The League of Gentlemen (1960) User Reviews

English society as Empire ends

[snaunton · 8/10 · 10 May 2001]

A British army colonel, pensioned off and embittered, assembles a motley group of specialist, criminal and deviant ex-officers who share his bitterness. He has in mind a bank robbery. They arm themselves, courtesy of their former employer, then execute the robbery impeccably, right in the centre of the City of London. The bags of loot are filled, but, at the pictures, crime seldom pays....

That this film has been reviewed as a comedy demonstrates, once again, that British and American are two cultures disguised by a common language. The humour here, of that characteristically British sardonic kind, is incidental to a drama of frustration, disappointment and inadequacy. The humour is just the way the British speak.

The clever and low key "raid" on the army training centre is finely done. So much so that it overshadows the robbery itself and therefore slightly unbalances the action.

This is one of those films, craftsmanlike and enjoyable, yet not desperately exciting, that finds its greatest value precisely in being a period piece. The League of Gentleman is a fascinating social document. Made in 1959, it catches the moment in British history when, as its Empire dissolved, the social infrastructure that supported it and that had made Colonel Hyde what he had been, also disintegrated. This aspect could almost have been deliberate, explaining the very long opening sequence (another unbalancing factor) that introduces us to the seven main characters. There are shockingly frank moments: the honourable man with the overtly promiscuous wife; the gigolo; the religious fraudster (or pervert - the message is obscured); another of the heroes an "other man", a homosexual; the pressure of life in a small house with a loud television set. So, too, the casualness with which machine guns are used in a robbery by men trained in the code of gentlemen. The dull and seedy presentation of Hyde's home and base, large but far from grand, is further evidence of the decline of his class. So, too, a robbery that was intended as a hymn to the effectiveness of military planning, brought to naught by one stupid mistake and a small boy.

Yet this is not a sententious film, their is no preaching, none of that British nostalgia for the old ways, but almost a respect for the robbers and a recognition that life had to become more ruthless as a stiff society began to flex. How it was elsewhere, I do not know, but this watchable film will show anyone what was happening in Britain just before the Sixties began to swing.

A first-rate movie, witty and cynical, about a disgruntled, forcibly retired Army colonel and what he does about it

[Terrell-4 · 8/10 · 15 February 2008]

"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.

Superb caper film

[JohnSeal · 8/10 · 6 December 1999]

Jack Hawkins, excellent as always, heads a superb cast in this marvelously entertaining look at the moral decay of Britain's upper classes in the post-war period. Some of Britain's greatest film talent was at work on this project, including screenwriter Bryan Forbes, director Basil Dearden, and cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson. If you want to see the granddaddy of caper films, this is it. It's also your chance to see Oliver Reed playing a flaming queen: believe it or not!

Unforgettable British Post-War Melodrama with bite

[nickname1 · 10 March 2002]

This 1959 (or 1960) film shares the same title as the 1990's comedy about weird northern folk, but is a far more savage satire of decay in the establishment.

A redundant Colonel recruits a unit of marginally more corrupted subordinate Army officers, to stage an American Style heist, based on a US pulp fiction novel. Very few of the characters would initially be associated with the establishment. Their past failings include treason, war-crimes and negligence resulting in deaths.

Jack Hawkins (Colonel Hyde) knits the characters together over the course of the film. By reinventing a form of army discipline the characters appear to rediscover their aplomb.

The actual robbery is almost incidental, occupying ~ 10% of the film.

My real fascination was with the development and interaction of the characters. Even 40 years on their callousness is at times shocking and the 'Blame Ireland' example of scapegoating still resonates, especially in the context of the characters' personal failures in other theatres of the ex-empire.

The film is nearly 2 hours long, but seemed much shorter. Post war film of the City of London (and elsewhere) before 60s redevelopment is a bonus.

Cool, Ironic Caper Movie.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 21 August 2012]

An enjoyable story of ex colonel Jack Hawkins who brings together, by means of blackmail, a diverse group of ex officers who are specialists in their chosen fields. They're all in "urgent need of funds". And they all got into some kind of trouble in the British Army during or after the war. He enlists their aid in a complicated bank robbery, something along the lines of earlier Ealing comedies like "The Lavender Hill Mob," but not at all slapstick.

