The Jokers
| The Jokers | |
|---|---|
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|
| Directed by | Michael Winner |
| Produced by | Ben Arbeid Maurice Foster |
| Written by |
Dick Clement Ian La Frenais |
| Starring |
Oliver Reed Michael Crawford Harry Andrews Michael Hordern Gabriella Licudi |
| Music by | Johnny Pearson |
| Cinematography | Ken Hodges |
| Edited by | Bernard Gribble |
| Distributed by |
Rank (UK) Universal Pictures (USA) |
|
Release date
|
15 May 1967 |
|
Running time
|
94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Jokers is a 1967 comedy film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Michael Winner. The film stars Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed as brothers who hatch a plot to steal the Crown Jewels.
Very much of its time - "Swinging London" - the film makes great use of London locations. Included was a short sequence of Jezebel, a 1916 Dennis N-Type fire engine that is still owned and run by the Royal College of Science Union at Imperial College London.
Michael Tremayne is booted out of Sandhurst. He and his brother David want to do something "big". They decide to do a crime as a "grand gesture". The brothers take Inge, David's new inamorata, on a tour of London, including the Tower of London. At a dinner party they learn that you cannot be charged with theft unless you intend to permanently deprive the owner of their property. David proposes stealing the crown jewels and sending letters out beforehand, showing they aren’t intending to permanently deprive. Michael is somewhat jealous of David, as David is considered the ‘good’ son and him the ‘bad’ son. They write and deliver the letters. They plant a bomb at the Albert Memorial and observe the police procedure. Next they put a bomb at the lion cage at the London zoo. Then they blow up a ladies lavatory. David gets a laser. They put a bomb at the stock exchange and David goes to the army base, and using a tape recorder records the procedures.
Finally the day comes. Michael goes to the jewel room in the Tower and hides a bomb there. David and Michael go to the base and tie up the duty officer. They take the place of the bomb disposal expert and his assistant. They ride with the army to the Tower. The pair go into the bomb room and knock out the rather silly Colonel who went in with them and who commands the army base. David and Michael have had the alarms turned off, due to the danger of "vibration", and use the laser to cut into the cabinets and steal the Crown Jewels. The pair set off a small bomb and a smoke bomb. They stagger out pretending to be hurt, then escape from the ambulance taking them to hospital along with the jewels.
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Wikipedia