The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (also called The St. Louis Bank Robbery, the film title in the opening credits) is a 1959 American heist film, directed by Charles Guggenheim and starring Steve McQueen as a college dropout hired to be the getaway driver in a bank robbery. Based on a 1953 bank robbery attempt of Southwest Bank in St. Louis, the film was shot on location in 1958. It featured some of the men and women from the St. Louis Police Department, as well as local residents and bank employees, re-enacting their roles during the actual robbery attempt. Between the filming and the film's release Steve McQueen had a breakout role as Josh Randall in the TV series Wanted Dead or Alive, and gained national recognition. Plot Aging criminal mastermind John Egan decides to rob St. Louis' Southwest Bank, then use the loot to retire to Mexico with his longtime minion Willy. Their accomplice, Gino, is an ex-convict terrified of returning to prison, and wants money to pay for his defense in an upcoming criminal trial. The gang needs a driver for the getaway car. Gino recruits his sister Ann's old boyfriend, George Fowler, a former collegiate football star with no criminal history. Egan takes a liking to George, much to Willy's displeasure.