Nebbishy bank clerk Richard Smedley (a solid and likable performance by Paul Sands) decides to test the system by embezzling over $100,000 thousand dollars from the small town Pewter Bank & Trust. A trio of corrupt bank officials -- nervous president Manny Benchley (a sturdy portrayal by Richard Basehart), reluctant book keeper Julius Taggert (a fine Ned Beatty), and cagey old coot Jack Stutz (a marvelously sly turn by Burgess Meredith) -- discover what Richard has done, but decide to cover it up by staging a fake robbery and taking an additional one hundred grand for themselves while they're at it. Writer/director Joseph Jacoby relates the amusing story at a laid-back, but steady pace, ably mines a satisfying line in pleasant low-key humor, nicely captures the sleepy nature of homey heartland America, and delivers a good deal of spot-on social commentary on how the allure of easily available money can lead even the most respectable law-biding citizens and pillars of the community astray. The sound acting from the tip-top cast helps a lot: Basehart, Beatty, and especially Meredith all excel in their roles, Sands makes for an engaging lead, plus there are praiseworthy contributions from Charlene Dallas as shrewd and sexy blackmailer Cathy Bonano, Michael Murphy as the shrewd Reverend Everett Manigma, and yummy blonde Constance Forshund as brash and on the make opportunist Patricia Allison Potter. A delightfully playful sense of cynicism and irony gives this picture an extra boost; the embezzler winds up being the only truly honest character in the whole movie and even the local priest wants a piece of the action. Walter Lassally's bright cinematography gives the film a pleasing bright look. Arthur B. Rubinstein's sprightly score likewise does the trick. An enjoyable romp.
Review of The Great Bank Hoax
