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Production

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	The magazines in Mycroft’s suitcase at the beginning of the film were borrowed from the set of ''[[Peeping Tom (1960 film)\|Peeping Tom]]'' that was being filmed at the same time at Pinewood.<ref>{{cite web \|title=The League of Gentlemen \|url=https://pamela-green.com/the-league-of-gentlemen/ \|website=Pamela Green}}</ref>		The magazines in Mycroft’s suitcase at the beginning of the film were borrowed from the set of ''[[Peeping Tom (1960 film)\|Peeping Tom]]'' that was being filmed at the same time at Pinewood.<ref>{{cite web \|title=The League of Gentlemen \|url=https://pamela-green.com/the-league-of-gentlemen/ \|website=Pamela Green}}</ref>

	Actor Oliver Reed had his first ~~talk on~~ role as a camp chorus boy ~~ref https://en~~.~~wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Reed_filmography~~		Actor [[Oliver Reed]] had his first talking role as a camp chorus boy.

	==Reception==		==Reception==

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	\| budget = £192,000<ref name="walker">Alexander Walker, ''Hollywood, England'', Stein and Day, 1974 p103</ref>		\| budget = £192,000<ref name="walker">Alexander Walker, ''Hollywood, England'', Stein and Day, 1974 p103</ref>
	}}		}}
	'''''The League of Gentlemen''''' is a 1960 British [[heist film\|heist]] [[action comedy ~~film~~]] directed by [[Basil Dearden]] and starring [[Jack Hawkins]], [[Nigel Patrick]], [[Roger Livesey]] and [[Richard Attenborough]]. It is based on the 1958 novel ''[[The League of Gentlemen (novel)\|The League of Gentlemen]]'' by [[John Boland (author)\|John Boland]] and adapted by [[Bryan Forbes]], who also starred in the film.		'''''The League of Gentlemen''''' is a 1960 British [[heist film\|heist]] [[action comedy]] film directed by [[Basil Dearden]] and starring [[Jack Hawkins]], [[Nigel Patrick]], [[Roger Livesey]] and [[Richard Attenborough]]. It is based on the 1958 novel ''[[The League of Gentlemen (novel)\|The League of Gentlemen]]'' by [[John Boland (author)\|John Boland]] and adapted by [[Bryan Forbes]], who also starred in the film.

	==Plot==		==Plot==

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	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=January 2015}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = The League Of Gentlemen		\| name = The League Of Gentlemen
	\| image = ~~LeagueOfGentlemenPoster~~.jpg		\| image = The League of Gentlemen.jpg
	\| caption = ~~British quad poster for the film~~		\| caption =
	\| director = [[Basil Dearden]]		\| director = [[Basil Dearden]]
	\| producer = [[Michael Relph]]		\| producer = [[Michael Relph]]
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	*{{IMDb title\|0052997\|The League of Gentlemen}}		*{{IMDb title\|0052997\|The League of Gentlemen}}
	*{{Screenonline title\|486309}}		*{{Screenonline title\|486309}}

	~~{{Basil Dearden}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:League Of Gentlemen, The}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:League Of Gentlemen, The}}
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	[[Category:1960s British films]]		[[Category:1960s British films]]
	[[Category:Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers]]		[[Category:Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers]]
			[[Category:British comedy films]]

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The League Of Gentlemen
| image = LeagueOfGentlemenPoster.jpg
| caption = British quad poster for the film
| director = [[Basil Dearden]]
| producer = [[Michael Relph]]
| screenplay = [[Bryan Forbes]]
| based_on = {{based on|''[[The League of Gentlemen (novel)|The League of Gentlemen]]''|[[John Boland (author)|John Boland]]}}
| starring = [[Jack Hawkins]]<br />[[Nigel Patrick]]<br />[[Roger Livesey]]<br />[[Bryan Forbes]]<br />[[Richard Attenborough]]
| music = [[Philip Green (composer)|Philip Green]]
| cinematography = [[Arthur Ibbetson]]
| editing = [[John D. Guthridge]]
| studio = [[Allied Film Makers]]
| distributor = [[British Lion Films]]
| released = {{film date|df=y|1960|4|5}}
| runtime = 116 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget = £192,000<ref name="walker">Alexander Walker, ''Hollywood, England'', Stein and Day, 1974 p103</ref>
}}
'''''The League of Gentlemen''''' is a 1960 British [[heist film|heist]] [[action comedy film]] directed by [[Basil Dearden]] and starring [[Jack Hawkins]], [[Nigel Patrick]], [[Roger Livesey]] and [[Richard Attenborough]]. It is based on the 1958 novel ''[[The League of Gentlemen (novel)|The League of Gentlemen]]'' by [[John Boland (author)|John Boland]] and adapted by [[Bryan Forbes]], who also starred in the film.

==Plot==
A manhole opens at night in an empty street and out climbs [[Lieutenant-Colonel (UK)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] Norman Hyde ([[Jack Hawkins]]) in a [[Black tie|dinner suit]]. He gets into a [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] and drives home. There, he prepares seven envelopes, each containing an American crime paperback called ''The Golden Fleece'', halves of ten £5-notes and an unsigned invitation from “Co-operative Removals Limited” to lunch at the [[Cafe Royal]].

