Crooks Anonymous
Encyclopedia
Crooks Anonymous is a British
comedy film
from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin
, it starred Leslie Phillips
and Stanley Baxter
and was notable for one of the earliest appearances of Julie Christie
.
) is a habitual criminal who can't resist a tempting robbery. His gifts are for pickpocketing
and safecracking. However, he is engaged to Babette, a stripper
(Julie Christie
) who wants him to go straight before they marry.
In love with Babette, he desperately wants to quit, but is always lured back into another crime by his associates. Babette comes across a society known as Crooks Anonymous who help hardened thieves go straight. Founded by Mr Montague (Wilfrid Hyde-White
), and funded by a generous legacy, they have an excellent track record. Babette agrees to help them cure Forsdyke.
Forsdyke is picked up during a robbery by a Crooks Anonymous man Brother Widdowes (Stanley Baxter
) disguised as a policemen, and taken to the Crooks Anonymous headquarters. Confronted by Montague, Forsdyke admits that he wants to give up crime and marry Babette. They begin to interrogate him, and discover that he is a habitual liar, whose real name is Cox, who has never seen military
service, despite his claim to be a decorated veteran
.
Widdowes and Montague embark Forsdyke on a dose of punishment
and rehabilitation
. They begin by locking him in a room filled with safes, which contain cigarettes, food, drink and a number of booby traps which make opening them a hazardous business. After a week of this torture, Forsdyke is beginning to crack. Nonetheless he fails a test to see how much progress he has made, reverting to his old ways as soon as he is outside.
After a month of training, Forsdyke finally passes the test and is released into society. He moves into a house with Babette, gets a job working as Father Christmas
in a department store
and refuses an offer by one of his old pals to go back into criminality.
However, after consuming large amounts of alcohol at a Christmas party
he passes out and finds himself alone in the department store, with £250,000 of takings near him in the safe. Forsdyke breaks in intending to steal the money, and then panicking at his relapse, calls Crooks Anonymous for help. They send their two top men, including Brother Widdowes, who also cave at the sight of the money. They in turn call for the Chairman who arrives with his Secretary.
Confronted with this unique opportunity, the five of them decide to steal the money and split it among themselves. They make good their escape, past the drunken night watchmen and head through the streets. They go to Forsdyke's house, only to be confronted by an outraged Babette, who demands they put the money back. Grudgingly they agree, as she threatens to call Scotland Yard
and inform them of the burglary.
They successfully manage to return the money, unfortunately triggering an alarm which brings the night watchmen out. Just making good their escape, they breathe a sigh of relief. Forsdyke marries Babette and as a sign of appreciation they make her a Sister of Crooks Anonymous for keeping them all honest.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin
Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE was an English film director.- Biography :Annakin grew up in Beverley, Yorkshire where he attended the local school. He began his career in feature films following an early experience making documentaries. His first filmwork was in 1947 with the Rank Organisation...
, it starred Leslie Phillips
Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
and Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter is a Scottish comic actor and impressionist, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.-Early life:...
and was notable for one of the earliest appearances of Julie Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
.
Plot
Captain "Dandy Forsdyke" (Leslie PhillipsLeslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
) is a habitual criminal who can't resist a tempting robbery. His gifts are for pickpocketing
Pickpocketing
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person of a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. It requires considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection...
and safecracking. However, he is engaged to Babette, a stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
(Julie Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
) who wants him to go straight before they marry.
In love with Babette, he desperately wants to quit, but is always lured back into another crime by his associates. Babette comes across a society known as Crooks Anonymous who help hardened thieves go straight. Founded by Mr Montague (Wilfrid Hyde-White
Wilfrid Hyde-White
Wilfrid Hyde-White was an English character actor.-Early life and career:Wilfrid Hyde White was born at the rectory in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, the son of William Edward White, canon of Gloucester Cathedral, and his wife, Ethel Adelaide Drought...
), and funded by a generous legacy, they have an excellent track record. Babette agrees to help them cure Forsdyke.
Forsdyke is picked up during a robbery by a Crooks Anonymous man Brother Widdowes (Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter is a Scottish comic actor and impressionist, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.-Early life:...
) disguised as a policemen, and taken to the Crooks Anonymous headquarters. Confronted by Montague, Forsdyke admits that he wants to give up crime and marry Babette. They begin to interrogate him, and discover that he is a habitual liar, whose real name is Cox, who has never seen military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
service, despite his claim to be a decorated veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
.
Widdowes and Montague embark Forsdyke on a dose of punishment
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
and rehabilitation
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
. They begin by locking him in a room filled with safes, which contain cigarettes, food, drink and a number of booby traps which make opening them a hazardous business. After a week of this torture, Forsdyke is beginning to crack. Nonetheless he fails a test to see how much progress he has made, reverting to his old ways as soon as he is outside.
After a month of training, Forsdyke finally passes the test and is released into society. He moves into a house with Babette, gets a job working as Father Christmas
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...
in a department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
and refuses an offer by one of his old pals to go back into criminality.
However, after consuming large amounts of alcohol at a Christmas party
Christmas Party
"Christmas Party", alternately titled "Santa Claus is Coming to Scranton", is the tenth episode of the second season of The Office —the show's sixteenth episode overall. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Charles McDougall. It was first broadcast on December 6, 2005 on NBC.In this...
he passes out and finds himself alone in the department store, with £250,000 of takings near him in the safe. Forsdyke breaks in intending to steal the money, and then panicking at his relapse, calls Crooks Anonymous for help. They send their two top men, including Brother Widdowes, who also cave at the sight of the money. They in turn call for the Chairman who arrives with his Secretary.
