great bookie robbery
the great bookie robbery was a crime committed in melbourne, australia on 21 april 1976 .
police use the victorian club to display the types of weapons used in the great bookie robbery .
as no - one was ever jailed or convicted, the great bookie robbery remains technically an unsolved crime .
no - one was ever jailed or convicted for the great bookie robbery so it remains technically an unsolved crime .
in this case, the true story is what is commonly called the great bookie robbery, which has its own wiki here .
police corruption hampers the search for donald mackay; terry clarke is betrayed by a lieutenant; ray chuck plots the great bookie robbery .
smart and personable, he was a member of the famed “kangaroo gang” in europe and famously planned the great bookie robbery of april 1976 while in jail in britain .
he went on to feature in kings, the great bookie robbery, the dirtwater dynasty, inside running, gp, tracks of glory, heartbreak high and above the law .
well, there weere some tv series: “the great bookie robbery” and “underbelly 2: a tale of two cities”, thouigh i cannot vouch for the accuracy of the latter .
the great bookie robbery is a very good movie and i would recommend it to anyone who is interested in is type of film. the acting was really good and realistic .
gary sweet, who rose to fame in the 1980s after appearing on miniseries bodyline, recently posted a snap from a magazine cover he did for the tv movie the great bookie robbery .
anti - drugs campaigner donald mackay makes deadly enemies with the griffith mafia and corrupt nsw police. melbourne crim ray chuck plans australia' s most audacious heist - the great bookie robbery .
the wiki notes the tv mini - series the great bookie robbery as one product of the crime - with lee acting as a consultant to the production - but it doesn' t mention the telemovie version .
ray ‘chuck’ bennett was the mastermind behind the robbery and now his son mark has written a book the great bookie robbery about it all. part true crime and part family biography, the book sheds new light on one of the most mysterious armed robberies in australian history .
greed and jealousy soon divided melbourne' s underworld with bennett coming up against feared thugs brian and les kane, who demanded a slice of the great bookie robbery pie. punches, then bullets, flew and all would die badly .
aftermath: a then record $ 170, 000 reward did nothing to flush out information. norman leung
chops
lee, the only man charged over the great bookie robbery, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. in 1992 he was killed by police in a botched robbery at melbourne airport .
the great bookie robbery of 1976 is one of the most notorious armed robberies australia has ever known. it is also one of the most intriguing, with facts blurring together with wild rumours to make it even more legendary as time passed .
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rip. coincidentally i started watching water rats again from the beginning over the weekend. great actor !
discerning ozmovie cultists will probably try to get hold of the mini - series the great bookie robbery first - it was released by umbrella on a two disc set and can be found in their catalogue here - and is a much better bit of television when it comes to re - enacting the caper .
bennett was the man behind the “great bookie robbery” of april 21, 1976. the crime netted him almost $ 3 million and made him the envy of the underworld. bennett was shot at close range as he was being transferred from a holding cell to the magistrates court. the gunman escaped in the ensuing chaos .
live at london eleven is a licenced venue in bayswater that features a variety of great live music every. .
how much cash could you stuff into 118 pillow - case sized calico bags? six million dollars? twelve? hard to say but probably a lot more than the $ 1. 34 million initially reported stolen after six masked gunmen stormed melbourne' s victorian club in 1976 in what quickly became known as the great bookie robbery .
you had it first hand in britain. arthur and his gang robbed the fuck out of england. the same gang that was responsible for the bookie robbery along with the victorian police and commissioners, the kangaroo gang .
oh that is so sad. i watched just us recently, and he was great in it. rip scott 🙁
in the mid 1970s, kiwi charmer terry clark and
aussie
bob trimbole form a deadly alliance that will change the face of australian crime forever. anti - drugs campaigner donald mackay makes deadly enemies with the mafia and corrupt nsw police. meanwhile, melbourne crim ray chuck plans australia' s most audacious heist - the great bookie robbery .
