ccbc I first saw this movie fifty years ago. I loved it then and, after seeing it on TCM, love it now. The plot: a disaffected English Army officer recruits other vets to pull off a heist. The Gimmick: They are all ex-officers of His/Her Majesty's armed forces so the caper is pulled off with military planning. Bonus Humor: The lampooning of military life. I suspect that this film greatly amused many a British vet in 1960, just as Ocean's Eleven amused US audiences that same year. Fifteen years after WWII ended, many men were having second thoughts about the value of service and the nature of honor and duty. The men carrying out this caper (and this is a Caper Film, like Topkapi or the Italian Job) are all disaffected, some turned to criminal ways. Jack Hawkins' character is not a criminal, but has just been declared redundant by the British Army and forcibly retired after twenty-five tears of service. Add a failed marriage to that (nicely drawn in a few lines of dialog) and you have a man seeking some kind of satisfaction in his battle with Society, just some kind of recognition that he is more than a non-entity. During the heist, as Hawkins' car rolls down the street, the camera shoots up to show us the buildings belonging to the great English newspapers of the day. Without any direct comment, the camera has revealed some of Hawkins' motivation. This is a tight script (written by Bryan Forbes, the motorcyclist in the League), even at two hours, but all the stuff that wasn't developed is lightly traced in. I think that movie makers could study this work with profit. As slow as some of the action might seem to American audiences now (lots of dialog, few explosions), there is hardly a line or a shot that doesn't serve a purpose. If you enjoy caper movies, this is one of the greats. If you want post-WWII history or a treatise on class system decline, that's here as well. Add in great acting, great script, crisp direction and camera-work, you have a marvelous movie!

vostf It is a pleasure to watch a league of fine British actors, unfortunately the movie gives us too much time to enjoy each and every one of them instead of cutting to the heist.Basically the heist is a very simple one so most of the movie is about delaying tactics: getting to know everybody, recruiting the unhappy dozen (or so), rehearse in a preliminary setup... This really is old-school cinema, and the ending forcefully drives this point home in case you were daydreaming with the crew.Does not deserve your time, unless you are required to study some of the great actors in the cast.

Terrell-4 "Think of it as a full-scale military operation," says involuntarily retired Colonel Hyde (Jack Hawkins) to cashiered ex-major Race (Nigel Patrick). "What chance has a bunch of ordinary civilians have against a trained, armed and disciplined military group?" Hyde did not for one moment like being forced into retirement after 25 years in the British army. He spent the last few days of active duty doing some research among personnel files. Now, Hyde plans to get a bit of his own back...and Race, along with six other former officers, are going to be the means. The League of Gentlemen is a cynical, stylish, witty film about a bank heist carried out with the precision of a Swiss watch, all thanks to Hyde's meticulous research. Among the seven men he recruits are Race, charming, shrewd, imperturbable and a reliable second-in- command...even if he does tend to call people "old darling." Race was forced to resign his commission because of a bit of black marketeering. Mycroft (Roger Livesey) was a superb quartermaster who was discovered in a bit of gross indecency in a public place. Lexy (Richard Attenborough), a talented and crooked mechanic and whiz with radios, was found to be selling secrets to the Russians. Porthill (Bryan Forbes) is always resourceful and is now a gigolo, but was discovered to be shooting prisoners in Cyprus. The others all had problems with being weak, or being discovered as one of those whose love dare not be spoken of, or of being responsible for the deaths of men under them. But, as Hyde points out, they were all superbly trained officers and they all need money. Hyde brings them together with an anonymous invitation to lunch in the Maple Room of the elegant Cafe Royal. Included in the envelope is a copy of a book, The Golden Fleece, and half a five-pound note. After a fine lunch with a decent wine, brandy, cigars and the other half of the fiver, Hyde gets down to business. The mission? They will rob a very big and well- protected bank in the heart of central London, make off with at least 100,000 British pounds each and then live happily ever after. It will be called Operation Golden Fleece. With just a little reliance on greed, self-interest and perhaps a hint of coercion, he recruits them. Before long we're deep into training and organizing, setting up communications and stealing transport. In an amusing, tense sequence almost good enough to be a movie itself, they also bluff their way into an Army base and steal a substantial amount of arms. Do they actually pull off this complex heist that calls for split-second timing, nerves as cold as ice and flawless teamwork. Well, of course, and we get to watch it happen. Do they get away to lead a life of leisure? You'll need to see the movie. Be prepared for a very funny appearance by a twit of an old comrade of Hyde's, Bunny Warren (Robert Coote), and a twist which is handled with a stylish dollop of jaunty ruefulness. Jack Hawkins, with that rough voice and no-nonsense face, does a fine job as Hyde, a man who can see the amusement in having few illusions. There is quite a collection of first-rate British actors in the men around Hawkins and they all are excellent. Bryan Forbes also wrote the screenplay. He was a clever actor who wrote and directed some fine movies, among them The L-Shaped Room, Seance on a Wet Afternoon and King Rat.

ianlouisiana 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.