Bank Shot *** (1974, George C Scott, Joanna Cassidy, Sorrell Booke, Clifton James, Bob Balaban) – Classic Movie Review 8853

Director Gower Champion’s 1974 comedy crime thriller Bank Shot stars George C Scott as Walter Ballantine, who leads a gang with a novel idea in bank heists – actually uprooting and driving away an entire LA bank building.

Donald E Westlake’s novel provides a secure foundation for this fast and furiously funny crime caper comedy, driven along by Scott’s powerhouse performance.

There is a clutch of pleasing performances from the second-rank cast and ex-dancer Champion directs with champion great gusto.

Wendell Mayes’s screenplay is based on Westlake’s sequel to The Hot Rock [How to Steal a Diamond in Four Uneasy Lessons], with Scott here in the Robert Redford role, though with a different character name.

Also in the cast are Joanna Cassidy, Sorrell Booke, G Wood, Clifton James, Bob Balaban, Bibi Osterwald, Frank McRae as Hermann X, Don Calfa, Harvey Evans, Jack Riley, Hank Stohl and Liam Dunn.

Only Hermann X’s character name is unchanged from the original novel.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8853

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