''The Brink's Job'' is a 1978 American
crime comedy drama film directed by
William Friedkin
William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in t ...
and starring
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...
,
Peter Boyle
Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. Known as a character actor, he played Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and the comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof ''Young Fra ...
,
Allen Garfield
Allen Garfield (born Allen Goorwitz; November 22, 1939 – April 7, 2020) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Garfield was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family, the son of Alice ( née Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz. He ...
,
Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...
,
Gena Rowlands
Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...
, and
Paul Sorvino
Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law.
Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
. It is based on the
Brink's robbery of 1950 in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and the book about it, ''Big Stick-Up at Brinks'' by Noel Behn, where about 2.7 million
dollars
Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...
in cash, checks, and government securities
was stolen.
The film was nominated for an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
for
Best Art Direction (
Dean Tavoularis,
Angelo P. Graham
Angelo P. Graham (1932-2017) was an American art director. He won an Oscar and was nominated for three more in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on nearly 30 films during his 30-year career.
Selected filmography
Graham won an Academy ...
,
Bruce Kay
Bruce Kay is an American set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''The Brink's Job''. Kay also won a Primetime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Art Direction for his work on t ...
and
George R. Nelson).
The film basically uses true facts (and participant names) from the case, although several actual details are omitted or elided together in order to tell a compact story within the film's running time.
[
]
Plot
Small-time Boston crook Tony Pino tries to make a name for himself. He and his five associates pull off a robbery whenever they can. Tony stumbles across the fact that the Brink's security procedures are incredibly lax. He and his gang easily rob over $100,000 in cash from a parked Brink's armored car. To find out more, Tony disguises himself as a spark plug salesman to get an inside look at Brink's large and so-called "impregnable fortress" headquarters in the city's North End. The company had been thought to have unbreachable security as a private "bank" throughout the East Coast.
Once inside, Tony realizes that Brink's is anything but a fortress and that employees treat the money "like garbage." Still wary of Brink's public image, Tony breaks in one night after casing the building. He finds that only two doors in the building are locked, and one is easily bypassed by leaping a gate. The only thing locked in the building is the vault.
Tony also realizes that despite what Brink's claims, there is only a 10-cent alarm in the vault room itself, almost impossible to set off. It appears that Brink's had relied so much on its reputation that it had not even bothered locking the doors. Pino begins to plan a robbery, using the rooftop of a neighboring building as an observation platform.
Tony and his dim brother-in-law Vinnie put together a motley gang of thieves. They include the debonair Jazz Maffie and an Iwo Jima veteran, Specs O'Keefe, who is taken on before they realize how unbalanced he is. Over the crew's objections, Pino also invites arrogant fence/liquor store owner Joe McGinnis to be in on the job.
During the evening of 17 January 1950, the gang make off with over 1.2 million dollars in cash, along with another 1.5 million in securities and checks. Brink's, a company that prides itself in the safekeeping of money, is nationally embarrassed by what the press is calling "the crime of the century." Even FBI director J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation â ...
takes a personal interest in finding the culprits, even creating a temporary FBI office in Boston to address the crime.
Law enforcement agents begin rounding up suspects. They come to the home of Tony and Mary Pino, as they often do for crimes in the area. Mary is so familiar with them by now, she makes the cops dinner. Tony is brought in for questioning, but reacts with indignation at being accused.
The crooks begin to crack, however. McGinnis infuriates them by claiming to have destroyed 50K of the money, claiming the bills could be traced. He also hangs onto the rest, defying threats by Pino and the others to hand over their shares.
Specs and another of the gang, Stanley Gusciora, go on the road to meet his "sugar doughnut" in Pittsburgh. They are picked up by Pennsylvania State Police on a burglary charge en route at Bradford, Pennsylvania and are each handed a long jail sentence, Gusciora at the Western Penitentiary-Pittsburgh. Specs grows more and more disturbed behind bars, demanding that money from his cut be sent to his ill sister. In interrogation, Specs and Stanley are pressured more each day to reveal whatever they might know about the Brink's job. Specs ultimately confesses.
One by one, the rest of the gang is apprehended, mainly by the Boston Police Department. Tony is on his way to jail in Boston and so is Vinnie, but they unexpectedly find themselves hailed as heroes by people on the street for having pulled off one of the great crimes of all time. One teen remarks to a clearly pleased Pino, "You're the greatest thief who ever lived! Nobody will ever do what you did, Tony!"