It's an amusing movie. Much of the humor is subdued. You need to listen carefully. The musical score during the mostly silent robbery, for instance, sounds like it's ripped off from the dramatic chords of Miklos Rozsa in "The Asphalt Jungle." But the film is most engaging in its clever dialog, by Bryan Forbes.

When Hawkins first calls the robbers together for a meeting: "Your presence here confirms my disbelief in the goodness of human nature."

And, when Hawkins is climbing the stairs past the portrait of a beautiful woman, one of the conspirators asks if that's his wife. "Yes." "Is she dead?" "No. I regret to say the bitch is still going strong."

It reminded me at times of the TV series, "The Avengers," although without the whimsy and not nearly so stylish. In the opening shot, a manhole cover on a filthy wet street is slowly moved aside and Hawkins emerges from it in an immaculate suit, crosses the street, steps into his Rolls and drives away. Yet, it hangs together better than "The Avengers" because the plot is grounded in reality and the narrative builds on itself. It's all done according to military procedures. First the objective is outlined, then the guns must be stolen, then the vehicles, and so forth. The ending is a downer because, although all these fellows are flawed in some way, and Hawkins himself seems a little nuts at times, we've gotten to know them and want them to succeed. Of course they can't.

Impressive cast too. None of them get to do much except gentlemanly things. There are small parts for Nigel Greene, and Oliver Reed does a brief but hilarious number as a nancy boy.

A heist for the fun of it

[sol- · 9/10 · 6 July 2006]

This is a heist film that really rises above the ante of its genre, due to the motivations behind the main characters. The characters are all former army officers, who were dismissed due to misconduct on their behalf, with the exception of the mastermind behind the robbery, who brings them all together. His name is Hyde, and he was halfway to becoming a full colonel before the army forced him into retirement. He is separated from his wife, and without army life, he has nothing left to do. So for the fun of it, rather than the money, he organises a heist.

The acting in the film is superb. The expressions that Jack Hawkins uses when playing Hyde signify that he is in it for the thrills rather than the loot. He looks on with joy, rather than stern, careful consideration, as he and his men organise everything that they need to do. He is in power again, since he is the head of the operation, and since he knows that everyone who he picks will want to go along. All of his men are not only crooks but ones with financial problems. And as the only one with plenty of money and no criminal record, he enjoys the idea that he can duck out at any time.

The supporting actors also show in the end that they are enjoying their work. While initially in it for the money, the return to army regulations - by which Hyde runs the operation - excites them. Nigel Patrick and Bryan Forbes are particularly good as the more suave members of the heist team. One problem though is that we never get to know the characters really well. They are defined by what we are told about them, rather than their actions, particularly with the Padre, played by Roger Livesey. A former quartermaster, he shows excitement at being able to take up the job again, but he is given very limited screen time, and his involvement with acts unbefiting a priest is oft mentioned, but his personality rarely shows anything more than that he is just another one of the men.

I find it rather odd that the film is marketed as a comedy. There is one section, when they raid the army, that is bouncing with humorous touches, and Gerald Harper, as a nervous army captain, gives off an excellent performance. The rest of the film though only has the slightest edge of humour, from Hyde badmouthing his wife to a rather awkwardly inserted cameo by Oliver Reed as a homosexual performer. The comedy is not important though, and the plot is intriguing enough as it is, but it does make the raiding the army section stand out, as it jars the film's mood and style.

If not flawless, it is still a very well made film. The rousing, grand music score is excellent, not just because it fits well over the action, but because it is sort of a parody of the scores of old war movies. The film looks great in black and white, and some of the sequences are very well shot. One example that stands out in memory is a shot where the camera goes through the walls of two different rooms, crabbing to the right, and swooping a little bit, almost like a person trying to not bump into a vase as he passes through a wall. The visual look of the film and the audio are just excellent, and well suited to the interesting screenplay.

One of the best British Cops and Robbers film of the period

[loza-1 · 7/10 · 17 June 2005]

A pretty believable bunch of characters come together at the invitation of their old regimental colonel to preform a daring blank raid he once read in a novel.

Some pretty good performances by Hawkins, Bird, Kieron Moore, etc. Some pretty memorable scenes too: the inside of the police van at the end. The meeting in the hall with the ballet rehearsals going on upstairs, the grease-coated frying pan in Jack Hawkins's house.

The sudden introduction of the affable silly ass character at the end is a stroke of genius.

