''The Great Bank Hoax'' is a 1978 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by Joseph Jacoby. The film stars

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knight ...

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in ...

Charlene Dallas Charlene Diane Dallas (born April 13, 1947) is a former beauty queen contestant who was Miss California for 1966, as well as first runner-up to Miss America for 1967. Early life and education Dallas is from Danville in Contra Costa County, Califo ...

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer o ...

Paul Sand Paul Sand (born March 5, 1932) is an American actor and comedian. Background Sand was born Pablo Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, in 1932, the son of Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer, and Sonia Borodiansky (aka Sonia Stone) ...

and

Constance Forslund Constance Forslund (born June 19, 1950) is an American actress whose performances include a revival of Clare Boothe Luce's '' The Women'' on Broadway and the films ''The Way We Were'' and ''The Great Bank Hoax''. Career In television movies, ...

Plot

There's intrigue and deception at a small-town bank when it is discovered that an unsuspected employee (Paul Sand) has embezzled $100,000.00 while acting as chief clerk. Fearing the public scandal could lead to the collapse of the bank despite the insurance coverage, bank officers Jack Stutz (Burgess Meredith) and Manny Benchly (Richard Basehart) decide to hide the theft in a seemingly clever plot that will make them even more money. However, when word of the crime gets out, the whole community becomes outraged and gets involved, resulting in plenty of trouble.

Cast

as Manny Benchly *

as Julius Taggart *

as Cathy Bonano *

as Jack Stutz *

as Reverend Everett Manigma *

as Richard Smedley *

as Patricia Allison Potter *

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

as Major William Bryer Ret. *

John C. Becher John C. Becher (15 January 1915 – 20 September 1986) was an American stage and television actor. He made his professional debut in 1946 at the McCarter Theatre. Life and career Becher was born on 15 January 1915 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to p ...

as Alex Kaiser *Guy Le Bow as The Sheriff *John Lefkowitz as Deputy Bert *

Bibi Osterwald Margaret Virginia "Bibi" Osterwald (February 3, 1920 – January 2, 2002) was an American actress. Life and career Osterwald was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the daughter of Dagmar (Kvastad) and Rudolf August Osterwald, a hotel owne ...

as Sara Pennyworth *Alek Primrose as Rev. De Verite *Martha Sherrill as Louise Farthington *Roy Tatum as Deputy Jason

Production

The film was financed by Georgia investors and filmed in

Madison, Georgia Madison is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke-Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area. The population was 3,979 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County and the si ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

picked the film up for US distribution. It was previously known as ''Remember Those Poker-Playing Monkeys'' and ''Shenanigans''.

Release

The film was screened at the 1977 Deauville American Film Festival and the Virgin Islands Film Festival. Its premiere was in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

under the title ''The Great Georgia Bank Hoax''.

References

External links

* 1978 films 1970s crime comedy films American crime comedy films American heist films American satirical films Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) Films scored by Arthur B. Rubinstein Warner Bros. films 1978 comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{1970s-comedy-film-stub