''Loophole'' is a 1981 British heist

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by John Quested and starring

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960) ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2021 he wa ...

Colin Blakely Colin George Blakely (23 September 1930 – 7 May 1987) was a Northern Irish actor. He had roles in the films '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), ''The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970), ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (1974), and '' Eq ...

and Tony Doyle. It was written by Jonathan Hales, based upon the novel by Robert Pollock. Music is by

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

Plot

The film opens with a safe-break that yields unexpectedly low gains for the robbers. Daniels (Finney) plots the bank robbery, having targeted this institution because he has discovered that the main subterranean vault, thought to be impregnable, lies within a short distance of a main sewer. Enlisting the services of a boat-dealer to supply equipment, he targets Booker (Sheen) who, as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, has the skill needed to pinpoint the exact location underground. Booker angrily rejects the first approach from Daniels but later, harassed by his bank manager (played by

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

) and having to support a new business venture by his wife (

), he agrees on the undertaking, provided that no violence is to be used. With Gardner (

) keeping watch from a rented nearby office, the titular loophole of the sewer access is utilized by the robbery crew, setting off the bank alarms on entering the vault from beneath and continuing to empty the contents when the police arrive. The police decide the alarms are defective and turn them off for the evening. As the gang are preparing to leave, a heavy downpour of rain starts to flood the sewer system and the gang are seen to struggle against a raging torrent as they are laden with spoils. Booker refuses to leave and remains in the vault hoping the water will go down before the vault is open on business hours. One of the robbers who had been injured by inhaling sewer gas earlier in the scene, Harry (

Alfred Lynch Alfred Cornelius Lynch (26 January 1931 – 16 December 2003) was an English actor on stage, film and television. Early life Lynch was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of a plumber. After attending a Catholic school, he worked in a drawing o ...

), is seen floating away and is assumed to have died. The final scenes show Booker in his own studio, when Daniels visits him to offer him another job.

Cast

Reception

The staff at ''

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'' said that the core of the plot was one of the few bright spots of the movie. Variety went on to say that the film didn't give Albert Finney and Martin Sheen a chance to show their talents, owing to the script's quality. The staff also went on to write that the film offered very little in terms of action or suspense. ''Spinning Image'' gave the film 5 out of 10 stars with the overall summary of the review being that there wasn't enough peril, that the plot of the heist was too straightforward for most people and that the ending was rushed. ''Loophole'' has a 25% rating on

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References

External links

* * * {{TCMDb title, 81805, Loophole 1981 films 1980s crime thriller films 1980s heist films British crime thriller films British heist films Films based on British novels Films scored by Lalo Schifrin 1980s English-language films 1980s British films Films with screenplays by Jonathan Hales