Too Many Crooks

"Robbery With Laughter! Crime Was Simple To Them - They Were All Simple Minded!"

1959 1h 27m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 23

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Accident-prone Fingers runs a pretty unsuccessful gang. They try and rob wealthy but tricky Billy Gordon - who distrusts banks and fears the Inland Revenue - but he sees Fingers and the boys off. So they decide to kidnap his daughter, only to end up with his wife Lucy. Gordon makes out he couldn't be more pleased, spuring Lucy to take charge of the hopeless bunch of villains.

“Robbery With Laughter! Crime Was Simple To Them - They Were All Simple Minded!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Terry-Thomas
Billy Gordon
George Cole
Fingers
Brenda De Banzie
Lucy Gordon
Bernard Bresslaw
Snowdrop
Joe Melia
Whisper
Sidney James
Sid
Vera Day
Charmaine
Delphi Lawrence
Beryl

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mario Zampi
Writers: Michael Pertwee
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

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

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mario Zampi, shot by Stanley Pavey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bill Lewthwaite 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

Terry-Thomas and George Cole and Brenda De Banzie carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Robbery With Laughter! Crime Was Simple To Them - They Were All Simple Minded!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0052301 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 23 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mario Zampi directs. Stanley Pavey behind the camera. Bill Lewthwaite cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Mario Zampi, shot by Stanley Pavey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Bill Lewthwaite shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Terry-Thomas and George Cole and Brenda De Banzie carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Robbery With Laughter! Crime Was Simple To Them - They Were All Simple Minded!".
7IMDB entry: tt0052301 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 23 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "fire", "wife", "kidnapping", "coffin".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stanley Pavey
Editing: Bill Lewthwaite
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Too Many Crooks (1959)

Also by

Mario Zampi

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-06
★ 7/10
The house of Ealing delivers another rewarding comedy. A group of bumbling crooks led by the accident prone Fingers, fail in their attempt to rob mega rich miser Billy Gordon, they reconvene to hatch a plan where they will kidnap Gordon's daughter and hold her to ransom. But instead of kidnapping the pretty daughter they mistakingly in the night snatch the wife Lucy, who upon finding out that Billy is not prepared to pay to get her back, plots her revenge with the aid of her captors. That this film is above average is purely down to its fine cast list, carry on stalwarts Sid James & Bernard Bresslaw join George Cole to form the nucleus of the lovable rogue gang. Taking in his stride the role of playboy scallywag miser Billy, is Terry-Thomas, who gives his usual masterful show of devilish twitches and one line gruff deliveries. Taking lead female duties is the always wonderful Brenda De Banzie as Lucy Gordon, and on reflection she is the glue that binds the picture together. Some wonderful scenes in this one linger long in the memory, the bumbled kidnap by way of a fake funeral is simply marvellous, but par for the course is that Thomas invariably steals the show with a series of great sequences. Witness his repeated attempts at recovering his hidden loot from a burning house, and his appearance in court in front of the ever incredulous John Le Mesurier. Too Many Crooks delivers for those after a good honest British comedy backed up by a sterling cast who know what it takes to make the Michael Pertwee screenplay work. 7/10