Plunder Road (1957)

[dave jenkins]

Plunder Road (1957) - 7/10. The railroad gold robbery was so perfectly planned, nothing could possibly go wrong! Er . . . maybe the plan wasn't all that great, actually. Why is it so important to get on the road after the heist? Wouldn't it be better to lie low for a week or two until things die down, rather than try to negotiate all the roadblocks? And if you're going to split up the loot among separate vehicles, wouldn't it be better to send them on different routes? If the first one gets caught (and it does) the cops will certainly scrutinize all that come after (and they do), especially when they're rolling only 30 minutes apart.  And when you get to LA, is it really such a good idea to melt down some of the gold into fixtures for your car, especially when you're gonna end up carrying many of the actual bars anyway? And who in his right mind plans the final leg of the journey to cross LA during rush hour, allowing only a half hour cushion? Lots of things in this film don't really make sense. Why are the crooks hurrying to the hijack point at the start of the film? Wouldn't it have been prudent to get there many hours earlier, to both set up carefully AND make sure you're there on time? In spite of all these stupidities, the film is a lot of fun. We never find out why all the hurry was necessary at the start, but dramatically it gives the film a lot of forward momentum that hardly ever lets up. Cutting back and forth between the three trucks does a lot to sustain interest. And the b&w RegalScope photography--fabulous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPM6KXCoOTo

[T.H.]

I didn't have a problem with any of the logic, though your criticisms are certainly fair. The crew at least used smart ways to transfer the gold and they didn't know that the police would be looking for trucks until after they left. The 'rip off the band-aid' approach may not be the smartest, but I bought it, and it made for a hell of an entertaining movie.

The opening heist is just off the charts good for a 50s crime movie, I can't compliment it enough. The photography was fantastic, Ernest Haller's work is underappreciated and I'm guilty of not giving him his due when you look at his body of work.

This is a classic. 9/10.

[dave jenkins]

The opening heist is just off the charts good for a 50s crime movie, I can't compliment it enough.

We agree here. IIRC, no one says a thing until after all the gang members are free and away. It's almost as good as the silent heist in Rififi.

[T.H.]

We agree here. IIRC, no one says a thing until after all the gang members are free and away. It's almost as good as the silent heist in Rififi.

There were voice-overs with each of the characters thoughts, which served a purpose, but wasn't necessary and it probably hurt the overall quality of the scene.

[Moorman]

Gonna check this one out. Looks good...

[Moorman]

Purchased the DVD of this from Amazon. I saw a clip on Youtube that looked interesting, so i went ahead and purchased this. It turned out to be a pretty good film, until the end.  Back to that later.  The opening heist scenes were fabulous.  Like the original poster said, for that time period, that was a pretty good opening.  It was very well done.  The plot itself was pretty good. I had no problem with them taking 3 trucks.  I did have a problem with them taking the same route though.  I loved the idea of them melting the gold down and attaching it to the cadillac.  What didn't make sense is having the other gold bars INSIDE the same car. If they got stopped and the car impounded, that defeats the whole purpose.  Back to that ending. I don't know which was worst, the woman rear ending them on the highway which leads to the bumper being inspected , or the suitcase blowing open on the airport tarmac in the film "The Killers".  Other than that, it was a pretty solid film.

Cinematography- 1.5 points.  This was pretty good.

Musical Score- .5 point.  Sounded a little like a tv show.

Plot- 1.5 points. The ending could've been better.

Acting- 1.5 points.

Directing 1.5 points.  The beginning was fantastic

6.5 points out of 10...

[Jessica Rabbit]

Moorman, you could have watched this on youtube. Perfect copy.

[Moorman]

Moorman, you could have watched this on youtube. Perfect copy.

I'm collecting films.  I want to own copies of certain films for historical reasons also.  For instance, there is a movie called "The Miami Story" that i ran across on Youtube.  I don' know how good it is, i just want it because it was filmed in Miami back during the 1950s. I only do this though if i can get a film at a good price...

[Jessica Rabbit]

Don't buy Miami Story. It's not bad but I wouldn't spend the money on it.

[Moorman]

Don't buy Miami Story. It's not bad but I wouldn't spend the money on it.

I might post a list of movies and you tell me whether i should get them or not...