' based on the brutal robbery that fascinated australia, the great bookie robbery is an effective true crime yarn. after snagging millions in untraceable cash, the gang turn on each other ferociously. if you can get past the very dated - looking quality of the dvd, then this is a tight, gritty crime drama.' 7 / 10 dvd monthly - - dvd monthly in britain we had the great train robbery, in australia they had the great bookie robbery, when in 1976 gunmen held up club members and got away with over several million dollars (australian that is !). this mini series came out in oz in 1986 and stars many familiar faces, including ray meagher (alf in home and away) and john bach (lord of the rings). it is gritty and gutsy and those australian accents add to the drama of it all. it is refreshing to experience something different and the true life aspect makes it better still. well worth the purchase. (frombumptogrump. co. uk) urltoken
due to the overwhelming ratings enjoyed by roots in both the united states and australia (it’s among the top 10 all - time most watched programs on australian tv), the miniseries enjoyed a decade in vogue. australia produced more than 100 miniseries, including east of eden, the dismissal, bodyline, vietnam, a town like alice and the great bookie robbery .
that' s a great idea for u3, as long as someone other than nine, seven or teen win the contract .
it had doubts about it but it turned out to be one of the best australian series i' ve ever seen. it was great .
inspired to watch blue murder again this afternoon. awesome television. would have been great if they' d dragged it out to 10 episodes .
already big - time gangsters with a string of armed robberies to their names, norman and ray branched out after the bookie robbery. they became involved in heists and drug trafficking in the us, manila, china and colombia, in part because police were watching the account in england so they couldn’t touch their stolen cash .
in the late 80s the bookie robbery was televised as a three part mini series on british tv. the part which was believed to be ray chuck bennett was a character called mike power which was played by the excellent high calibre actor john bach. the series was very watchable and gave an insight into crime in australia .
saw westaway in the loo after a sydney swans game a while back and raved how great phoenix was, he nodded and made a quick exit... . .
“it could be argued that the robbery hastened the inevitable exposure of the greed and deceit practised by many bookmakers, ” he said .
mark was only five years old at the time of the robbery, but it was something that affected his family for decades to come .
the great bookie robbery is a compelling essay in crime, violence and robbery. its the true story of australias most daring heist. on 21 april 1976, gunmen held up more than 50 members of melbourne s venerable victorian club, escaping with several million dollars in untraceable cash. the robbery had been so brilliantly planned and executed that police were left without a single clue and so strict was the robbers code of silence that not even the underworld was aware of their identities. the heist was so daring, so clean, that it earned the admiration of law - abiding australians... and compliments from the victims themselves. starring john bach (madril in the lord of the rings) and ray meagher (alf in home and away) its a story of cunning, loyalty, fear, brutality and death !
it was the biggest armed robbery in australian history, with gangsters grabbing $ 8. 5 million. now the mastermind’s son tells his story .
mark believes the famous robbery changed melbourne society for good. one thing’s for sure: no crime quite like this will ever take place again .
norman lee: the only member of the gang ever charged with the robbery. he was acquitted on a lack of evidence. shot dead by police during another armed robbery attempt at melbourne airport in 1992. it’s from lee’s lawyer, phillip dunn, that we know much of the detail regarding the robbery. with all of the assailants were either confirmed or believed dead, he eventually publicly disclosed what he knew of the heist .
“a lot of people were affected or involved in it. there’s been so many things written about this robbery... half of them fabricated .
curiously, it is another robbery (monday on channel 10) which represents the finest flowering of the tax concession scheme during last year' s final boom. the robbery in both cases, of course, refers to that committed by the producers upon the australian taxation department and in turn the australian taxpayer…
the film. actors so good u start to beleve its the actors who did do it. . true story. best robbery film out there. . good
bruce beresford' s money movers also features a similar caper, though it' s related to another crime, the robbery of an armoured car counting house .
“they were rorting the system with undeclared cash and the tax department was investigating the bookmakers over their statements to the police while being interviewed over the armed robbery. ”
i remember scott from 1915 with the other scott. two leads. scott burgess and scott mcgregor. two great young actors in a memorable mini series. a tragic life story for scott burgess. gone too soon
here the bookie asks the dog owner whether he is ready to start and the owner affirms. then follows the cut to the audience, very clearly audible. now follows a long camera pan over the cheering audience, including the owner encouraging his dog. normally a cut to the dog would follow here but, accompanied again by a very audible jumpcut, a long shot of the audience is shown. the bookie announces the end of the fight and the owner is disappointed that his dog was not able to kill every rat. sean connery is now seen behind the owner. the bookie orders his assistants to get the dogs out of the arena. the assistant grabbing the dog is missing again but in the background we can hear the rats squeaking .
