The Brink's Job

Name: The Brink's Job
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Released: 1978-12-08
Duration: 1 h 44 min
Rating: 6.5
Cast: Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands

The robbery nobody thought could happen by the guys nobody thought could pull it off.

The Brink's Job (1978)

1:44 (104 min)

Comedy, Crime

United States

6.5/10
4 604

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no scores

6.2/10
73

6.5/10
3900

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All about film

Photo 16

Actors and characters

Photo 16

Production

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Release date

8 December 1978

Director

William Friedkin

Scenario

Walon Green

Composer

Richard Rodney Bennett

Producer

Ralph B. Serpe

Actors

Tony Pino

Joe McGinnis

Vinnie Costa

Specs O'Keefe

Mary Pino

Jazz Maffie

J. Edgar Hoover

Kevin O'Connor

Stanley Gusciora

All actors and roles (10)

Short description

In 1950, a group of unlikely criminal masterminds commits the robbery of the century. Led by Tony Pino, a petty thief fresh out of prison, and Joe McGinnis, who specializes in planning lucrative capers, the gang robs Brink's main office in Boston of more than $2 million. However, things begin to go awry when the FBI gets involved, the cops start cracking down on the gang and McGinnis refuses to hand over the loot...

What's left behind the scenes

While filming the scene after the heist, where the main characters start fooling around with the loot in a garage, director William Friedkin was unhappy with the appearance of the fake prop money. The film's producer, Dino De Laurentiis (1919-2010), immediately wrote a check for approximately $700,000 and ordered the full amount in $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills. The money was delivered to the set in armored Brink's bank vans, and the scene was filmed using real currency.
The plot is based on the 1950 Brink's bank robbery in Boston, where $2,700,000 was stolen. Some of the robbers served as consultants during the production of the film.
The actual Brink's bank robbery was an almost absolute success, and the robbers were only 11 days away from the statute of limitations expiring; however, on January 5, 1956, one of them (O'Keefe) leaked everything to FBI agents while in prison, six years after the heist had been committed.
In August 1978, fifteen reels of unedited footage were stolen from a studio in Boston, with the criminals threatening crew members with firearms. Fortunately, the stolen reels mostly contained material that was relatively easy to replace, as the positives were stored in New York. The robbers demanded $600,000 in ransom, but were refused. Work on the film was completed on schedule—even without the missing footage. When the robbers called the studio demanding the ransom, director William Friedkin advised them to buy a projector instead and watch the movie (referring to the footage on the stolen reels).
During filming in Boston, a local resident was asked to remove an air conditioner from their window so the filmmakers could shoot a particular scene on that street. The resident was paid for the inconvenience. When the crew returned to the same street the next day, air conditioners had been installed in every window within sight.