Armored Car Robbery (1950)

★ 6.5 1h 7m IMDb

Action Thriller Crime

While executing an armored car heist in Los Angeles, icy crook Dave Purvis shoots policeman Lt. Phillips before he and his cronies make off with the loot. Thinking he got away scot-free, Purvis collects his money-crazy mistress, Yvonne, then disposes of his partners and heads out of town. What Purvis doesn't know is that Phillips' partner, tough-as-nails Lt. Cordell, is wise to the criminal's plans and is closing in on his prey.

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Cast

Charles McGraw as Lt. Jim Cordell Died 1980 · Des Moines, Iowa, USA Charles McGraw (born Charles Butters) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He developed into a leading man, especially in film noir classics during the late 1940s and early 1950s. His...

Adele Jergens as Yvonne LeDoux aka Mrs. Benny McBride Died 2002 · Brooklyn, New York, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Adele Jergens (November 26, 1917 - November 22, 2002) was an American actress. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jergen's birth date is sometimes listed as 1922. Jer...

William Talman as Dave Purvis / Martin Bell Died 1968 · Detroit, Michigan, USA

Douglas Fowley as Benjamin 'Benny' McBride Died 1998 · The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley; May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of televis...

Steve Brodie as Al Mapes Died 1992 · El Dorado, Kansas, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Steve Brodie (November 21, 1919 — January 9, 1992) was an American movie and television actor. Born as John Stevenson in El Dorado, Kansas, he reportedly selec...

Director Richard Fleischer

Cast Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman, Douglas Fowley, Steve Brodie, Don McGuire, Don Haggerty, James Flavin, Gene Evans, Eddie Borden

John Chard 8/10 May 24, 2020

Imagine a dish like this married to a mug like Benny McBride ... the naked and the dead.

Armored Car Robbery is directed by Richard Fleischer and collectively written by Earl Felton, Gerald Adams, Robert Angus and Robert Leeds. It stars William Talman, Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, Douglas Fowley, Steve Brodie and Don McGuire. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Guy Roe.

When a meticulously planned robbery goes wrong, Dave Purvis (Talman) and his gang find there's a particularly driven copper closing in on them.

The caper premise has served film noir well over the years, and while Armored Car Robbery is not the hidden gem some have called it (it's no Asphalt Jungle for instance), it is still an effectively tough piece of film. The structure used by Fleischer and the writers is to show the robbery early in the piece and then unfurl the aftermath for the majority of the film. Characterisations are classic noir, the tough gang leader who consistently changes his identity to fool the cops, the foxy dame who is turning heads and is having relationships with two of the gang, the cannon fodder, the dope and the tough as nails copper who will stop at nothing to bring the bad guys down.

The pace of the story is sedate, but this is no bad thing as we get attention to detail with the manhunt and the respective psychological make ups of the thieves. The two-timing aspect in the plot adds spice (this also allows Fleischer to throw in a number of shots of Jergens doing her burlesque routine), as does the deaths of men either side of the law. The look is terrific, with high contrast photography, deep focus shots and some expressionistic lighting, all putting a splendid noir sheen over the skillful blend of studio and location (Los Angeles) sequences. Cast are on good form, especially McGraw and Talman (though Brodie is sadly under used), and Webb's score is period and story reflective.

From the smoke bomb cloaked robbery that thrills early in proceedings, to the breath holding finale played out on an airport runway, Armored Car Robbery is a sturdy and solid RKO noir that is comfortably recommended to fans of the noir cycle. 7.5/10