Bank Shot
Bank Shot is a 1974 American heist comedy film directed by Gower Champion and written by Wendell Mayes.[1] It is loosely based on Donald E. Westlake's 1972 novel Bank Shot, the second installment in his Dortmunder series.[2] The film stars George C. Scott as con artist Walter Ballantine, alongside Joanna Cassidy, Sorrell Booke, and G. Wood.[1]Synopsis
Plot
Walter Upjohn Ballentine, a skilled but impulsive career criminal serving a life sentence at the Streiger Institution, is visited by his former associate Al G. Karp, who poses as his lawyer to propose a daring bank heist and provide an escape map.[3] Using the map, Ballentine hijacks an earthmover and demolishes part of the prison wall to make his getaway, pursued by the institution's determined director, Bulldog Streiger, who chases him in a golf cart.[3][4] After evading capture, Ballentine reunites with Karp outside the prison and is introduced to the rest of the ragtag crew assembled for the job: Karp's nervous nephew Victor, a disgraced ex-FBI agent; Manfred, a jittery explosives expert; Hermann X, a burly safe-cracker with a bicycle-powered drill nicknamed "Old Faithful"; and Eleonora "El", a thrill-seeking socialite providing financial backing and serving as Ballentine's seductive accomplice.[3][4] The group travels to Los Angeles via private jet, where El reveals her role in funding the operation, and Ballentine takes charge of refining the plan.[3] The target is a branch of the Mission Bell Bank, temporarily relocated to a mobile home trailer in a shopping center parking lot due to construction on its permanent building, making it an ideal mark with fewer security measures.[5][4] Ballentine dismisses a conventional break-in as too risky given the trailer's exposed location and instead devises an audacious scheme to steal the entire structure: jacking it up at night with house-moving equipment, reinstalling wheels underneath, and towing it away to a secluded spot for cracking the vault later.[5][4] During the heist execution, comedic chaos ensues as the crew lifts the trailer—with oblivious guards still inside—while El distracts passersby on a noisy motorbike to mask the sounds.[3] They successfully haul the bank away but face immediate hurdles: hiding it by hastily painting the exterior pink to blend into a crowded trailer park, only for the washable paint to fail under scrutiny; multiple botched attempts to open the burglar-proof safe using Hermann's drill and Manfred's nitroglycerin charges, which cause more slapstick destruction than progress; and close calls with bumbling authorities, including Streiger and FBI agents who surround the wrong trailer in the park.[5][4] Ballentine employs disguises and gadgets, such as saltpeter to fend off El's advances, to keep the team focused amid the escalating mishaps.[3] As the crew finally gets the mobile bank rolling toward a remote desert hideout, Streiger and the police close in, leading to a high-speed pursuit filled with farcical collisions and narrow escapes.[3] The chase culminates at a coastal cliff, where the out-of-control trailer plunges into the ocean with Ballentine still inside, leaving the team and pursuers—including Streiger—watching in stunned silence from the edge.[3] In a twist narrated by Streiger, Ballentine survives by swimming ashore and is later implicated in an armed robbery at the First National Bank of Samoa, committed by a "sopping wet" intruder, suggesting his criminal escapades continue unabated.[3]Cast
The cast of Bank Shot features George C. Scott in the lead role, supported by an ensemble of character actors who bring humor to the film's eccentric heist team and authority figures.[6]| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| George C. Scott | Walter Upjohn Ballentine | The charismatic mastermind con artist who escapes prison and orchestrates an elaborate bank heist with a ragtag crew.[7] |
| Joanna Cassidy | Eleonora | The alluring financier who provides funding and enthusiasm for the team's risky endeavor.[7] |
| Sorrell Booke | Al G. Karp | The scheming criminal associate who organizes the heist and assembles the crew.[6] |
| G. Wood | Andrew Constable | The bumbling police captain tasked with pursuing the fugitives and unraveling the scheme.[8] |
| Clifton James | Bulldog Streiger | The tough, no-nonsense prison warden who oversees Ballentine during his incarceration.[9] |