It
was hyped to be another film like The Sting (1973)—a clever heist caper
in a period setting with charismatic actors, witty dialogue, and a lively,
comical tone. Michael Crichton had written a historical novel, The Great
Train Robbery (published in 1975), which was based on the true story of the
first train robbery in Britain. In 1855, Britain was engaged in the Crimean War
and a large amount of gold was shipped monthly from London to pay the troops. A
fellow named William Pierce and his accomplice Edward Agar planned the robbery
and pulled it off, much to the dismay of the British authorities.
Crichton
was keen on getting a film made based on his book, so he went ahead and wrote
the screenplay himself. He also changed the character names to Edward Pierce
and Robert Agar and added a lot more “fun” to the proceedings for a romp of a cinematic
experience. Dino De Laurentiis picked up the film rights and it wasn’t
difficult to get the thing financed and distributed by United Artists. Released
first in the U.K., the title was changed, oddly, to The First Great Train
Robbery. However, in the United States and rest of the world, the picture
bore the simpler title from the book, The Great Train Robbery.
Pierce
(Sean Connery) is a man-about-London with high society connections, but he’s
also a con man with his own cadre of pickpockets and small time crooks. Among
them is Agar (Donald Sutherland), who is adept at lock-picking and copying keys,
and Miriam (Lesley-Anne Down), who has the talent to assume several
personas—usually, though, that of sexy bait for unsuspecting victims. The bank
manager, Fowler (Malcolm Terris), has loose lips and reveals the secret about
the gold’s security on the train—the safes can be opened only with four
different keys, each carried by different people. Pierce sets about instigating
elaborate schemes to first obtain each individual key, making copies of them, and
then to infiltrate the train and snatch the gold. Every step of the way, Agar
pronounces, “That’s impossible!” to comical effect, only to follow Pierce’s
instructions to the letter, succeed, and move forward to the next challenge. To
reveal more would certainly be a spoiler!
The
movie is entertaining and good enough—but it’s not the equal of The Sting. Much of the
film’s strength comes from watching Connery in action in a role that is similar
to the certain suave operator we all associate with the actor, only he’s been
transported to 1855 England. Dressed in the height of fashion for the time,
Connery is charming, dapper, and looks marvelous. There are moments, though, in
which it seems that Connery isn’t totally comfortable in the role. This might
be due to weaknesses in the dialogue and direction, which sadly do not always rise
to the occasion. Sutherland is also winning, although his British accent goes
in and out throughout the movie. Perhaps the most engaging performer is Down,
an extremely attractive and talented actress who unfortunately didn’t retain the
early success of her appearances in the late 70s and early 80s.
The
cinematography (by Geoffrey Unsworth), along with the production and costume
designs, are all exquisite. However, despite winning an Edgar Allan Poe Award
from Mystery Writers of America for the screenplay, it is the dialogue which
causes one to wince at its over-the-top instances of risqué innuendo. The
direction, too, is of journeyman quality; the picture could have benefited from
a Nicholas Meyer or even a Spielberg. That said, Connery allegedly performed
the top-of-the-train stunts himself, which, given that revelation, is
surprising. While not in the same league as top-of-the-train stunts today (i.e.,
Skyfall, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Mission:
Impossible—Dead Reckoning, Part One), for 1978 the stunt work is
impressive.
Kino
Lorber has issued a new Blu-ray disk that looks gorgeous and contains an archival audio
commentary by the late writer/director Crichton. The only other supplements are trailers
from other Crichton features and Kino Lorber releases. There is also a reversible artwork sleeve.
The
Great Train Robbery is
for fans of Connery and Sutherland, and it will hopefully remind viewers of Lesley-Anne
Down’s formidable gifts.
