The Brink's Job
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''The Brink's Job'' is a 1978 American crime comedy drama film directed by
William Friedkin William David Friedkin (; August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023) was an American film, television and opera director, producer, and screenwriter who was closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in doc ...
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 Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...
, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates,
Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...
, 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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, and the book about it, ''Big Stick-Up at Brinks'' by Noel Behn. Robbers stole $2.7 million in cash, checks, and government securities. The film was nominated for an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
for Best Art Direction (
Dean Tavoularis Dean Tavoularis (born May 18, 1932) is an American motion picture production designer whose work appeared in numerous box office hits such as ''The Godfather'' films, ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Brink's Job'', '' One from the Heart'', and '' Bo ...
, Angelo P. Graham, Bruce Kay and George R. Nelson). The film uses facts (and participant names) from the case, although several actual details are omitted or elided together in order to tell a compact story.


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 North End of Boston. 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 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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. They are picked up by Pennsylvania State Police on a burglary charge en route at
Bradford, Pennsylvania Bradford is a city in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located close to the border with New York state and approximately south of Buffalo, New York. Home to an oil refinery, Zippo headquarters and a University of Pittsburgh b ...
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 Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...
as Tony Pino * Peter Boyle as Joe McGinnis * Allen Garfield as Vinnie Costa (as Allen Goorwitz) * Warren Oates as Specs O'Keefe *
Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...
as 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 ...
as Jazz Maffie * Sheldon Leonard as J. Edgar Hoover * Gerard Murphy as Sandy Richardson * Kevin O'Connor as Stanley Gusciora * Claudia Peluso as Gladys * Patrick Hines as H. H. Rightmire * Malachy McCourt as Mutt Murphy * Walter Klavun as Daniels * Randy Jurgensen as FBI agent * John Brandon as 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 film), Thief'' (1981), ''Christine (1983 film), Chris ...
as 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 are ''Birdman of Alcatraz (film), Birdman of Alcatraz'', ''The Manc ...
who then lost interest in it. Dino De Laurentiis 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'' with
Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...
had been unable to secure finance. A script had been written but Friedkin insisted on rewriting it with Walon Green, who had just written ''Sorcerer'' for the director. During the production, a number of conflicts and concerns with Teamsters Union 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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. 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 (since renovated as the Loews Boston Hotel); * Copp's Hill Terrace 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 * 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. * 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 building on
Boylston Street Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and its western suburbs. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown, Boston, Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Public Garden (Boston) ...
in the
Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...
was used as the Boston Courthouse. * The Old North Church is visible in several shots. * The Custom House Tower in Downtown Boston is seen one of the rooftop scenes, and its base was used as the Suffolk County Courthouse 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, United States, north of downtown Boston. Its population was 23,244 at the 2020 census. Its proximity to major highways and public transportation offers convenient access to Boston and ...
* Doyle's Cafe -
Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbur ...


Reception

Reviewing the film in the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'',
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
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 from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...
'', '' 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 Dean Tavoularis (born May 18, 1932) is an American motion picture production designer whose work appeared in numerous box office hits such as ''The Godfather'' films, ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Brink's Job'', '' One from the Heart'', and '' Bo ...
, Angelo P. Graham, George R. Nelson, and Bruce Kay). 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

* * * * {{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 Films with screenplays by Walon Green Cultural depictions of J. Edgar Hoover English-language crime comedy films