The League of Gentlemen (film)
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The League Of Gentlemen was a 1959 British crime film, directed by Basil Dearden. It was based on the 1958 novel by John Boland, and was adapted by Bryan Forbes. The film was made through Allied Film Makers in just two months and was distributed by the Rank Organisation, premièring in 1960.
It was one of the first English films to have all the elements of the successful 1950s U.S. heist films, although with a distinctly English tinge. It was the most successful British film of the year.
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[edit] Other leagues
This film is not to be confused with the BBC television series of the same name, nor with Robert Fripp's band of almost the same name. Neither should it be confused with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a comic book, upon which the film of the same name was based.
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[edit] Synopsis
The films begins in an empty street at night-time. A manhole cover opens from below, and out climbs Lieutenant-Colonel Hyde (Jack Hawkins) immaculately dressed in a dinner suit. We are then introduced to the other characters. Each receives a large envelope containing a copy of an American crime paperback entitled "The Golden Fleece", ten halves of £5 notes, and an invitation from "Co-operative Removals Limited" to a lunch at the Café Royal.
At the Café Royal Hyde introduces himself, hands out the other halves of the £5 notes, and asks for their opinion of the book. When no-one seems enthusiastic Hyde reveals why they were obliged to leave or were discharged from the army, their former ranks and specialist skills. Hyde then tells them he has no criminal record, but has a grievance for being declared redundant. He now intends to rob a bank using the collective skills of the team with equal shares of £100,000 each "or more".
He then leaves asking them to consider his proposal. The gang then meet under the guise of an amateur dramatic society to discuss the plan further, (and are interrupted by a very camp Oliver Reed) before they all move into Hyde's house, where he imposes a strict military regime, with duties and fines for misdemeanours.
The first part of the operation involves a raid on an Army Training Camp in Dorset for arms and supplies. The team use Irish accents so that the IRA are blamed. The gang set up a base in a rented warehouse to prepare their vehicles and equipment. They then carry out an elaborate raid on a City of London Bank - "Operation Golden Fleece" - with military precision.
After the robbery, back at Hyde's house, the celebrations are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of an old friend of Hyde. The team depart one-by-one. Then the telephone rings and Hyde discovers that police and soldiers surround the house. Hyde discovers the flaw in his plan, and is escorted to a Black Maria where he find the rest of the team "all present and correct."
