The Great Riviera Bank Robbery
Encyclopedia
The Great Riviera Bank Robbery (1979
), is a motion picture written and directed by Francis Megahy. Main actors Ian McShane
, Warren Clarke
, Stephen Greif
, and Christopher Malcolm
.
The French version, made by Jose Giovanni
, (Les Egouts du Paradis
= Sewers of Paradise) kept the hero's real name but is rather listless. The "hero" becomes a nice guy, some kind of Arsene Lupin, who visits the old ladies in the hospital.
The English version, which features a better lead (Ian McShane
billed as "Brain") and a more honest approach. The characters are fascists (anti communist) and their paramilitary activities are not passed over in silence—in the French attempt, all they show is weapons in the thieves' den in the country.
When they left the vault, a parting message was written on the wall, which said; "we came with no malice; but went in peace".
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
), is a motion picture written and directed by Francis Megahy. Main actors Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
, Warren Clarke
Warren Clarke
-Biography:Clarke was born in Oldham, Lancashire. His first television appearance was in the long running Granada soap opera Coronation Street, initially as Kenny Pickup in 1966 and then as Gary Bailey in 1968. His first major film appearance was in Stanley Kubrick's controversial A Clockwork...
, Stephen Greif
Stephen Greif
Stephen Greif is an award-winning English actor.His television appearances include Waking the Dead , Spooks , Mistresses 2 , He Kills Coppers , Holby City , The Last Days of Pompeii as Sporus, Judge John Deed , Space Race , EastEnders , The Bill and...
, and Christopher Malcolm
Christopher Malcolm
Christopher Malcolm is a Scottish television and film actor, director and producer. He first achieved fame for his role as Brad Majors in the original stage production of The Rocky Horror Show.-Early life and education:...
.
Synopsis
The Great Riviera Bank Robbery is based on a real-life event in 1976. A group of professional criminals team up with a fascist terrorist group known as "The Chain" to steal 15 million dollars' worth of tourist money from a bank in a French resort town.Miscellanea
Two movies were made at the same time that both dealt with the same subject—a true life event of ex-firebrands using the sewers to rob a bank.The French version, made by Jose Giovanni
José Giovanni
José Giovanni , was the pseudonym of Joseph Damiani, a French-Swiss writer and film-maker of Corsican origin....
, (Les Egouts du Paradis
Les Égouts du paradis
Les Égouts du paradis is a 1979 French film directed by José Giovanni, based on a 1976 heist by Albert Spaggiari.-Cast and roles:* Francis Huster - Albert Spaggiari* Jean-François Balmer - 68* Lila Kedrova - Charlotte...
= Sewers of Paradise) kept the hero's real name but is rather listless. The "hero" becomes a nice guy, some kind of Arsene Lupin, who visits the old ladies in the hospital.
The English version, which features a better lead (Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
billed as "Brain") and a more honest approach. The characters are fascists (anti communist) and their paramilitary activities are not passed over in silence—in the French attempt, all they show is weapons in the thieves' den in the country.
When they left the vault, a parting message was written on the wall, which said; "we came with no malice; but went in peace".
External links
- The Great Riviera Bank Robbery at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...