The curse of the Train Robbers is as effective in its own way as that of King Tut.Most of them did long spells of bird,a disproportionate number of them have died early,at least one of them has been the victim of a gangland killing,many of the others have served heavy sentences since. Not perhaps the life of Riley they envisaged back in 1963......and all because they had too much poppy. Taking about 150 grand apiece(maybe £3million today) made them seriously rich and a target for fellow villains who bled them dry for "protection" and finally grassed them up. They were awash with readies,bags of it were left in locations all over southern England to be found by delighted punters who either handed in to Old Bill or didn't. Faced with all that money,many plans went right out of the window and "Robbery" is the story of a successful crime that went wrong after they'd done the hard bit. Mr Stanley Baker is excellent as the man who keeps his head whilst all others around him are losing theirs and getting nicked.All the same,he is preparing for a lifetime of looking over his shoulder. It is the only movie I have ever seen that even remotely reflects the scintillating danger of the high - speed car chase and the excitement experienced by both the hunters and the hunted.It also makes crystal clear that serious professional criminals have absolutely no qualms about killing or maiming anybody unfortunate enough to be standing between them and freedom,be they coppers or schoolchildren. Robin Hood and his Merry Men these geezers weren't.Although they denied being involved in the robbery,all the main instigators have happily dined out on tales of their derring - do that night in Buckinghamshire 45 years ago ever since.It's worth reflecting that if Mr Jack Mills the engine driver they so brutally attacked had died,they might well have been hanged. But these good south London boys who no doubt loved their old mum all ended up doing a 30 which certainly served to discourage the others as there hasn't been a Mail Train blag since. "Robbery" is a fairly pedestrian semi police procedural enlivened only by the action set - pieces.Only Mr Baker makes much of an impression in the acting stakes,the other main roles are comfortably enough filled but it's coppering and villainy by the numbers for the most part.
Review of Robbery