“to get away with the biggest robbery in australian history is a pretty good effort. the place was going to go off, it was just a matter of when .
the ‘great bookie robbery’ as it has since been called was truly a stellar theft, and sent massive shockwaves through the australian criminal community. it would appear to the layman that after having such a payday, a crook like ray bennett would not have another worry for the rest of his days – quite untrue. just because bennett was never charged or convicted of the theft doesn’t mean no - one knew he was responsible; on both sides of the law. ray bennett’s life was from this point on a constant struggle to fend off a barrage of wannabe standover men and wised - up crooked cops always wanting to claim a piece of the ajc pie .
the golden rule is never to blame the cast. working actors must do what working actors must do, and the eclectic casting for robbery provides an interesting juxtaposition of actors .
after pulling the then massive $ 1. 4million robbery with a handpicked gang, bennett and his accomplices were hunted by rival gangsters, including the kane brothers, brian and les .
it was the biggest armed robbery in australian history and the breathtakingly audacious heist made headlines around the world. but the truth about what happened that day was mired in secrecy for years .
son of gangster reveals how his dad stole $ 14 million from bookies in a robbery and got away with it for years... until corrupt police organised to have him shot dead
‘but at the time ray was in remand for two charges – a minor gun charge, and an armed robbery on the bond weaving mill in yarraville, stealing a $ 70, 000 .
i know murphy was in the police court car park because i saw him having a get together with maltese charlie and another detective just beforehand on that day. as the gunman ran through the door, murphy locked the door and when police went around the other way, murphy was the only person there. at the time murphy was retired and all dressed up looking like a faggot in tight black leather pants and jacket. i can also guarantee you brian kane didn’t kill him, it was organized by murphy and another great bookie robber who has never been mentioned. this guy is a govt hit - man who kept all the bookie robbery money along with dennis smith, murphy and a couple of police commissioners of that era. mr winchester is also a victim of this gang along with the rest of the kangaroo gang. the only killing this lot didn’t organize was ian carrol. the hit - man also killed lots of dockies in the early 70s as revenge killings for the frog. he is still alive like murphy and lives among us. none of this shit will ever be solved because they are all decorated officers, many of them with queens honors. after the bookie robbery the gang all got tickets for a trip to noumea. the tickets had to be picked up from ronald biggs house down the beach in melbourne where he was staying with his wife. for fuck sake as if the govt weren’t hiding him because the govt were ripping of millions with this gang all over the world .
comparison between the european dvd and an uncut tv recording. director and screenwriter michael crichton adapted his own novel about the first
great train robbery
1855 in a very suspenseful as well as humorous way. for the dvd release, unfortunately, 32 seconds containing a dog fighting against rats have been edited so the dog is never really seen fighting the rats. instead, only the audience' s reaction is shown. due to animal violence the film had to be cut in great britain. mgm, as always, then released the same dvd not only in great britain but also in other european countries, so that there to only the cut version was available, although said scenes do not offend any laws in those countries. european dvd: 1: 45: 29 min. incl. ending credits uncut version: 1: 46: 36 min. incl. ending credits cut scenes: 1 running time of the cut scene: 32 sec .
the criminal world knew the true amount and who was behind the audacious robbery though. bennett soon became the target of other nasty underworld figures and corrupt police who all demanded part of the huge haul .
that was my understanding. the kanes were standover men who found out who committed the robbery and demanded a cut of the take. like chopper read standing over drug dealers and massage parlours, really .
really enjoyed this aussie drama of the robbery and held the tension through to the end. good script, good acting and well worth watching but my criticism is that the dvd qaulity is ...
that said, completists will want to see the telemovie version of the counting house robbery, if only to see the cast work hard and do their best up against a cliched script and leaden direction .
however, flashback entertainment later released the film on dvd. while it' s no great shakes as an image, being inclined to softness and lack of richness in the colours, it' s not bad, and is certainly much better than the vhs release .
