Armored Car Robbery

"The stick-up that stunned the nation!"

1950 1h 7m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

⭐

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 73★7IMDB · 3,322

ThrillerCrimeAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“The stick-up that stunned the nation!”

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Cast

Charles McGraw
Lt. Jim Cordell
Adele Jergens
Yvonne LeDoux aka Mrs. Benny McBride
William Talman
Dave Purvis / Martin Bell
Douglas Fowley
Benjamin 'Benny' McBride
Steve Brodie
Al Mapes
Don McGuire
Detective Danny Ryan
Don Haggerty
Detective Driving Final Pursuit Car
James Flavin
Lt. Phillips

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Fleischer
Writers: Earl Felton, Gerald Drayson Adams
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

76 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Fleischer, shot by Guy Roe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Desmond Marquette shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charles McGraw and Adele Jergens and William Talman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The stick-up that stunned the nation!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0042206 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 73 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Fleischer directs. Guy Roe behind the camera. Desmond Marquette cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
276 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Richard Fleischer, shot by Guy Roe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Desmond Marquette shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Charles McGraw and Adele Jergens and William Talman carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The stick-up that stunned the nation!".
7IMDB entry: tt0042206 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 73 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "cop-killer", "striptease", "armored car", "stripper".

The technical file

Cinematography: Guy Roe
Editing: Desmond Marquette
Makeup / hair: Mel Berns
Runtime: 67 min · 1h 7m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Armored Car Robbery (1950)
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 3,322 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Richard Fleischer

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-05-24
★ 8/10
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

Production companies