Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Bank Shot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 23, 2015

While George C. Scott was already a respected actor who consistently worked in Hollywood, his post-“Patton” run of pictures reads like a to-do list of genres and career opportunities that couldn’t be passed up. After famously refusing at accept the Academy Award for his turn as the iconic WWII general, Scott was transformed into a bankable star, filling the 1970s with oddball career choices, perhaps to keep himself (a notoriously humorless man) entertained. One of the silliest professional detours is 1974’s “Bank Shot,” which is actually an adaptation of a Donald E. Westlake novel, with the central character John Dortmunder transformed into Walter Upjohn Ballentine, set loose in a bank caper that’s all about broad antics. “Bank Shot” is a strange update of classic comedies from the 1930s, with a sizable cast supporting Scott as he strives to play weird as quietly as possible, letting the rest of the feature lose itself to periodic chaos and exaggerated performances. The film doesn’t always come together as a hilarious joyride of colliding personalities, but it does find occasional inspiration, especially when it explores its snappy timing in full.

A career criminal serving life in a prison camp run by Streiger (Clifton James), Ballentine (George C. Scott) is barely making an effort to adhere to rules. Visited by former associate Karp (Sorrell Booke), Ballentine is presented with an opportunity to mastermind a major bank robbery that offers financial independence. Breaking out of the camp, Ballentine makes his way to Los Angeles, teamed with backer Eleonora (Joanna Cassidy), Karp’s nephew Victor (Bob Balaban), Mums (Bibi Osterwald) and her son Stosh (Dan Calfa), and Herman X (Frank McRae), with the group targeting a temporary bank housing a valuable safe. While Streiger combs the city for leads, on a quest to return his most famous inmate to prison, Ballentine and the gang work out the specifics of their plan, facing a steady string of setbacks as a simple job proves to be impossible due to mistakes and mismanagement from those new to the criminal realm.

Tone is important to director Gower Champion (a Broadway legend with hits such as “42nd Street” and “I Do! I Do!”), and he establishes the comic presence of “Bank Shot” immediately, opening with main titles that introduce Streiger’s law enforcement bluster and Ballentine’s insubordination, backed by a circus-style score from John Morris. Champion isn’t subtle, creating a defined atmosphere of tomfoolery to come, yet it’s the only way to approach the material, which indulges in all sorts of broad antics, disguises, and interactions as the production seeks to turn the cinematic frown of the 1970s upside down with this offering of slapstick. Securing his intentions, Champion initially has his characters dress up as Depression-era characters and drive around in period automobiles, contrasting their oddity with the flat, commercialized spaces of Los Angeles. If you’re not onboard with “Bank Shot” within the first 15 minutes, there’s really no reason to continue. Champion is smart to lay out his intentions without delay, allowing the viewer to settle into the mood and speed of the effort.

While one-liners and costuming generally support all the funny business, “Bank Shot” retains a healthy appreciation for mass destruction. Ballentine’s prison breakout is facilitated by a construction vehicle he uses to crash through camp gates (elephant sound effects are blended into the mix to emphasize the stampeding nature of the event) and outrun Streiger (who can’t keep up in a golf cart), and there’s the heist itself, where the gang gets the idea to slip wheels underneath the temporary bank, driving it away for private exploration. There’s a lot of crashing in the feature, which thrives on nervous energy that’s secured through sharp editing, preserving crisp timing that’s periodically enhanced by adventurous, layered staging, watching all the players take position as they execute thefts and misdirection. Visually, “Bank Shot” is stimulating, favoring tight framing that requires the characters to snuggle up to one another, and Champion is smart with madcap antics, often allowing them to play out in full. Of course, Scott wanders around the picture wearing ridiculously bushy eyebrows and speaks with a lisp, but the rest of the cast is a little more relaxed, allowing the director to set the bigness of the effort.

Characters aren’t lost in the shuffle, with each actor assigned some peculiarities and temperaments to explore. The focus is on Ballentine, a cautious career criminal who’s never had the best of luck, facing a difficult job that requires a complex group effort. There’s also attention from Eleonora, whose attempts to seduce the leader of the pack are at first rebuffed by Ballentine’s forced consumption of saltpeter during his prison camp time, while later, the crook buys saltpeter to keep himself out of his boss’s pants, fearing “hanky panky” will bring the entire operation down. It’s a weird running gag, but it gives Scott and Gleeson something to play beyond heist sequences. Booke (most famous for playing Boss Hogg in “The Dukes of Hazzard”) is charmingly slippery as Karp, and James makes for a fun antagonist as Streiger, whose law enforcement confidence is always undermined by his mistakes.

Bank Shot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation shows its age, but not in crippling manner. Exteriors are bright and detailed, while close-ups capture the strangeness of character decoration, including make-up work and sweaty concentration. There's softness to contend with, but period cinematography survives. Colors are slightly muted but not washed away, keeping California blue skies in view, while costuming brings out a bold range of hues. Skintones are natural. Grain is present and handled tastefully, and filmic qualities remain. Delineation is secured during evening activities, with distances and darkness handled well. Print is in decent shape, with speckling and some minor scratches detected.

Bank Shot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is perhaps best with scoring cues, which sound bold and clear, supplying encouraging instrumentation. Dialogue exchanges are muted by the inherent sound quality choices, where voices are often competing with street life, making intelligibility challenging at times. Atmospherics are aggressive but not too distracting, and the group dynamic is satisfactory. Hiss is noticeable throughout the listening experience.

Bank Shot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (2:44, HD) is included.

Bank Shot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Bank Shot" takes a few interesting turns as the crime is carried out by the gang, who, despite their best efforts to steal the bank and hide it from prying eyes, still have to deal with an uncrackable safe, impervious to drills, heat, and explosives. While there's little here that's fresh, there's plenty of entertaining asides and scams to observe, watching the gang work as a singular unit to make sure the cops don't pick up their scent. Champion goes overboard on occasion, and the ending promises sequels to come (Westlake cooked up multiple stories for the Dortmunder character), which leaves the feature anticlimactic. Still, "Bank Shot," while never hilarious, is definitely digestible, but only when accepted as an offering of pure silliness, finding the entire production only out to make the audience laugh. I hope some faint smiles and appreciative head nods will satisfy instead.