Watch out for Oliver Reed as the camp ballet dancer. He might have been unknown at the time; he might have only had one line: but he was still a STAR!

You've "done your bit" for Britain and now you're not needed any more. What next?

[starvin4megravy · 9/10 · 3 January 2002]

Well ... if your name is "Half Colonel" Hyde, you thank Her Majesty very much, and take your future into your own hands!

Hyde, played to gruff perfection by Jack Hawkins, is supremely proud of his meticulous planning skills, gained and sharpened in a 25 year military career. Ignominiously pensioned off, he puts these strengths to good use in plotting a daring million-pound robbery.

As an ex-military man, Hyde is aware that his "operation" cannot succeed without putting together a squad of the very best experts. Displaying the kind of guile and ruthlessness that earned him his lofty rank, he also knows that it's rather handy if one's selected team has nothing much to lose.

The film opens by introducing us to Hyde's hand-picked candidates in turn - each receiving a mysterious invitation to lunch, stapled to one half of a crisp new fiver none of them can afford to ignore. A rum bunch they are, too - we witness a splendidly gloomy panorama of post- war London, scattered with promiscuous wives, doomed businesses, loveless marriages and good times going rapidly bad.

Enough, surely, to make a fellow wish he were back in the army - especially should he happen to be a bogus clergyman, an "odd man out" or simply a chap who always makes the same mistake twice ...

Was late-1950s Britain, in fact, a land fit for heroes? Does pride come before a fall? Or might crime, perhaps just this once, pay?

Join these esteemed Gentlemen for a wonderfully enjoyable caper movie, and find out for yourself! The story entertains (and possibly even informs) throughout - particularly to be relished is the interplay between Hawkins and the always-watchable Nigel "Old Darling" Patrick.

Notwithstanding a youthful Oliver Reed's jarringly unfunny cameo, this is easily one of my top ten movies.

May we be spared for ever the Hollywood or - even worse - the BritPack re-make!!

British caper film is a bit too serious for its own good

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 15 January 2017]

THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN is a classy, black and white British caper film about a group of distinguished gentlemen who team up to commit a daring robbery. In that respect it has much in common with the likes of THE Italian JOB, although THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN could have done with a few more laughs to make it that bit more entertaining; there's a wonderful cast in this one, but it can be a slog in paces.

The script is a bit uneven at times and the pacing flags here and there, only really coming to life during the excellent heist scenes. They could have shorn 20 minutes or so off the running time to make this a more exciting production. Still, the ensemble cast is enough to keep you watching, with the likes of Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, Richard Attenborough, and Terence Alexander all excelling in their parts and plenty of smaller roles for familiar faces. A shame about that downbeat ending, though.

Excellent and very much of its time

[andeven · 9/10 · 25 March 2012]

Great film. One I'd take to the desert island. It's not only entertaining, it also provides a fascinating glimpse of its era.

However I do have a few niggles, some of which constitute definite spoilers so if you haven't seen the film and don't wish to note them, please read no further.

At the lunch early in the film Hyde accuses all the assembled Gentlemen of being crooks "of one sort or another". While most of them had certainly been up to no good during their time in the army and been punished accordingly the word "crooks" is hardly appropriate in their later civilian lives. Mycroft certainly and possibly Race and Lexy but Weaver and Porthill seem to be more or less blameless, if in the latter case a bit disreputable, and Rutland-Smith's only crime anywhere seems to have been to have run up some "embarrassing mess bills". Stevens' implied indulgence in homosexual acts, while illegal at the time the film was made, would hardly justify his being labelled a crook even then. I feel that some more convincing criminality could have been devised - perhaps beating up Hyde en masse after he had gone round the table insulting each in turn!

To my mind the only real weakness in the film is the way they were caught. There are two reasons for this, one regarding plot and the other structure. Firstly, if I am correct, they were rumbled because the policeman who visited their warehouse recorded, for some unexplained reason, the number of Hyde's car, which the latter later used in the robbery. Its number was then noted by the small boy near the crime scene. Would such a meticulous planner as Hyde really have committed such a faux pas? The stolen car, after all, had its number changed so why not his? Or, preferably, would it not have been better - indeed obvious - not to have used his car at all? Secondly the sudden appearance of the boy, taking car numbers, jarred.It clearly had some relevance, otherwise there was no need to include it, and it indicated fairly clearly that it would somehow lead to the plan's ultimate failure.

