Perfect Friday Movie Review

This escapist caper yarn stars Stanley Baker as Bank Deputy Under Manager K.G. Graham, who decides to break out of his dull life by robbing the National Metropolitan Bank Ltd. of 300,000 pounds. His comrades-in-crime are David Warner as the impoverished Lord Nicholas Dorset and Ursula Andress as his wife, Lady Britt. Baker's sensuous, intelligent brown eyes tend to subvert the unexciting personality he is presumed to have; why did he wait so long to escape his humdrum life? Lady Britt promptly tumbles into bed with him, but never addresses him as anything other than Mr. Graham, which eliminates the need for explanations to her husband when she cries out her lover's name in her sleep. Warner, in a blonde wig, is a hoot as the aristocrat who sulks in the House of Lords for lack of anything better to do. Baker, Andress, and Warner are practically the whole show, although the presence of Masterpiece Theatre regulars David Waller as Bank Manager H.L. Williams, T.P. McKenna as Bank Under Manager R. Smith, and Joan Benham as Miss Welsh enriches the atmosphere of the piece. And the caper? Very stylish indeed, under the guidance of director Peter Hall, with swinging-'60s costumes to match by Kiki Byrne plus another great soundtrack by Johnny Dankworth.

1970 95m/C GB Ursula Andress, Stanley Baker, David Warner, Patience Collier, T.P. McKenna, David Waller, Joan Benham, Julian Orchard, Trisha Mortimer, Ann Tirard, Carleton Hobbs; D: Peter Hall; W: Scott Forbes, Anthony Greville-Bell; C: Alan Hume; M: John Dankworth.