Going in Style

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Theatrical release poster.
Theatrical release poster.

Going in Style is a 1979 film written and directed by Martin Brest. It stars George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. The casino scenes were shot at the Aladdin Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

[edit] Plot synopsis

Joe, Al, and Willie are three old men who have resigned themselves to dying. One night, Joe hatches a scheme to put a bit of excitement back into their lives: robbing a bank.

Joe (George Burns), Al (Art Carney), and Willie (Lee Strasberg) are three senior citizens who share a small apartment in New York City. They live off social security checks and spend their days sitting on a park bench, reading newspapers, feeding pigeons, and fending off obnoxious children. It is a dull life, and finally Joe is driven to suggest something radical to break the monotony; why not go on a stick up? None of them have a criminal history (though Joe claims he "did some stealing during the war"), but just planning the bank robbery puts a new spring in their step. Al surreptitiously borrows some pistols from the collection of his nephew, Pete (Charles Hallahan), and the trio, disguised with novelty Groucho Marx-style glasses, pulls off their heist to the tune of $35,000 dollars.

Unfortunately, the excitement is too much for Willie, who suffers a fatal heart attack the same day. At his funeral, Joe and Al decide to give the bulk of the dough to Pete and his family, and attempt to blow the rest of it on a whirlwind excursion to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the eccentric robbery has become a colorful news story for the media and the police are closing in on the amateur criminals. The night after their return from Vegas, Al dies in his sleep, leaving Joe by himself. On his way to Al's funeral, Joe is arrested. When nephew Pete shows up to spring his uncle, Joe pleads with Pete, saying that now he is being taken care with three square meals a day.

[edit] External links