'Dirty Money' is one of the greatest heist films of all time and also probably one of the least known.
Starring a much younger Ian McShane before his 'Deadwood' days ably assisted by Warren Clarke, Christopher Malcolm and Stephen Grief this film details the events which took place in France in 1976.
Following description taken from video release from 1981
'Strongly committed to the ideals of a French right wing alliance with links in high places all over the world, Bert (IAN MCSHANE) conceives of a brilliant plan to obtain finances to buy arms in the cause of an eventual political take-over.
The scene is Nice, playground of the rich and indolent. Over a long weekend the vault of a particular bank will be stuffed with francs. And Bert knows a way in.....through a labyrinthine sewer system, a map of which he has obtained from a contact in the town hall.
With colleagues from former fighting days in Indo-China and Algeria, Jean (WARREN CLARKE) and Serge (CHRISTOPHER MALCOLM), Bert reluctantly has to recruit a band of professional criminals to assist in the robbery. The dangerous elements of crime and passionate politics make for uneasy bedfellows..........The criminals look on the job as merely a passport to money and the good life; they cannot understand Bert's ideological approach summed up as 'without arms....without hatred.....without violence'.
As the job is planned with meticulous and flawless detail, the personality clashes between the two factions become more and more defined.
But the heist goes perfectly and Bert finds more money than he ever dreamed of. There's fifteen million dollars: the biggest bank job in the world.
Though the police are completely baffled at first, the criminal members of the robbery team are soon throwing their money around with reckless abandon. As they are caught one by one, Bert manages to avoid capture but in the end he, too, is cornered.
Even so, he might still be able to offer the police a deal'.
This film is still unavailable on VHS or DVD so you will have to hunt down one of the UK releases on Precision video from 1981 like I did ( It only took me 3 years to find one) - I do not know if there was a VHS release in the US or anywhere else!!!Happy Hunting It'll be worth it
