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The First Great Train Robbery

United Artists

Starling Films

United Kingdom

United States of America

English

Sean Connery

Donald Sutherland

Lesley-Anne Down

Susan Hallinan

Alan Webb

Malcolm Terris

Robert Lang

Wayne Sleep

Michael Elphick

Gabrielle Lloyd

Pamela Salem

George Downing

James Cossins

John Bett

Peter Benson

Janine Duvitski

Brian de Salvo

André Morell

Donald Churchill

Brian Glover

Noel Johnson

Peter Butterworth

Patrick Barr

Hubert Rees

Agnes Bernelle

Joe Cahill

Cecil Nash

Oliver Smith

John Altman

Paul Kember

Geoff Ferris

Jenny Till

Craig Stokes

Frank McDonald

John Foreman

Geoffrey Unsworth

Michael Crichton

David Bretherton

Jerry Goldsmith

Dick Ziker

Jim Morahan

Bert Davey

Anthony Waye

Mary Selway

Elaine Bowerbank

Michael Clifford

Basil Newall

Maurice Carter

Anthony Mendleson

Hugh Scaife

Gordon Hayman

Rebecca Breed

Dino De Laurentiis

Laurie Ridley

_**Robbing a train of a shipment of gold in Victorian England**_

Written/directed by Michael Crichton and released in 1978/79, “The Great Train Robbery” was loosely based on the real-life Great Gold Robbery of 1855 that took place in England. Sean Connery plays the mastermind, Lesley-Anne Down his girlfriend and Donald Sutherland a safecracker with whom they team-up.

I generally don’t like caper films because the protagonists are criminals, but Crichton wisely makes the characters played by Connery and Sutherland likable rapscallions; meanwhile Down is babelicious, in particular in her jaw-dropping first scene. Crichton intentionally made the movie more farcical compared to his novel and I appreciated the wit and low-key humor. I didn’t expect to like this movie, but it won me over.    

The film runs 1 hour, 51 minutes, and was shot primarily in Ireland (Dublin, Bray, Cork & Moate), but also Pinewood Studios, England.

GRADE: B-/B

Seen this once before many years ago but decided to check out the new Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. A solid heist-thriller though what struck me was these thieves were stealing gold meant for British soldiers, so not exactly stealing from some corporation, and our lead played by Sean Connery had no issue murdering a guy. Even so, still found it entertaining and some suspense-filled scenes, among them a great sequence with Connery on top of a moving train. **3.75/5**

CinemaSerf

I think it's Jerry Goldsmith's opening theme that gives a clue that we're in for some fun antics on the railways! That's confirmed when Michael Elphick chucks some would-be robber from the speeding carriage down an embankment where he lands at the feet of "Pierce" (Sean Connery). This bowler hatted gent wouldn't have been out of place in the Reform Club at the start of "Around the World in Eighty Days", so is a natural at another gentleman's club where the manager of a bank is bragging about their impregnable transfer of gold to pay the soldiers of the Crimea. Hardly patriotic, but "Pierce" has his eyes on this bullion and so with the help of girlfriend "Miriam" (Lesley-Anne Down) and cracksman "Agar" (Donald Sutherland) sets about doing the impossible - robbing a ton's worth of gold from a moving train. Each key to the safe is kept separately, so they have to use their guile and wits to find them, copy them, and return them without anyone suspecting! It's this series of escapades that is quite fun to watch whilst shining a light on the double-standards of the Victorian elite. Can they all get away with it? Well this is one of those charismatic ensemble efforts that makes you hope that they do. There's mischief a plenty, some precision thievery and quite impressive acrobatics from the nimble Wayne Sleep along the way too. Hats off to Sutherland though. What was he doing with that cat in the coffin?

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The First Great Train Robbery

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Sean Connery

Donald Sutherland

Lesley-Anne Down

Susan Hallinan

Alan Webb

Malcolm Terris

Robert Lang

Wayne Sleep

Michael Elphick

Gabrielle Lloyd

Box office

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