Confronted with this unique opportunity, the five of them decide to steal the money and split it among themselves. They make good their escape, past the drunken night watchmen and head through the streets. They go to Forsdyke's house, only to be confronted by an outraged Babette, who demands they put the money back. Grudgingly they agree, as she threatens to call Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
and inform them of the burglary.
They successfully manage to return the money, unfortunately triggering an alarm which brings the night watchmen out. Just making good their escape, they breathe a sigh of relief. Forsdyke marries Babette and as a sign of appreciation they make her a Sister of Crooks Anonymous for keeping them all honest.
Cast
- Leslie PhillipsLeslie PhillipsLeslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
- "Dandy" Forsdyke - Stanley BaxterStanley BaxterStanley Baxter is a Scottish comic actor and impressionist, best known for his British television shows. He worked in radio, theatre, television and film.-Early life:...
- Brother Widdowes - Wilfrid Hyde-WhiteWilfrid Hyde-WhiteWilfrid Hyde-White was an English character actor.-Early life and career:Wilfrid Hyde White was born at the rectory in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, the son of William Edward White, canon of Gloucester Cathedral, and his wife, Ethel Adelaide Drought...
- Montague - Julie ChristieJulie ChristieJulie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
- Babette - James Robertson JusticeJames Robertson JusticeJames Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
- Sir Harvey Russelrod - Michael Medwin - Ronnie
- Pauline Jameson - Prunella
- Robertson HareRobertson HareJohn Robertson Hare was an English comedy actor, popularly known as Bunny, who came to fame in the Aldwych farces. He is known for routinely losing his trousers on-stage, at which point he would utter his catchphrase "Oh Calamity"...
- Grimsdale - Raymond HuntleyRaymond HuntleyRaymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s through to the 1970s...
- Wagstaffe - Dermot Kelly - Stanley
- Norman RossingtonNorman RossingtonNorman Rossington was an English actor best remembered for his roles in The Army Game, the Carry On films and the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.-Early life:...
- Bert - Harry FowlerHarry FowlerHarry James Fowler, MBE is an English actor in film and TV. He started in juvenile roles, most notably in the first recognised Ealing Comedy Hue and Cry, made in 1947...
- Woods - Charles Lloyd PackCharles Lloyd PackCharles Lloyd-Pack was a British film, television and stage actor.He was born in London, England. He was seen in several horror movies produced by the Hammer Studios including Dracula, The Man Who Could Cheat Death, The Revenge of Frankenstein and The Reptile and Quatermass 2, the film version of...
- Fletcher - Harold GoodwinHarold Goodwin (English actor)Harold Goodwin was an English actor born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England.Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for 3 years...
- George - Harry LockeHarry LockeHarry Locke was a British character actor.He was born and died in London. He was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, with appearances including Passport to Pimlico , Reach for the Sky , Carry On Nurse , The Devil-Ship Pirates and The Family Way .In 1969 he appeared in Randall...
- Fred - Colin GordonColin GordonColin Gordon was a British actor born in Ceylon .He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a production of “Toad of Toad Hall”. From 1936 to 1939 he was a director with the Fred Melville Repertory...
- Drunk - Jeremy LloydJeremy LloydJeremy Lloyd is an English writer, screenwriter, author and actor, best known as co-author and writer of several successful British sitcoms.-Career:...
- M.C. at the Peekaboo Club - Dennis WatermanDennis WatermanDennis Waterman is a British actor and singer, best known for his tough-guy roles in television series including The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks.-Early life:...
- Boy in park - Brian ColemanBrian ColemanBrian Coleman FRSA is a Conservative Party politician and member of the London Assembly for Barnet and Camden, England. He is a Councillor in the London Borough of Barnet, and was Mayor for 2009-2010....
- Holding - Arthur MullardArthur MullardArthur Ernest Mullard, original surname Mullord was an English comedy actor.- Early life :...
- Grogan - Joyce BlairJoyce BlairJoyce Blair was an English actress and dancer. She was the sister of Lionel Blair, with whom she often performed...
- Carol - Timothy BatesonTimothy BatesonTimothy Dingwall Bateson was a British actor. The son of Dingwall Bateson, a solicitor later knighted, he was educated at Uppingham School and Wadham College, Oxford....
- Partrige - John BennettJohn Bennett (actor)John Bennett was an English actor. Born in Beckenham, Kent, he was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire, then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, followed by a wide Rep experience including Bromley, Bristol Old Vic, Dundee, Edinburgh Festival and Watford before going to...
- Thomas - Julian OrchardJulian OrchardJulian Dean C. Orchard was an English comedy actor.-Biography:Orchard was educated at Shrewsbury School and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama...
- 1st Jeweller - Patrick NewellPatrick NewellPatrick David Newell was a British actor known for his large size. It is reputed he gained weight as a deliberate attempt to boost his career, marking him out for some niche roles...
- 2nd Jeweller - Alfred BurkeAlfred BurkeAlfred Burke was a British actor, best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series Public Eye, which ran on television for ten years.-Early life:...
- Caulfield - Arthur Lovegrove - Jones
- Cardew RobinsonCardew RobinsonDouglas John Cardew Robinson was a British comic, whose craft was rooted in the music hall and Gang Shows.-Early life and career:Robinson was educated at Harrow County School for Boys...
- Wiseman - Helicopter Brother - Dick EmeryDick EmeryRichard Gilbert "Dick" Emery was an English comedian and actor. Beginning on radio in the 1950s, an eponymous television series ran from 1963 to 1981. He was the brother of Ann Emery.-Life and career:...
- Reginald Cundell