Something that has always worried me and which has doubtless occurred in real life (certainly in the GTR of 1963) but which the film does not address was the fact that the taking of huge numbers of used notes inevitably led to the group taking their share of the loot in that form. We were not told how much was eventually seized but on the basis of the estimated £million divided by eight it would be £125K each. Nowadays, depending on which inflation index one uses, that would need to be, say, around £2.5 million and would need rather more than one suitcase each (see my later comment on a remake) but even the 1960 amount of physical cash would have posed difficult logistical problems for the robbers. Where to store it in the meantime and then how to deal with it, for instance. Even allowing for client confidentiality, banks and other financial institutions would, knowing that a huge robbery had taken place, be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at sudden appearances of large sums in previously threadbare or non-existent accounts. Few would mind the problem but it would need to be solved.

Others have criticised the film for not allowing the crime to succeed though most accept that the moral climate at the time would not have permitted it. I think that that is true but I also think that it was not the only reason. If the film had stopped at the post-heist party with "Oh well, thanks for everything, gentlemen, enjoy the money" THE END, it would hardly have met the need for a strong ending. Really they had to be caught if only for dramatic effect.

Finally, I can accept Colonel Hyde grubbing around in the sewers surrounding the bank (sadly, that manhole cover has gone now) in order to check on the subterranean situation but would he really have done so in evening dress and with his Rolls parked over the road advertising his presence? Oh, wait, though. He was very careless with his car numbers, wasn't he? Finally finally! I note the tediously inevitable call for a remake. For heaven's sake why? TLOG ain't perfect but what film is? PLEASE think of that ghastly remake of The Ladykillers and leave well alone.

a British heist flick that doesn't quite make it

[rupie · 6/10 · 26 October 2022]

I am a real devotee of heist flicks in general and British heist flicks in particular. I had seen this a few years back and decided to watch it again.

The cast is just superb, a veritable roster of British stars, led by the estimable Jack Hawkins. The story is fine too, but alas the film winds up as less than the sum of its parts.

My main memory of the movie from my previous viewing was the armory heist at the beginning. That's part of the problem. Because so much time and detail is spent on this ancillary venture, the film becomes unbalanced and the crime itself becomes almost an afterthought.

The movie could use some snappier dialogue, and more interaction among the characters. The ending also seems just a bit abrupt and the giveaway of the crime seems a bit weak.

I really wanted to like this movie more than I did, but it never really takes off.

Like many caper films, taut and exciting.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 20 January 2013]

It's very strange, but within the caper film genre, there are TONS of wonderful films....tons. Movies like "Rififi", "Grand Slam" and "The Italian Job" are all top entertainment...and "The League of Gentlemen" follows in this same tradition.

The film begins with Hyde (Jack Hawkings) sending an invitation to seven men. When the men all arrive at this dinner party, Hawkins shocks them all by telling them their sordid military histories. All served dishonorably and all are rogues...just the sort you'd like to recruit for some illegal acts. In this case, they will commit a very daring daytime bank robbery, but this is much later in the film. In the meantime, they all move in together and behave much like a precise military unit. Next, they have another, smaller but very daring raid to do so they'll have the proper equipment for the big robbery. How all this works together so precisely is why the film is worth seeing. Very well written, directed and acted--this is rousing entertainment from start to finish. It also offers enough novelty to make it different enough from these other films.

By the way, an interesting notion is the character played by Kieron Moore. Though never explicitly stated, it sure is apparent he's supposed to be gay. And, speaking of this, look for a tiny role played by a young Oliver Reed--a very, very stereotypically gay role...VERY.

Rousing league

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 17 April 2020]

Do like heist/crime caper films, have done for a while, and there are good ones out there. 'The League of Gentlemen's' main interest point was the cast full of talented actors and that it was the first feature from the Allied Film Makers company, also with major members playing big roles in the film. Had seen a lot of favourable reviews as well as seeing some from those that didn't like it as much, so that raised my interest further and it was hard to not expect a lot.

'The League of Gentlemen' mostly did live up to expectations. To me, it isn't quite as good as or the near-masterpiece that some have made it out to be. There are things that could have been done better and anybody that doesn't connect with it shouldn't be grudged against. There are so many great things that outweigh those flaws and make 'The League of Gentlemen' well worth watching. Do agree with those that have taken issue with the film being labelled misleadingly as a comedy, it's a long way from that.

