With only a runtime of 67 minutes ARMORED CAR ROBBERY doesn't mess around.
The opening scene shows the main bad guy (William Talman) casing the location
for a armored car robbery: Los Angeles' Wrigley Field (later demolished in
1969). Wrigley Field is at the end of the armored cars route and based on
the phony robbery calls he's put in, they'll have 3 minutes to grab all the loot
they can before the cops show up. Unfortunately, on the day of the
robbery, a passing police car (with Lt. Charles McGraw and partner in it) spoil
their fun. During the shoot-out, McGraw's partner is killed. Now
he's pissed and will stop at nothing to track down the bastards who killed his
buddy. Add onto that, one of the bad guys is banging the other bad guys
burlesque dancer wife and you got yourself an exciting film!
No non-sense pace, strong direction by Richard Fleischer, nice camerawork, good
acting all around by a talented cast, great script that doesn't pull any
punches, awesome Los Angeles location scenery, lots of cool old cars.
Honestly, ARMORED CAR ROBBERY is just an excellent little film. Yeah, it's
dated, but I think fans of film noir and older heist films will have a blast
watching it. It would make a entertaining double-feature with Kubrick's
similar
THE KILLING. Recommended.
Crew reflected in passing car.
