''The Gentleman Bandit''
retitled after theatrical release as ''Gentleman B.'',
is a crime-drama film by producer-director
Jordan Alan
Jordan Alan is an American film director, producer and television commercial director.
In 1985, Alan made a 35mm film trailer starring Sandra Bullock. The trailer was screened by South African film producer Anant Singh at Technicolor in New Yo ...
released in 2002. It was based on the life story of real-life reformed thief Charles Mattera.
Plot
Brooklynite Nick and his childhood friend Manny grow up to become petty criminals. After Manny betrays him during a holdup, Nick goes to prison. Upon release, he visits his ex-girlfriend Maria in Los Angeles, where he learns the brutal, violent Manny has joined the police force and is divorced from Maria. Nick moves in with her and her 8-year-old daughter, Ally, and falls in with Maria's grandfatherly, ex-con landlord, Harry, who tries to groom Nick from his gruff ways. The two men come under police surveillance following a series of Beverly Hills bank robberies where the "gentleman bandit", as the press dubs him is a handsome, well-dressed man with a bandage on his nose.
Cast
*Charlie Mattera ... Nick Vincent
*
Peter Greene
Peter Greene (born Peter Green; October 8, 1965) is an American actor. A character actor, he is generally known for portraying villains. He is best known for the roles in the 1994 films ''The Mask'', where he plays the films antagonist, Dorian ...
... Manny Breen
*
Ed Lauter
Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ;
October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years.
Early life
Lauter was born and ...
... Harry Koslow
*
Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...
... Bank manager
*Justine Miceli ... Maria De Razio
*Kristina Malota ... Ally
*Todd Newman ... Michael
Reception
The film received generally negative reviews, with ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' saying it "plays implausibly on screen, especially since Jordan Alan has no feel for authentic texture or volatility within the crime genre",
''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' calling it "minimal entertainment with nothing to recommend it,"
[''Gentleman Bandit]
' icat Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
and ''
New Times'' finding it "
dious, poorly acted and predictable."
The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', however, called it "
very good, satisfying B picture with a lot of A virtues."
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentleman Bandit, The
2002 films
Films directed by Jordan Alan
Films scored by Larry Groupé
2000s English-language films
2002 crime drama films