available on dvd through urltoken buy it here: http: / / urltoken / p - 1691 -... exclusive to australia! on 21st april 1976, gunmen held up more than 50 members of melbourne' s venerable victorian club, escaping with several million dollars in untraceable cash. the robbery had been so brilliantly planned and executed that police were left without a single clue - and so strict was the robbers' code of silence that not even the underworld was aware of their identities. the robbery was so daring, so clean, that it earned the admiration of law - abiding australians... and compliments from the victims themselves. the great bookie robbery is a compelling essay in crime, violence and robbery. it' s a story of cunning, loyalty, fear, brutality and death. boasting a cast that includes john bach, gary sweet, bruno lawrence, gary day, rebecca gibney, candy raymond and ray meagher, it is also the toughest of crime dramas - boasting a drive, grittiness and ferocity seldom seen on australian screens .
the melbourne landscape of wet suburban streets, city skyscrapers, passing trams, cobbled lane ways and sleazy shopfronts has never looked better - and the impression of a mean, tough, merciless universe is more than reinforced by the driving complex narrative and the excellent playing of the principals .
moran' s guide to australian tv series
‘and it wasn’t just the bookmakers that were corrupt – police, politicians and the horse racing world were corrupt too. unfortunately in the aftermath of the robbery it was my father that copped the brunt of it. ’
different figures have been thrown around, but it is widely thought that the gang were able to steal $ 14 million million – a massive sum for 1976. it was the biggest robbery in australian history at the time .
‘it was about three years since ray, norman lee (mark' s uncle) and the rest of their crew had pulled off the robbery and were continuing to avoid the police and the media,' mark said .
aussie bob trimbole, but the lack of a roxburgh / rogerson or martin / smith means this will never be considered a great piece of television. it will most likely be remembered, if it is remembered at all, as a semi - accurate docudrama, with some adequate acting and accents .
' he was pretty feared at the time. he was one of australia’s most hardcore criminals and spent a lot of time in jail. but he was also intelligent and had to be to plan a robbery of this kind. ’
on 21st april 1976, gunmen held up more than 50 members of melbourne’s venerable victorian club, escaping with several million dollars in untraceable cash. the robbery had been so brilliantly planned and executed that police were left without a single clue – and so strict was the robbers’ code of silence that not even the underworld was aware of their identities. the robbery was so daring, so clean, that it earned the admiration of law - abiding australians…and compliments from the victims themselves .
the kane brothers and ray chuck engage in a violent turf war following an armed robbery; terry and bob fear the violence on the street will be bad for the heroin trade; judi kane fights to protect her children from a dire threat .
i' m in victoria but got the boxset from another state. it had doubts about it but it turned out to be one of the best australian series i' ve ever seen. it was great. i' m really looking forward to the 2nd season. i' ll get it on dvd too .
‘at the time the victorian bookies were crooked and corrupt. this kind of robbery was going to take place sooner or later. it was only a matter of time whether my father did it or someone else did, ’ mark told daily mail australia .
the crew had rented an office in the building a few months earlier, from which they planned the robbery and staked out the eventual crime scene, even (according to some legends) running full dress rehearsals whilst the building was empty on public holidays .
while not almost as good as blue murder, it' s still a unsawnoff shottie' s length ahead of underbelly 2. john bach (who would have made a great wyatt from the gary disher crime series), bruno lawrence and george spartels in particular are fantastic and it even comes with more weird gary sweet hairstylings .
ray and norman were major players in melbourne’s criminal underworld. the fallout from the legendary robbery reverberated through the city for years afterwards. both were put under heavy police surveillance and eventually killed — mastermind ray three years after the notorious crime, and norman in 1992 .
why is all the evidence missing from these cases? they lost an immaculate xy falcon from the bookie robbery that was left on the ramp at queen st. no need for victoria’s cold case squad. all dna samples have been contaminated, switched or lost. they must all be standing in an empty building, probably playing indoor cricket. they have removed many photo off the net including the photo of the xy at the rear of queen st and les kane photo because of the ring he wore. they have also switched a note that was left in a cash tin at queen st and put it with the evidence of a single bookie who was robbed and had his money returned. imagine living in fear of being caught all your life as a cop or a robber, the fear must be the same for them all. they might of had a bit of money but i can tell you they are all angry old men now in their 70s of the few that are left and they are still very dangerous. also the officers that were wondering why murphy was at the watch house tampering with the prison book, i can answer for you. he was changing callaghan s release date a week forward so he got away with it scott free. they gave brian 1m and the robbery was done on the day he was released .
for the $ 865, 000 they (or to be more exact, mostly we) spent on robbery, the abc' s excellent beatbox could survive for a year … (for the rest of glover' s review, see this site' s opinion section) .
among them, “ performance ” (which has gangsters in it without ever quite being a gangster film), mike hodges ‘ “ croupier ” follow - up “ i’ll sleep when i’m dead, ” decent jason statham vehicle “ the bank job, ” david cronenberg ‘s “ eastern promises, ” j blakeson ‘s “ disappearance of alice creed, ” antonia bird ‘s underrated “ face, ” michael crichton ‘s period piece “ the first great train robbery, ” stephen frears ‘ debut “ gumshoe, ” biopic “ the krays, ” paul andrew williams ‘ “ london to brighton, ” and danny boyle ‘s debut “ shallow grave. ”
‘the information was incriminating for a wide variety of officials. i do have to admire him (ray bennett) to an extent although he was always involved in the criminal world. he was the man behind the biggest robbery in australia. it was well planned and executed. ’
aside from film and television acting, a great deal of tony' s time has gone into creating shows of his own, for venues, ranging from sporting clubs to concert halls. tony regularly calls on his repertoire of comic characters, as seen in one man shows performed at' melbourne' s last laugh', and the universal and the palais theatres .
the bookie orders his assistants to bring the rats out and warns him to not let anything happen to them. the rats are let into the arena, running around squeaking. the assistants step back, carrying the now empty cages. from the rats perspective we see the dog and his owner, letting the dog into the arena. the dog starts killing the rats and is brought out of the arena again after the fight .
in 1978, ray and members of his crime syndicate gunned down leslie kane at his home after the family openly challenged him. leslie’s wife claimed she could identify ray, although he was masked, and he was arrested for the murder and a recent $ 70, 000 weaving mill robbery .
live in victoria and got the box sent to me as a bday present. had watched most of it previously too. love the show, really looking forward to tonights aswell. i dont think it will be as good considering i think its based more in sydney, and that season 1 was so great as i could remember reading about it and hearing about it in the news .
but in a twist that was as outlandish as the robbery itself while being escorted by police from the holding cells to melbourne magistrates' court, following an arrested on an minor charge in 1979, ray bennett was taken up a flight of stairs into the path of a man disguised as a barrister .
melbourne standover men brian and les kane have ventured into unfamiliar heroin territory in providing protection for bob trimbole' s melbourne dealers. but things turn sour when dealer wayne robb is robbed of $ 200, 000 hard cash, on the kane' s turf. the kane' s suspect it was vinnie mikkelsen and laurie prendergast, two of ray chuck' s mates from the great bookie robbery. terry clark' s not happy to learn he' s been ripped off, and puts pressure on bob trimbole to sort out distribution problems in melbourne. but the kane brothers need little prompting from aussie bob solve the crime. les kane sees the robbery as a sign that ray chuck and his mates are muscling in on the kane' s turf. he wants to take instant revenge. his calmer, cannier brother brian urges a more restrained and strategic response. brian' s advice falls on deaf ears. but les' s attempts to muscle ray chuck backfire when les is on the receiving end of a nasty pistol whipping. enraged, and determined to stand up for his feisty brother, brian confronts vinnie and ray. the end result is that brian loses an ear between mikkelsen' s teeth. it' s an insult that brian cannot tolerate. brian vows deadly revenge on ray chuck, and sets in train a deadly gangland war. melbourne is not big enough for both the kanes and ray chuck. before long, one of them will be dead .
it was to change the nation. one of the biggest misconceptions about the robbery was how much was actually stolen. the 118 bookies whose money was taken claimed just $ 1. 5 million had vanished, to cover up their “shifty deals”, writes mark. the police and tax department were on to them .
sullivan tells pearson to make one last contact with jenkins, who' s told her he' s working for an insurance company on a robbery and has got a lead. he says he' s pulling her out of the dangerous situation - it' s an order - but tonight they might just get lucky .
peter malone: ... in view of what you were saying about your other films, your emphasis on feeling and on the visual, drawing the audience into that experience rather than just simply focusing on or eliciting an analysis of the content. is this true of your television, harvest of hate and the robbery ?
ray bennett’s life will probably be remembered for two main reasons: the now infamous ajc club robbery in 1976, and his dramatic and controversial slaying in front of a melbourne courthouse. the two incidents are etched into australian criminal folklore, and are undoubtedly linked as part of the complex and intriguing fabric that made up bennett’s life .
les kane: violent standover man and well - known member of the melbourne underworld. thought to have demanded a larger slice of the proceeds from bennet after the robbery. reputedly murdered by bennet and others after his demands became more and more violent, his body was never found, and nobody was ever convicted of his murder .
dale then turned to other activities, writing opinion pieces for the press, writing the script for robbery, but most notably writing in 1985 ascent to power: wran and the media, a much referenced study of the interaction between politics and the media in australia - for more details of this work, see its trove listing here .
also worth a look is the abc early 90' s series phoenix. more from the cops side and far less violent than bm or ub but a great depiction of the melbourne criminal underbelly. super performances by sean scully (as a forensic guy called goose - brilliant), simon westaway and paul sonkilla amongst others. morphed into janus which wasn' t as gripping. abc or foxtel need to dust phoenix off the shelf .
brian dale attracted plenty of media attention as the press secretary for nsw labor leader of the opposition and then premier neville
nifty
wran - one of the lines in robbery that acts as an in - joke says
all politicians are bastards
, and there are a number of lines about the
political masters
making life hard for the police .
australia in the 1970s. the crime scene is on the move. forget armed robbery and marijuana. australia is about to embrace the hard stuff - heroin. leading the charge are two men in new south wales: aussie bob trimbole, from the town of griffith, and kiwi terry clark, a sydney - based charmer with a twinkle in his eye and a big dream. down melbourne way, the crime world is yet to catch up. the crims in that city are led by brothers brian and les kane, hard men from the notorious painters and dockers trade union. the kane brothers are old - school crims who don’t realise that times are changing. they’re more concerned with protecting their own turf than branching out. right now, their main concern is freshly released jailbird ray chuck. specifically, they want a cut from his audacious multi - million dollar heist, the great bookie robbery. by not giving the kanes a slice of the proceeds, chuck upsets the melbourne crime hierarchy and triggers a deadly underworld war. one man who does understand the changing times is furniture shop owner and nsw political candidate don mackay. mackay has spent much energy trying to clean up his home town of griffith, nsw and is furniture shop owner and nsw political candidate don mackay. mackay has spent much energy trying to clean up his home town of griffith, nsw and is beginning to make inroads, much to the chagrin of trimbole and his mates. if trimbole' s venture into the drug trade is ever going to work, mackay has to be taken out of the picture. so trimbole makes sure of it. and he makes sure his corrupt friends in the nsw police are sympathetic to his situation. in so doing, he changes the course of australian history .
hi i’m one of the 4 children my father scott burgess had i would like to thank you for the unconditional support that everyone has given it really has meant a lot, and for the stuff that happened in 2008 it was all put to rest a long time ago. dad and i had a great bond and knew that everyone loved him very much. dad passed in our loving arm on the 6 of may 2016 i will miss dad forever. you will never be forgotten
the thieves quickly took control of the room, taking everybody hostage. two men kept the room at gunpoint, whilst the remaining four broke into the padlocked cash boxes with bolt cutters and transferred the loot into large calico bags. in terms of armed robbery, it was extremely efficient – the whole thing was over in under 10 minutes, with no perpetrators or hostages injured .
robbery has been extremely successful internationally. i mean, it was made for 2 / 6 - that was at a time when you could get much more interesting projects through the television system here than you can now. i' m pleased with robbery. it' s a film noir that people didn' t understand here as a film noir. its basic theme is the revenge of the underclass and what the french would call the petit bourgeoisie, and what we might here call the lower middle class who are led by a disgruntled leader. it' s a kind of revenge film noir thing, and because it' s in 4 to 3, 133 to 1, it' s made for television and that means the framing' s exactly right. so i think it stands up rather well, actually .