Cast
* Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...
- Tony Pino
* Peter Boyle
Peter Lawrence Boyle (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor. Known as a character actor, he played Frank Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and the comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof ''Young Fra ...
- Joe McGinnis
* Allen Garfield
Allen Garfield (born Allen Goorwitz; November 22, 1939 – April 7, 2020) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Garfield was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family, the son of Alice ( née Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz. He ...
- Vinnie Costa (as Allen Goorwitz)
* Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...
- Specs O'Keefe
* Gena Rowlands
Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...
- Mary Pino
* Paul Sorvino
Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law.
Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
- Jazz Maffie
* Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle-clas ...
- J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation â ...
* Gerard Murphy - Sandy Richardson
* Kevin O'Connor - Stanley Gusciora
* Claudia Peluso - Gladys
* Patrick Hines
Mainer Patrick Hines (March 17, 1930 in Burkeville, Texas – August 12, 1985 in Manhattan, New York) was an American actor who was probably best known for his portrayal of Kapellmeister Giuseppe Bonno in the 1984 film '' Amadeus''. He also appe ...
- H.H. Rightmire
* Malachy McCourt
Malachy Gerard McCourt (born 20 September 1931) is an American-Irish actor, writer, one-time pub owner, and politician. He was the 2006 Green Party of New York candidate for governor in New York State, losing to the Democratic candidate Eliot S ...
- Mutt Murphy
* Walter Klavun - Daniels
* Randy Jurgensen
Randy Jurgensen (born December 7, 1933) is a former American NYPD detective, best known as the lead investigator into the murder of patrolman Phil Cardillo as well as his contribution as a consultant on various film and TV projects.
Early li ...
- FBI agent
* John Brandon - FBI agent
* Robert Prosky
Robert Prosky (born Robert Joseph Porzuczek, December 13, 1930 – December 8, 2008) was an American actor. He became a well-known supporting actor in the 1980s with his roles in '' Thief'' (1981), ''Christine'' (1983), ''The Natural'' (1984), an ...
- Lineup Gallery Cop
Production
The film was developed by director John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), ''The Manchurian Candidate'' (1 ...
who then lost interest in it. Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...
then offered the project to William Friedkin who was looking for something to do after a proposed adaptation of ''Born on the Fourth of July
''Born on the Fourth of July'', published in 1976, is the best-selling autobiography by Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist. Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, and his book's ironic title echoed a famous line ...
'' with Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...
had been unable to secure finance. A script had been written but Friedkin insisted on rewriting it with Walon Green
Walon Green (born December 15, 1936) is an American documentary film director and screenwriter, for both television and film.
Career
Green produced and directed documentaries for National Geographic and David Wolper, including ''The Hellstrom Chr ...
, who had just written ''Sorcerer'' for the director.
During the production, a number of conflicts and concerns with Teamsters Union
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...
members occurred, ultimately resulting in four indictments and two convictions of Teamsters for attempts to solicit non-existent jobs.
Filming locations
The movie was filmed primarily on location in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Locations included:
* The parking garage on Prince Street in the North End and the former Brinks Headquarters, where the Brink's robbery actually took place;
* The old Boston Police Headquarters on Berkeley Street
Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, ...
(since renovated as the Loews Boston Hotel);
* Copp's Hill Terrace
Copp's Hill Terrace is an historic terrace and park between Commercial and Charter Streets west of Jackson Avenue on Copp's Hill in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts near Copp's Hill Burying Ground.
A landscaped arrangement of granite step ...
in the North End.
* An alley in the opening sequence reveals the Pilgrim Theatre (since demolished) in what was then Boston's Combat Zone, an infamous Red-light district
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...
* Gumball factory 'Colley Confectionery Co'-exterior scenes on 150 Orleans and Gove Street in East Boston (now renovated into residences). The rail lines in the film that were behind the building are gone, now the East Boston Greenway
The Mary Ellen Welch Greenway (formerly the East Boston Greenway) is a rail trail and park in East Boston that is located along the path of a former Conrail line. The greenway connects several significant open space areas in East Boston, includi ...
.
