A terrific thriller directed by Peter Yates. Career criminal Stanley Baker pulls together a band of thieves to rob the Royal Mail train. They're doggedly pursued by wily Inspector James Booth. A masterful heist film with great performances all around. Baker is nearly robotic in his pursuit to pull off the job. He's ably supported by cunning William Marlowe & Frank Finlay. With clever direction by Yates, including a car chase that has to be seen to be believed and a dynamite twist ending. Joanna Pettet appears briefly as Baker's exasperated wife. The cinematography is by Douglas Slocombe & the taut score is by the great Scottish songwriter Johnny Keating.

This is true British gangster filming at its best. The opening robbery and car chase, from Hatton Garden around central London and out to Maida Vale, is utterly brilliant and that's years before the French Connection or anything like that. Peter Yates was brilliant. In fact, if they re-make any British gangster film these days it should be Robbery, not Get Carter or anything like that. The music is utterly brilliant, too. Johny Keating should be up there with the likes of John Barry, John Williams, etc. He seems to have done virtually nothing after this film. Even the faked scenes of the train robbery itself are great despite the London-Glasgow express train really being another train on a branch line travelling at about 30 mph. They could've made a sequeal to this, too, with the legendary and fantastic Stanley Baker shown in the New World. Same goes for the late Barry Foster.

In some ways this is a strange film. It is loosely based on the Great Train Robbery, but for some reason, possibly legal at the time, nobody is directly portraying Ronnie Biggs or Buster Edwards etc. The car chase at the beginning is the most exciting parts. (Peter Yates, not surprisingly, went on to direct Bullitt the following year). Check out the usual ream of rent-a-hood British film character actors such as George Sewell and James Booth. They are led admirably by Stanley Baker. The main failing of this film is the fact that they lumped all the most exciting bits at the beginning. Some might lose interest half way through because you basically know what's going to happen. Also the music soundtrack is a little repetitive - in some scenes, no sooner has the theme been faded out then it starts up again. Other than that, and a bit of dubious dubbing during the car chase, the film is very watchable.

What obviously is a great (or maybe not-so-great depending on who to trust) film elsewhere on the world map, ROBBERY (1967) has since been into obscurity in the States. The print's a knockout! This may have helped launch future rip-offs of the burglar heist category, including the mellow-yellow LOOPHOLE. Anyone here who finds this will be glad that this is just one of the few kinds of movies that has never been seen quite often these days. It's a truly interesting find! Starting off with a long car chase, it becomes deeply involving with the story where Clifton runs a professional crook squad planning and attempting to rob a trainload of loot. You will not expect a fast-paced breeze through a simple little concept like stealing, but a very sharp plot makes this stand out, where one event leads to another. With a near-surprise finish, this is one domestic rarity that must be seen, and is highly recommended. Take it from me, you will be surprised at how many good movies are left in waiting for the eye.