Cheap The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (DVD) (John Stix, Charles Guggenheim) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

As usual, the Roan release is the one to have!
Roan has done a commendable job in restoring this movie, given that the first and last reels of 35mm fine grain were lost, and negatives had to be used for those reels. The picture, while technically widescreen, is a 1.66:1 ratio, so in viewing it on a 16x9 television, the viewer is either left with a slightly trimmed (top and bottom) full frame, or it can be viewed using the "zoom" function, sacrificing small amounts of information at the top and bottom. This is unfortunate, as viewing the movie in the latter manner, the picture appears somewhat soft. The picture is quite dark, until the last reel. However, grain and damage are minimal. Sound is probably the weak point of this release....however, I assume Roan did everything it could with the source materials that remained of the film. This is the only reason I leave them off the hook on this DVD.

If you're interested in seeing early Steve McQueen, this is a great place to start. I actually found him to be more similar in this movie to the persona he would become known for, than in his early role in "The Blob".

Recommended, but with hesitation.

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Free Willy
Perhaps this film was a little corny. Maybe it has a sorta low budget look. I'll even admit that some of the character's, such as Ann, are not very convincing. But Dammit, it's funny! For instance, Willy. He's not a criminal, he's mentally handicapped. In 1960 this may have been Action, but 40 years later it's a Four Star Comedy in my eyes. Now go take a bath Willy!

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The sordid world of the criminal
Steve McQueen always was involved in bending the law, both on the screen and in his private life. He was born in Missouri; this one takes place in Missouri, and it uses the same policemen in the cast that were there in the original robbery. One thing about McQueen is that he has actor friends that appear in several films with him. It is interesting to see all of them as they get older. If you watch this one a few times, you can appreciate that each of the robbers contributes a significant part to the whole that makes the robbery organized. But a more subtle question is: what did the group of robbers have that caused their downfall ? To contrast this one, early in McQueen's career, see "The Getaway" and "The Thomas Crown Affair." By then, McQueen has discovered that maybe a robbery can be successful !!