cult film freak: PETER O'TOOLE IN 'THE DAY THEY ROBBED THE BANK OF ENGLAND'

Year: 1960

In this classy, turn of the Century-set British heist film, Aldo Ray plays an American joining with would-be Irish Revolutionaries to knock off the titular location, and the best moments occur in the planning stages as the giant Yank learns the innards of the immense, seemingly impenetrable bank-fortress from a personal tour by Peter O'Toole, playing an extremely nice lieutenant of the bank's troop of marching guards...

Robbed the Bank of England SCORE: ****

O'Toole's not the main star but has a genuine arc: his affable persona, giving away any and all secrets to an all-ears thief feigning style and class, sharpens as he begins to catch on during the crest of the second act, intensifying into a more familiar, edgy and intense character for O'Toole to embrace (and that he'd play later on).

Meanwhile, the pace slows during a filler romance between Ray and the only female plotter, and the most time's spent during the usual digging of the tunnel — the kind you mostly see in prison films breaking out while here they're attempting to break in: And the cast also includes veteran actor Albert Sharpe as a sewer dwelling bum that unknowingly provided the groundwork; Kieron Moore as the mouthiest and youngest Irishman, a thankless role and the only antagonist of sorts; and Elizabeth Sellers as the pouty (and much too old) ingenue in this semi-obscure gem directed by John Guillermin, and that famously laid the groundwork for O'Toole's career: After viewing one scene, David Lean knew he had his LAWRENCE OF ARABIA despite the dark features and a straight, hawkish nose that would soon be altered.