Dark, Disturbing, and Fascinating

I must say I found the movie to be much more interesting than the other reviewers. If your a fan of Mid- Century Crime movies such as "Odds Against Tomorrow" you will like this one. Characters range from psyco to sordid and sad. I'm not familiar with the director or the other actors besides McQueen, but the performaces are complex and outstanding. Cinematography is reminiscient of old "Highway Patrol" TV series. Recurring rockabilly song heard in background on car radio, jukebox, etc. Interesting look at 1950's St. Louis. One daring and creepy aspect of the movie is the homosexuality of the dominant, psyco leader of the group, John Egan. He and Willie's relationship is alluded to as beginning in prison, and Egan holds his attraction to the McQueen character as a threat over Willie's head, which leads to Willie's animosity toward McQueen, who seems to start to catch on to it at the end. McQueen's girlfriend's realization of Egan's homosexual attraction to McQueen on a fire escape with Egan leads to her downfall.

One of the King Of Cool's first films

One of the first films of the King Of Cool the Great St. Louis Bank Robbery is not a bad heist film for its low budget and being made in 1959.Also the film is based on actual events in St. Louis with many of the police officers playing roles in the film.

The story is about George Fowler (Steve McQueen) he is hired to be the getaway driver in a bank robbery by a old friend Gino (David Clarke).He meets with the rest of the crew the methodical John Egan the boss (Crahan Denton) and Willie (James Dukas) the criminal that has past his prime and jealous of George's importance in the robbery.Throught the film we see the preparation for the robbery and George's involment with a past love.

What I liked about this film despite it being a old film and in black and white its that its good heist film.Its cool how they prepare the heist.Timing the runs and checking for cops close to the bank.Another thing is the film feels real and the plot doesn't go to extremes like some other films that we have today.Also there is a scene in the film that I especially liked was where Gino is in the bathroom shaving and George closes the door and Gino realises how small the bathroom is and claustrophobic of it reminding how jail is to locked up.Today in films criminals act like its nothing getting out of jail.

The DVD is a barebones release.Nothing at all.Dont expect in the near future any special edition.But if you really like this film get because just look at the price 4 dollars.Who can beat that.

A entertaining and quick film with good performances.Not a bad heist film with no happy ending for a change than most clichý films.Any Steve McQueen fans should see this to look at the start of this legend's career.

Very good Steve McQueen, surprisingly good movie

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery is an exciting movie featuring a young Steve McQueen. McQueen plays George Fowler, the getaway driver for a group of three robbers attempting to rob the Southwest Bank in the city of St. Louis. The four men must watch and observe the bank to see when the officers on duty change shifts, the amount of traffic on an average day, and when and where they will make their getaway. This is an exciting movie that I picked up because Steve McQueen was in it, but I enjoyed the whole movie, not just McQueen's performance(only a year after his first starring role in The Blob). This is a good example of film noir also with its dark mood, interesting camera angles/shots, and not so perfect characters. Very entertaining movie as the tension rises all the way until the exciting climactic bank robbery.

Steve McQueen, in his second starring role, is excellent as getaway driver, George Fowler, a naive college student who finds himself wrapped up in the world of crime. Even here in only his second major role, McQueen has already perfected the quiet, loner type. Crahan Denton plays John Egan, the emotionally fragile leader of the bunch who wants this to be his last job. David Clarke plays Gino, the ex-con who refuses to go back to prison. James Dukas stars as Willie, the member of the bunch who takes pleasure in antagonizing the rest of the gang. Molly McCarthy plays Ann, a girl George used to date who gets unwillingly involved with the heist. The DVD contains a small biography about McQueen and the standard presentation of the movie which doesn't look too bad. For a surprisingly good heist movie with an excellent performance from a young Steve McQueen, check out The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery!