Underplayed Gems

The Bold Bank Robbery (1904)

The Bold Bank Robbery poster
Original title
Bold Bank Robbery
Directed by
Jack Frawley
Genre
silent film, crime film
Country
United States
Runtime
6 min
Rating
5.7 of 10 from 7 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A group of burglars plans and carries out a bank robbery. This silent short film was inspired by the success of The Great Train Robbery and follows a simple heist narrative.

earlysilentshortsimplestraightforwardhistoricalcrime-focused

What happens

The Bold Bank Robbery is a 1904 short crime film produced and distributed by the Lubin Manufacturing Company. The silent film depicts a group of burglars who plan and execute a successful bank heist. Company employee Jack Frawley was the film's director, also coming up with the story and serving as cinematographer; the cast's identities are unknown. The silent film was the first Lubin Manufacturing Company release to feature an original narrative. The film was created after the commercial success of the Edwin S. Porter film The Great Train Robbery, and was intended to be similar to it. Released on July 30, 1904, reception was mixed. It is credited with having motivated Porter to direct the film Capture of the "Yegg" Bank Burglars. A print of the seven-minute film, which is now in the public domain, is preserved in the Library of Congress. In 2002, the film was released on DVD as part of a compilation of silent films. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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