* Another shot in that sequence shows the faded sign painted on the side of the Combat Zone's Gaiety Theatre (also since demolished).
* Tony and Joe fight in Roxbury's Dudley Square station (partially demolished since).
* The New England Mutual Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...
building on Boylston Street
Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, runs through Back Bay, and e ...
in the Back Bay
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...
was used as the Boston Courthouse.
* The Old North Church
Old North Church (officially, Christ Church in the City of Boston), at 193 Salem Street, in the North End, Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related ...
is visible in several shots.
* The Custom House Tower
The Custom House Tower is a skyscraper in McKinley Square, in the Financial District neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The original building was constructed in 1837–47 and was designed by Ammi Burnham Young in the Greek Revival style. The ...
in Downtown Boston
Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The city of Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; ...
is seen one of the rooftop scenes, and its base was used as the Suffolk County Courthouse
The Suffolk County Courthouse, now formally the John Adams Courthouse, is a historic courthouse building in Pemberton Square in Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the state's highest court) and the Ma ...
in the film's final indictment sequence.
* The Traffic Box scene where Specs O'Keefe drives through Towanda, PA was filmed in Stoneham, Massachusetts
Stoneham ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, nine miles (14.5 km) north of downtown Boston. Its population was 23,244 at the 2020 census. Its proximity to major highways and public transportation offer convenient access to Bos ...
* Doyle's Cafe
Doyle's Cafe was a pub located on Washington Street in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Doyle's Cafe was established in 1882 and is located near the Samuel Adams brewery. Its close proximity to the brewery a ...
- Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...
Reception
Reviewing the film in the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'', Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
wrote, "The movie was directed by William Friedkin, best known for the violence and shock of ''The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...
'', '' The French Connection'', and '' Sorcerer''. What he exhibits here, though, is a light touch, an ability to orchestrate rich human humor with a bunch of characters who look like they were born to stand in a police lineup. Falk, playing Pino, has never been better in a movie. He gives the guy a nice, offbeat edge; Pino is a natural hustler looking for the angle in everything. ... Friedkin has great control of tone. He gives us characters who are comic and yet seem realistic enough that we share their feelings, and he gives us a movie that's funny and yet functions smoothly as a thriller. This sort of craft is sometimes hard to appreciate - ''The Brink's Job'' is so well put together that it doesn't draw attention to its direction. ... And the acting is great to savor. The characters are richly detailed, complicated, given dialog that's written with almost musical cadences."
The movie was nominated for the Best Art Direction Academy Award ( Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham
Angelo P. Graham (1932-2017) was an American art director. He won an Oscar and was nominated for three more in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on nearly 30 films during his 30-year career.
Selected filmography
Graham won an Academy ...
, George R. Nelson, and Bruce Kay
Bruce Kay is an American set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film ''The Brink's Job''. Kay also won a Primetime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Art Direction for his work on t ...
).
Friedkin later said the film "has some nice moments, despite thinly drawn characters, but it left no footprint. There's little intensity or suspense and the humour is an acquired taste. The film doesn't shout, it doesn't sing - it barely whispers". He considers ''The Brink's Job'' to be his movie that ended up the "farthest" from what he had envisioned.
Heist
In August 1978, 15 unedited reels of the film were stolen at gunpoint. While the robbers demanded a $1 million ransom, the money was never paid because the robbers, showing a distinct lack of filmmaking knowledge, had hijacked outtakes and dailies. Positive prints of negatives were being held by the Technicolor Company in New York City, so the material was replaced with no significant delay. The robbers, however, made a ransom call, which triggered an investigation by the FBI. During the ransom call, Friedkin told the robbers to "get a projector and enjoy the film; it was all theirs."[''Reader's Digest - How In The World? (p. 68)'' The Reader's Digest Association Inc. Pleasantville, NY, 1990.]
References
* Friedkin, William, ''The Friedkin Connection'', Harper Collins 2013
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinks Job, The
1978 films
1970s crime comedy films
1970s heist films
American crime comedy films
American heist films
Fictional portrayals of the Boston Police Department
Films directed by William Friedkin
Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Films scored by Richard Rodney Bennett
Films set in 1950
Films set in Boston
Films shot in Massachusetts
Crime films based on actual events
Universal Pictures films
American neo-noir films
1978 comedy films
1970s English-language films
1970s American films