From personal opinion, 'The League of Gentlemen' got off to a rather stodgy start that takes too long to set up. Oliver Reed's cameo felt very out of place and was neither funny or tasteful.

Also really did not buy how the crime was solved in so little time, not realistic, and Hyde at this point goes from meticulously intelligent to ridiculously sloppy just like that.

However, 'The League of Gentlemen' is filmed with much stylish grit, perfectly suited to the uncompromising tone, while also looking oddly beautiful at the same time and making the most of the locations. It is meticulously directed by Basil Dearden and unobtrusively scored. The script is intelligent, especially when the planning is happening, and there didn't seem to be any unnecessary fat.

Once the story got going it is rousing stuff, with intricate without being too complex and thoughtfully written planning and the heisting has tension and excitement. The characters are admittedly hard to like, some understandably finding the of the time bigotry of them hard to take and a turn off. These characters though are still interesting and quite layered, especially Hyde, and Reed is the one sore of spot of the otherwise solid as rocks cast. Jack Hawkins and Nigel Patrick being the standouts.

All in all, mostly good but not great. 7/10

Somehow cool except the lamentable end!

[RodrigAndrisan · 5/10 · 17 May 2019]

A well-done, exciting film, especially when they steal the weapons from the barracks where they are going to inspect how good it is to eat there, and then the robbery itself, at the bank, through smoke, with machine guns and gas masks. But the end is devastating and disappointing, I do not agree at all with the solution I suppose that Bryan Forbes, the author of the script, had to find. They're all caught up, because a child who collects numbers and letters written on the car plates is writing down those from the truck and Hyde's personal car. Is it contradictory, Hyde was brilliant in everything, the rest of the operation, he thought absolutely everything in the smallest detail, and he did not think of using another car, a stolen one, to not be found? It's awkward!

A Wonderful Film

[aypee · 21 October 2002]

This film apparently inspired the British comic troupe "The League Of Gentlemen".

I'm not surprised.

The film was directed by the popularly underrated Basil Dearden and starred the equally underrated Jack Hawkins.

What a shame they're so underrated!

The cast were brilliantly chosen and the plot is inspired. It would probably be impossible to remake this film acceptably well - it is very much of it's time.

Nigel Patrick will tell you, old darling, that you should watch this film with warmth and humour - the way it was made.

What Ocean failed to do

[drystyx · 6/10 · 13 September 2011]

One of the original five against the house films, this one set in Great Britain Ex soldiers use their skills to knock over a formidable source of money.

In this case a bank.

This succeeds where Ocean's Eleven failed miserably. Why? When one looks at these films, a person with any foresight can see that the project is one difficult to make interesting.

It sounds interesting when five or six friends talk about the idea, but to the smartest in the group, it will look like what it is, a dead end.

It's just hard to make something like this interesting.

Five Against the House was fairly dull. Sinatra's original Ocean group was worse than boring. It was the pillar of tedium. And we know there were many charismatic actors in that film. It isn't the actors, it is the idea that is lame, and it requires superb writing and directing to make it even partly bearable.

Hawkins and crew are an asset. This role really fits a presence like Hawkins more than a charismatic "everyman" like Sinatra.

The writing and directing are what make this a success, though. In an urban situated film, it is extremely hard to find settings that aren't dull. Ocean's 11 failed horribly there.

Here, we get some better scenery. Even the city shots are quick moving, with not too much emphasis on the ordinary or traffic. And much of it is during the dramatic smoke screen.

The characters are way more interesting than Ocean's characters. And the plot is written better. We never knew what was going on in Ocean, but here, there is a logical, even if far fetched, course.

In Ocean, we were expected to exalt some characters for no reason. It was as though they were in their own little world. The audience had to exalt them because they were Sinatra, Davis, Martin, Silva.

But here, the characters don't put on airs, unless it is demanded. They come across as much more alive and identifiable, and a million times more interesting. Men of mystery are men of mystery because they don't act mysterious. Those who do look like goofballs.

So while Ocean's goofballs fail, this group conjures up a bit of interest. You can actually watch the film start to finish. You can't do that with Ocean.

