Dr Jekyll and Colonel Hyde plan a perfect crime.
After the second world war thousands of ex-servicemen,trained to use firearms,well-disciplined,ruthless and fit,found themselves rather unceremoniously made surplus to requirements.Whilst that might have suited the vast majority of conscripts,a significant number of former officers and NCOs who had been career soldiers felt embittered at being discarded - as they saw it - after having served their purpose. These men,quick - thinking,intelligent,resourceful and courageous,found themselves presented with the opportunity of either knuckling down to a life of stifling domesticity in which none of the attributes the army had encouraged and developed would be of any use to them,or the perceived excitement and glamour of a life of crime. It is perhaps not so surprising that a number of major robberies in post-war Britain were carried out by such men . Military Training was turning out to be a bit of a double - edged sword. Mr Jack Hawkins represents the "bad" side as the aptly named Colonel Hyde.He assembles a motley crew of ex - comrades down on their luck whom he coerces to rob a bank. After a lot of initial grumbling they all begin to enjoy the training, reminding them as it does of the army days.Gradually he moulds them into a team where the needs of the group supersede those of the individual. The highlight of the film without doubt is the long sequence where they raid an army base in broad daylight to obtain their weapons. Its depiction of the late 50s military mind is spot on and would have struck a chord with its contemporary audience,many of whom would have spent time in just such an establishment. The bank robbery itself goes off without a hitch,but the team are undone by a schoolboy indulging in the long - forgotten practise of "taking car numbers". "The League of Gentlemen" has a notable cast,the wonderful Mr Nigel Patrick being outstanding;his best role after Mr Jingle in "The Pickwick Papers". The British Cinema was blessed at that time with a positive cornucopia of versatile actors whose faces and voices remain in ones mind nearly half a century on.Mr Hawkins,MrLivesey,Mr Patrick,Mr Moore,Mr Forbes,Mr Attenborough.............I salute you all.A League of Gentlemen indeed.score 8/10
ianlouisiana 25 October 2006
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1506400/35592
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