A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (film)
| A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ralph Thomas |
| Written by | Guy Elmes (story and screenplay) |
| Produced by | Benjamin Fisz |
| Starring | Richard Jordan Oliver Tobias David Niven Elke Sommer Gloria Grahame Hugh Griffith Richard Johnson |
| Cinematography | John Coquillon |
| Edited by | Peter Boita |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
Production company | Benjamin Fisz Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square is a 1980 British heist film directed by Ralph Thomas, written by Guy Elmes and starring Richard Jordan, Oliver Tobias and David Niven. It is subtitled "based on one of the biggest robberies in London". The film takes its name from the 1940 published song "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square".
Ralph Thomas later said the film "had quite a superb cast" and "he was really quite fond" of the movie "but I didn't do it as well as I should have done because by the time we started it David was already sick, and so we had to do the best we could as quickly as we could and it didn't come off as I'd hoped. But it was still a fun film and we enjoyed making it."[2]
Plot summary
[edit]Pinky (Jordan) is released from prison and has decided to go straight from now on, but takes a job as a maintenance man at a large bank, which gives him a lot of undue attention from "Ivan the Terrible" (Niven), the local hoodlum. By using Pinky, Ivan hopes to rob the bank, and Pinky starts to like the idea of going back to his old ways.
Cast
[edit]- Richard Jordan as Pinky
- Oliver Tobias as Foxy
- David Niven as Ivan
- Elke Sommer as Miss Pelham
- Gloria Grahame as Ma
- Richard Johnson as Inspector Watford
- Michael Angelis as Pealer Bell
- Brian Croucher as Gregory Peck
- Edward Peel as Jack Diamond
- Peter Cartwright as Major Treadwell
- Hugh Griffith as Sid Larkin
- Davy Kaye as Sid the Yid
- John Rhys-Davies as Solicitor
- Robert Raglan as Judge
- Sally Harris as Jill
- Ewen Solon as Commander Ford
- Bruce Boa as Morgan Stanfield
- Elizabeth Adare as Barrister
Production
[edit]The film was based on a real robbery in London in 1975.[3]
It was shot at Twickenham Studios and on location around London in 1979. The film's sets were designed by the art director Lionel Couch.
The movie was given a charity premiere but appears to have not been screened theatrically.[4]
Also known as
[edit]- The Big Scam
- The Biggest Bank Robbery[5]
- The Mayfair Bank Caper (video title)
References
[edit]- ^ "Advertisement". Evening Standard. 13 May 1980. p. 18.
- ^ Collected Interviews: Voices from Twentieth-century Cinema by Wheeler W. Dixon, Southern Illinois University Press, 2001, p.113
- ^ "Showbeat". The Clydebank Press. 11 May 1979. p. 11.
- ^ "TV guide". The Guardian. 23 January 1981. p. 20.
- ^ "The Biggest Bank Robbery (1980)". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017.
External links
[edit]- A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square at IMDb
- A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square at Rotten Tomatoes
- Film page at Britmovie
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- 1980 films
- 1979 films
- 1970s heist films
- British heist films
- 1970s English-language films
- Films directed by Ralph Thomas
- Films scored by Stanley Myers
- Films set in London
- Films shot in London
- Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios
- 1970s British films
- English-language crime films
- 1970s crime film stubs
- 1970s British film stubs