Enjoyable old film

[HenryHextonEsq · 8/10 · 7 May 2001]

An enjoyable effort in the Ealing vein, more specifically in the black comic vein of "Kind Hearts and Coronets" or "The Naked Truth", with fairly upper-class individuals gleefully straying from the straight and narrow. It is a mark of the film's whimsical success that one is made to sympathise with what is basically a gang of upper-class soldiers resorting to criminality. The wit, camaraderie and very subtle pathos of the ex-soldiers is very well worked - adrift as they are in peacetime, the planned heist provides some scope for their talents.

Most of the actors make their mark in some way - Roger Livesey, Nigel Patrick and particularly Jack Hawkins, are wonderful. Robert Coote is wonderfully spot-on in his late appearance as Brigadier Bunny Warren.

The script is finely crafted and while not up to the standard of "Kind Hearts...", this is quite a fine little film, always mildly winning in some way throughout its duration. Rating:- ****/*****

Good production values, solid acting let down by predictable and theatrical script

[adrianovasconcelos · 6/10 · 14 December 2019]

The League of Gentlemen boasts a great cast headed by Jack Hawkins who, unfortunately, began to show in this film signs of the throat cancer that would first lead to the removal of his larynx in 1966 and his death in 1973.

Nigel Patrick is the second in command in the cast, but he struck me as unintentionally smug. Bryan Forbes seems to be more interested in looking like a pretty boy than acting, and the rest of the cast is competent but the parts too small to allow them to shine.

In the end, Richard Attenborough and Robert Coote probably fare best after Hawkins.

Director Basil Dearden is in good form, and photography is quite effective.

The action sequences are generally well done, although I thought the smoke sequence near impossible in reality -- at the very least, there would have been accidents, loss of life, and other shortcomings, but instead all goes well.

Except that you know that robbing the army of weapons and banks of the citizens' hard earned money has to attract punishment and in this case the long arm of the law comes in the shape of a boy who likes to jot down car license plates.

Production values are sound, and the film is definitely no waste of time, but it is hamstrung by a predictable script.

An excellent, well written, well acted film that reminds us of the value of quality.

[a9064 · 10/10 · 12 January 2008]

The beginning of this low-key film caught my attention one afternoon and had me happily attentive for the duration. At a rough estimate, we see only six locations (and only seven major characters), meticulously detailed, and are reminded how modern film has come to rely more and more upon the frivolous car-chase, the flashy explosion, the comic-book stereotype. In a sense, this film follows the best traditions of an English farce, with steady entertaining build-up until the final collapse of tension.

The above comments have noted that the men are homophobic, sexist; they are correct. This film is set at the end of the 1950s - to have it any other way (to satisfy our own, strongly held, tastes) would be a gross insult to the excellent characterisation. Perhaps these viewers should be content with the strong, positive gay subtext running throughout the film - and as to sexism, we could hardly expect that Colonel Hyde would select his unit from those with happy, stable families.

Certainly enjoyable.

I should have anticipated it from the title but this did seem rather gentile

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 31 May 2020]

I should have anticipated it from the title but this did seem rather gentile. I'm not quite sure what I think about it. I found it rather laborious, going through the households of all those participating and then conducting a complicated raid just to get the weapons before we even get to the big one. But then, it had a certain charm, I guess I was expecting humour, it was good to see Bryan Forbes and Richard Attenborough working away in bit parts, completely overshadowing Oliver Reed in a dreadful cameo as a camp gay guy looking for the amateur dramatics while the big boys discussed their forthcoming bank raid. It was also good to see whole stretches of London around St Paul's and the Old Bailey but there were stretches that seemed to go on rather too long and if the build up to the bank job was done at a snails pace the raid itself was rather disappointing after all the build up. Bit of nostalgia, however and incredible that this was made more than 10 years after the end of the War and yet to still be so steeped in its aftermath.

Great caper film -- one of the best

[ikedelman-1 · 10/10 · 26 February 2008]

I have been waiting for a region 1 DVD of this film for several years. It used to be on television once in awhile, but that has not happened for a few years. I finally bought a used VHS tape of the film. The film has lost nothing since I first saw it. Jack Hawkins as Col. Hyde is a first rate army officer who has been passed over for promotion and kicked out of the service. Nigel Patrick as Major Race is an urbane small time gambler and crook who hasn't had a decent job since WWII ended. The rest of the people are also former army officers that have fallen on hard times for one reason or another. Richard Attenborough playing Lexy is a con artist with a genius for electronics. Roger Livesey is a part time deviate who was kicked out of the service for gross indecency. Hawkins as Hyde throws a luncheon for this group and some others that will make up his gang. In a great sequence he demolishes the facade each of his "gang" have built to shield themselves from their past. The rest of the film concentrates on a daring bank robbery the group planned.