The envelopes are sent to former army officers, each in desperate or humiliating circumstances. When they all turn up looking for the other halves of the £5-notes which are handed out, Hyde asks their opinion of the novel which is about a robbery. They show little enthusiasm but Hyde then reveals each person's misdemeanours.

Hyde has no [[criminal record]] but holds a grudge for being made redundant by the army after a long career. He intends to rob a bank using the team's skills, with equal shares of [[Pound sterling|£]]100,000 or more for each man.

The gang meet under the guise of an amateur dramatic society rehearsing ''[[Journey’s End]]'' to discuss the plan before moving into Hyde’s house and living a military regimen of duties and fines for being out of line. Hyde knows that a million pounds in used notes is regularly delivered to a [[City of London]] bank and has details of the delivery.

They raid an army training camp in [[Dorset]] for arms and supplies. Hyde, Mycroft, Porthill and Race distract soldiers by posing as senior officers on an unscheduled food inspection. The others steal weapons while posing as telephone repairmen, speaking in [[Ireland|Irish]] accents to divert suspicion to the [[Irish Republican Army (1922-1969)|IRA]]. Hyde has explained the reasoning behind this ruse by stating the one nationality to whom the British will never give the benefit of the doubt is the Irish.

The gang rent a warehouse to prepare. Race steals vehicles including cars and a lorry which are fitted with false [[vehicle registration plate|number plates]]. They are disturbed by a passing policeman who offers to keep an eye on their premises as he patrols. In Hyde’s basement, the gang trains with maps and models. On the eve of the operation, Hyde destroys the plans and recalls his former military glory.

The robbery is bloodless and precise. Using [[smoke bombs]], [[Sterling submachine gun]]s, and [[radio jamming]] equipment, the gang raids the bank, near [[St Paul's Cathedral|St Paul’s]]. The money is seized without serious injury and the robbers escape. At Hyde’s house, celebrations are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Hyde’s old friend, [[Brigadier]] “Bunny” Warren ([[Robert Coote]]), who drunkenly recalls the old days. One by one the members leave carrying suitcases filled with notes. Then the telephone rings; Hyde is told that police and soldiers surround the house.

Leading the police is [[Superintendent (police)|Superintendent]] Wheatlock ([[Ronald Leigh-Hunt]]) from whom Hyde learns the flaw in his plan. A small boy outside the bank had been collecting car registration (licence plate) numbers, a common hobby at the time. The police, discovering the number, found it had been noted by the policeman who visited the warehouse. The policeman had also noted the number of Hyde's own car. Thus a link was established between the robbery and Hyde.

Hyde is escorted to a [[police van]] in which the rest are "all present and correct", each having been captured as he left the house.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Jack Hawkins]] as [[Lieutenant-Colonel (UK)|Lieutenant-Colonel]] Norman Hyde
* [[Nigel Patrick]] as [[Major (UK)|Major]] Peter Race
* [[Roger Livesey]] as [[Captain (land)|Captain]] "[[Military Chaplain|Padre]]" Mycroft
* [[Richard Attenborough]] as [[First Lieutenant|Lieutenant]] Edward Lexy
* [[Bryan Forbes]] as Captain Martin Porthill
* [[Kieron Moore]] as Captain Stevens
* [[Terence Alexander]] as Major Rupert Rutland-Smith
* [[Norman Bird]] as Captain Frank Weaver
* [[Robert Coote]] as [[Brigadier]] "Bunny" Warren
* [[Melissa Stribling]] as Peggy
* [[Nanette Newman]] as Elizabeth Rutland-Smith
* [[Lydia Sherwood]] as Hilda
* [[Doris Hare]] as Molly Weaver
* [[David Lodge (actor)|David Lodge]] as [[Company Sergeant Major|C.S.M.]]
* [[Patrick Wymark]] as Wylie
* [[Gerald Harper]] as Captain Saunders
* [[Brian Murray (actor)|Brian Murray]] as [[Private (rank)|Private]] "Chunky" Grogan
* [[Terence Edmond]] as Young PC (uncredited)
* [[Nigel Green]] as Kissing Man (uncredited)
* [[Patrick Jordan]] as Sergeant (uncredited)
* [[Dinsdale Landen]] as Young man in gym (uncredited)
* [[Ronald Leigh-Hunt]] as Police [[Superintendent (police)|Superintendent]] (uncredited)
* [[Oliver Reed]] as Chorus Boy (uncredited)
* [[Norman Rossington]] as [[Staff Sergeant]] Hall (uncredited)
* [[Bruce Seton]] as AA Patrolman (uncredited)
* [[Michael Corcoran (actor)|Michael Corcoran]] as Blackmailer (uncredited)
{{div col end}}

==Production==
Allied Film Makers was a short-lived production company founded by Dearden, actors Hawkins, Forbes and Attenborough, and producer [[Michael Relph]]. Forbes contributed many of the company's scripts. Dearden had previously directed ''[[The Blue Lamp]]''.<ref>''The Aurum Film Encyclopedia'', edited by [[Phil Hardy (journalist)|Phil Hardy]], published in 1998</ref>

The portrait of Hyde's wife (he comments "I regret to say the bitch is still going strong") is a close copy of a portrait of [[Deborah Kerr]] which was used in ''[[The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp]]'' in which Roger Livesey (''The League'''s "Padre" Mycroft) also starred.

