Bert (IAN MCSHANE) conceives of a brilliant plan to obtain finances to buy arms in the cause of an eventual political take-over.

The scene is Nice, playground of the rich and indolent. Over a long weekend the vault of a particular bank will be stuffed with francs. And Bert knows a way in.....through a labyrinthine sewer system, a map of which he has obtained from a contact in the town hall.

With colleagues from former fighting days in Indo-China and Algeria, Jean (WARREN CLARKE) and Serge (CHRISTOPHER MALCOLM), Bert reluctantly has to recruit a band of professional criminals to assist in the robbery. The dangerous elements of crime and passionate politics make for uneasy bedfellows..........The criminals look on the job as merely a passport to money and the good life; they cannot understand Bert's ideological approach summed up as 'without arms....without hatred.....without violence'.

As the job is planned with meticulous and flawless detail, the personality clashes between the two factions become more and more defined.

But the heist goes perfectly and Bert finds more money than he ever dreamed of. There's fifteen million dollars: the biggest bank job in the world.

Though the police are completely baffled at first, the criminal members of the robbery team are soon throwing their money around with reckless abandon. As they are caught one by one, Bert manages to avoid capture but in the end he, too, is cornered.

Even so, he might still be able to offer the police a deal'.

This film is still unavailable on VHS or DVD so you will have to hunt down one of the UK releases on Precision video from 1981 like I did ( It only took me 3 years to find one) - I do not know if there was a VHS release in the US or anywhere else!!!Happy Hunting It'll be worth it