Local banks for local people

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 16 January 2015]

This is a stylish, cynical, hard yet bittersweet film. Its obviously influenced by the skills brought to Britain from the USA by those writers and directors blacklisted in the 1950s and gained work in the UK bringing a harder edged style of filmmaking that in turn influenced homegrown talent.

Jack Hawkins is a retired army colonel, embittered in retirement and assembles a shady bunch of former officers with a crooked past. They need money and they have army training. The mission is to rob a bank in London and to prepare for it they need to carry out several other jobs.One of them being a raid at an army barracks to steal weapons which they blame on Irish dissidents.

As the film begins we see these rogues in action, some of them living dissatisfied lives or being involved in petty criminal work. The chance of a big score looks like a godsend and they blend well together.

Whereas in the early 1960s we still had films looking back to the war with stiff upper lips and a class structure, round the corner we were going to embark on the kitchen sink dramas heralding social change. The League of Gentleman is almost a bridge between these two styles of filmmaking.

We have the plummy tones of Jack Hawkins as the Colonel, Nigel Patrick as Race calling everyone Darling. To more seedy characters such as Roger Livesey playing a padre with a suitcase full of glamour magazines and once caught arrested for indecency in a public toilet which at that time meant homosexual activities. He is not the only member of the gang who is implied to be gay. Director Basil Dearden made the film the Victim the following year which was upfront about the subject of homosexuality.

Bryan Forbes who wrote and acted in this film is a gigolo, Terence Alexander is a cuckolded husband. Right from the off you see what looks like real people, who served in the war, made mistakes, some several times and struggling in Civvy Street. The hard edge continues during the bank robbery scene where the gang don gas masks and come in heavily armed.

The film has elements of comedy as well, its not just an action thriller. Its very well acted, sharply written and due to the censorship laws of the time where the bad guys could not be seen to be getting away with their crimes. It really is a sucker punch that the Colonel's meticulous planning could not had anticipated that is their undoing.

Great caper movie

[ccbc · 10/10 · 31 January 2015]

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!

A Thoroughly British Heist

[twentystcenturychristian · 6/10 · 29 April 2013]

This terribly British film has it's upper lip so firmly starched you can taste the cornflour. Although it sets out to be a light-hearted heist rather than a comedy, it comes from the same camp of British Film making as the Lady Killers and The Lavender Hill Mob. It is an enjoyable and entertaining watch, however it's just not quite as well directed as a true Ealing Comedy to which it seems to hark back. Frankly, I was surprised that the director, Basil Dearden, is the same director who only three years previously made the delightful gem "The Smallest Show On Earth" (which somehow only gets a an average 6.9 on IMDb.) But here's the thing. I was only about half-way through when it suddenly struck me that, deliberate or not, "The League of Gentlemen" must surely have been the inspiration for "The Dirty Dozen". The parallels are just to strong to be mere co-incidence. An army colonel gets together a team of hard-luck ex-army types and takes them on one last mission (a heist, in this instance.) As part of their operation they must break into an army camp to steal weapons. In order to achieve this, one of them must disguise himself as a senior officer and perform a surprise inspection - sound familiar? You probably won't want to put this on your film bucket-list, but it's worth spending "a few bob" on, as I believe they said in Britian in those days, or at least recording when it comes round on TV. The two hours spent watching it won't drag.

Borderline - almost not worth the time spent to watch it

[PaulusLoZebra · 5/10 · 19 April 2023]

The League of Gentlemen has an interesting premise, and the movie started well, but it lost its way the further it went along, became tedious, and I was thankful when it finally ended. I do not understand at all those who say it is a classic, just as many do not agree with my top choices ! Anyway, early on the script goes to some lengths to show the level of disaffection of each of these characters, their weak spots, their latent criminality, etc., and those elements are what Jack Hawkins has ably used to select them for this job. It's an impressive undertaking, very well planned, but as the group becomes a cohesive unit it lost my interest and the film became a rather standard fare heist movie, with two interesting twists at the end.