Forbes points out in his commentary on the DVD that in most films of the time Hyde's wife would be described as dead and not dismissed in such a manner. A scene in the script following the dinner party has Hyde, followed by Race, visiting a teenage girl at school—her photo is also on his desk. It is implied that she is his daughter. A scene which did not make the film has Weaver the [[teetotaler]] reaching for the brandy after Hyde has left the dinner. Lexy reminds him he shouldn't but Weaver drinks anyway.

In the original script, Race addressed others as "old dear".

[[Cary Grant]] was offered the part of Hyde but turned it down.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/dvd_reviews.php?film_id=12169|title=eyeforfilm.co.uk DVD review}}</ref>

Queens Gate Place Mews, SW7, was used as the filming location for Edward Lexy's ([[Richard Attenborough]]'s) garage.<ref>[http://www.lurotbrand.co.uk/flipbook/mewsnews2010-spring/ Mews News]. ''Lurot Brand''. Published Spring 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2013.</ref>

The magazines in Mycroft’s suitcase at the beginning of the film were borrowed from the set of ''[[Peeping Tom (1960 film)|Peeping Tom]]'' that was being filmed at the same time at Pinewood.<ref>{{cite web |title=The League of Gentlemen |url=https://pamela-green.com/the-league-of-gentlemen/ |website=Pamela Green}}</ref>

Actor Oliver Reed had his first talk on role as a camp chorus boy ref https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Reed_filmography

==Reception==
===Box office===
The film was successful, being the sixth most popular movie at the UK box office in 1960.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_kine-weekly_1960-12-15_523_2776/page/n7/mode/1up|last=Billings|first=Josh|magazine=Kine Weekly|date=15 December 1960|page=8-9|title=It's Britain 1, 2, 3 again in the 1960 box office stakes}}</ref> By 1971, it had earned a profit of £250,000<ref name="walker"/> Over 20 years later, Bryan Forbes estimated the profit as between £300,000 and £400,000.<ref name="brian">Brian McFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', Metheun 1997 p193</ref>

===Critical===
"Neatly written and expertly played," wrote ''[[The New York Times]]'' in its 1961 review, "a devilishly inventive and amusing screen play by Mr. Forbes...directed crisply and spinningly by Basil Dearden";<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/01/25/archives/screen-comical-crooksleague-of-gentlemen-from-britain-opens.html|title=Screen: Comical Crooks:'League of Gentlemen,' From Britain, Opens|first=Bosley|last=Crowther|date=25 January 1961|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> while more recently ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' called it "a masterpiece of British cinema";<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/what-to-watch/league-gentlemen-british/|title=The League of Gentlemen: a masterpiece of British cinema|date=14 December 2015|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> Dennis Schwartz noted "a fine example of old-fashioned English humor: droll and civil";<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_league_of_gentlemen|title=The League of Gentlemen (1959)|via=www.rottentomatoes.com}}</ref> and ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'', "A terrific caper movie...with typically excellent character playing from a lovable set of old lags."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-league-of-gentlemen|title=The League of Gentlemen|website=Time Out London}}</ref>

''The League of Gentlemen'' was mentioned in the film ''[[The Wrong Arm of the Law]]'' (1963) as one of the films that “Pearly Gates” ([[Peter Sellers]]) was going to show his gang of crooks as a part of his training programme.

==Home media==
The film was included, along with three other Dearden films, as part of the box set Basil Dearden’s London Underground by the [[Criterion Collection]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27537-the-league-of-gentlemen|title=The League of Gentlemen|website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref>

In 2006, a restored version of the film was released as a [[special edition]] [[DVD]] in the [[UK]]. The extras include a ''[[The South Bank Show|South Bank Show]]'' documentary on Attenborough and a [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] version of Forbes' original script. An audio commentary for the film was provided by Forbes and his wife [[Nanette Newman]] who features in the film as Major Rutland-Smith's wife.

==Cultural legacy==
The book and film inspired both Alan Moore's comic series ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' and its spin-off film as well as the British comedy troupe ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0052997|The League of Gentlemen}}
*{{Screenonline title|486309}}

{{Basil Dearden}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:League Of Gentlemen, The}}
[[Category:1960 films]]
[[Category:1960s crime comedy films]]
[[Category:1960s heist films]]
[[Category:British crime comedy films]]
[[Category:British heist films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about bank robbery]]
[[Category:Films about veterans]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Basil Dearden]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios]]
[[Category:1960 comedy films]]
[[Category:British Lion Films films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers]]

The League of Gentlemen (film) - Revision history

Kurt: /* Production */

Kurt at 22:25, 8 March 2023

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