From the very start of "The Great Bank Robbery," it seems that Warner Brothers was trying to cash in on the popularity of a couple of large group comedies. A large cast of many moderately size roles had worked with two recent comedies in Hollywood. Both of those were independent films distributed by United Artists. And, the screenplays were written by the same person – William Rose. The mold was cast in 1963 with "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," which was a smashing success. It was followed three years later by "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming," also a big success. "Mad World" had more than a dozen big name stars in significant roles and more than two dozen well-known actors in supporting roles. It had a total of some 100 roles cast. "The Russians" had six big name stars and half a dozen key supporting roles, with a total of 38 roles cast. And, significantly, both of those films had top comedy actors of the day. Jonathan Winters appeared in both films, as did Carl Reiner and Paul Ford. The cast of "Mad World" reads like a list of top comedy actors and writers of the time. So, now the Warners try their hand at the large scale group comedy. They need a different setting and original plot, and they go with a Western. That was fine because Westerns already had shown promise with comedies and more would in the future. So, then they needed a plot with a screenplay. To be very good, it should include situations, humorous antics and lots of funny dialog. Then, it needed the cast to fill the many roles. And that's where this movie flops – on all levels but the original idea for a plot. The script is very weak in comedy. For instance, Claude Akins has lines that repeat the same thing several times -- that he will have to do something bad to people, that he doesn't like killing all these people. It wasn't even funny the first time. His lines throughout mostly are terrible, and he is not a comedy actor. Clint Walker's lines and acting are hardly better. John Anderson as Mayor Kincaid is mostly a straight character throughout. Kim Novak is fair as the flighty but not otherwise funny Sister Lyda. Only three roles in this entire film are done well, and with some humor. Zero Mostel is very good as Rev. Pious Blue, Ruth Warrick is genuinely funny as Mrs. Applebee, and Akim Tamiroff is good, but wasted with very little screen time. The only two people in the entire cast that have comedy talent are Mostel and Tamiroff. And the cast has no more than half a dozen actors total that audiences would recognize at the time. Many stock players fill in supporting roles, but with almost no comedy. The film was based on a novel by Frank O'Rourke. I imagine it was supposed to be a funny story, but Warner Brothers wasn't able to pull it off with this film. I couldn't find the budget for this movie anywhere, but it's box office return in 1969 was just $1.5 million.That probably didn't come even close to paying the bills. In one word, "The Great Bank Robbery" is a dud. If you want to see great comedy and top comedians and other actors of the period, watch either of the other two films – "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," or "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming." Their box office takes were $60 million (more than six times its budget) for Mad World in 1963, and nearly $22 million (more than five times its budget) for The Russians Are Coming in 1966.

Zero Mostel and Kim Novak. Larry Storch. How can it go wrong? Well, it can. And did.At this writing, there are no "memorable quotes" from this movie on the IMDb site, and for good reason: I really can't remember anything particularly funny or witty from this script. My understanding from some sources is that this movie had a fat bankroll, and Mostel, Novak, and some of the others in this movie were doing what they were told and collecting a big paycheck. Mostel, for example, had just recovered from being blacklisted, and after a series of Broadway and movie successes, was trying to earn money to make up for lost time. Don't get me wrong, however, a poorly utilized Zero Mostel is still better than a well utilized almost anyone else. Unfortunately, he didn't have the support to really make it sizzle.But the saddest part is the tragic misuse of Kim Novak. She is in this movie solely to decorate the screen. (Which she does, admirably. One good thing about this movie is that this may be Kim Novak at her most beautiful.) It is amazing, however, how many scenes she has where she has absolutely no lines, and just is there to look pretty. The Lady Godiva scene is a classic example of the "shut up and look pretty" mentality, and it's a pointless embarrassment. Give her some lines to say! As an actress, she was good enough for Hitchcock, so she should have been good enough for Hy Averback and this piece of drivel.Sorry, I'm getting more and more worked up as I write this review. I'll quit now. BOTTOM LINE: I could have used a pleasant movie on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. This wasn't it.

Warner Bros made a great PR note that Kim Novak was to star in her first Warner Bros film The Great Bank Robbery. At first when I heard it I was dismayed because Kim Novak took second billing to Zero Mostel who true to his name the fine actor had 'Zero' box office, and also because I believe Kim replaced Melina Mecouri, not a good sign for a major star of the then magnitude of Kim Novak's stardom. Also Kim Novak had just starred in the flop The Legend of Lylah Clare at MGM and I thought Kim took the first big paycheck offered to her; I was wrong. Ms Novak is gorgeous and delightful in this zany comedy directed by Hy Averback and co starring WB rugged Clint Walker along with a cast of fine character actors. This film is a delightful surprise.

By 1969, Zero Mostel had finally achieved some Hollywood recognition. After a fine performance in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and an even better one in THE PRODUCERS, I suppose Warner Brothers figured Mostel had a charmed film career. Well, after back to back disasters like THE GREAT BANK ROBBERY and GREAT CATHERINE, I don't believe Mostel ever had another starring role. Actually, Mostel comes off better than most of the cast. t this point in her career, Kim Novak was apparently reduced to displaying lots of cleavage (as does Ruth Warrick), and she and everyone else overacts pretty horribly. This is especially surprising with as talented a comedy director as Hy Averback (I LOVE LUCY) atthe helm. Actually, the only cast members left standing with much of their dignity are Elisha Cook, Jr. and Clint Walker. Especially terrible are Larry Storch and Claude Akins. Today, the drug usage gags would probably get this movie a PG-13 or an R. As it is, they are no funnier than the rest of the movie. Oh well, the cinematography is pretty...