it took until mark lee bennett was 29 for him to fully understand how he was mixed up in the murky business. as he threw himself into researching the fascinating history, his mother revealed he was ray’s son from an affair and he learnt his father had put $ 6 million from the robbery in an account in his name in england. mark, now a butcher, grew up with undercover police watching him in the playground .
tony has also played opposite a number of notable actors including oliver reed and amanda donohue in the nicholas roeg movie, castaway, jack thompson, warren mitchell and greta scacchi in waterfront and in his first lead role beside the late john hargreaves in the tele - feature, the great gold swindle, to name a few. his latest feature film ventures include: dogwoman with magda szubanski along with a cameo appearance opposite jimoein in the craic. tony’s most recent movie credit was this year on the u. s. telemovie, nightmares and dreamscapes, where he played roy orbison .
if they surface, the army' ll take care of them, in the same way that they took care of webster. the bookies can take care of themselves. nobody' s got any sympathy for them. we just drop it, keeping the robbery investigation going for appearances' sake only, until the next bit of slime crawls out of the shit to replace webster. so, you lose a few and … you lose a few …
the
precision job
stunned the city' s biggest bookmakers as they settled accounts after a particularly big easter' s racing. today, $ 1. 34 million doesn' t sound that impressive - and the bookies talked down their losses, presumably fearing another invasion by tax officers - but then it was australia' s biggest robbery. a club history suggests the booty was $ 6 - $ 12 million. underworld scuttlebutt put it as high as $ 15 million .
bennett migrated to england in the 1960’s, having graduated to become a rather skilled and organised burglar. his reputation preceded him in the mother - country, and upon his arrival he was approached by the ‘kangaroo gang’; a group of aussie ex - pats who run an organised crime and theft syndicate. bennett declines their advances however, preferring to work alone. after spending a brief spell in an english prison for armed robbery, bennett returns home to australia to plan his greatest criminal accomplishment .
there’s also a selection of films that have a good reputation, but are harder to track down these days. they include “ they drive by night, ” “ dancing with crime, ” “ noose, ” “ they made me a fugitive, ” “ the criminal, ”” payroll, ” “ the league of gentlemen, ” “ jigsaw, ” “ loophole, ” “ robbery, ” “ sapphire ” and “ villain. ” and we’re sure we’ve forgotten at least one key one — feel free to remind us in the comments section .
“the ladykillers” (1955) considered the last of the great ealing comedies, “ the ladykillers ” follows a gang of criminals as they disguise themselves as musicians to rent a flat from an octogenarian in order to plan a robbery and hilarity ensues as the scheme unravels ending with their little old landlady having all of the loot. alec guinness plays the criminal mastermind “professor” marcus with dastardly teeth and a mind just as eccentrically twisted. the professor’s gang is rounded out by the major (cecil parker), a young cockney rogue harry (peter sellers), a kindly ex - boxer ‘one - round’ (danny green), and a menacing louis (herbert lom). this quintet faces off against indomitable mrs. wilberforce played by 77 year - old katie johnson. as mrs. wilberforce inadvertently thwarts each step of the gang’s scheme, professor marcus becomes even more unhinged and eventually each of the gangsters meets a ghastly demise. mrs. w ends up with all of their ill - gotten gains and the police won’t take the money back as they don’t believe her outlandish story. if you’re thinking, “who could have dreamt up that plot? ” it was william rose, who claimed to have dreamt the entire film and merely had to remember it to write the bafta - winning and oscar - nominated screenplay. “the ladykillers” marked director alexander mackendrick ’s last british film; he went on to direct the hollywood noir classic “ sweet smell of success ”. the film was remade in 2004 and even the coen brothers couldn’t recapture the original’s spark, it didn’t help that they turned the professor into a southern dandy (tom hanks) and the robbery into a casino heist. number 13 on bfi’s top 100, “the ladykillers” is a distinctly british crime movie and comedy, and one of the finest examples of ealing’s best work .
is a compelling essay in crime, violence and robbery. it’s a story of cunning, loyalty, fear, brutality and death. boasting a cast that includes john bach, gary sweet, bruno lawrence, gary day, rebecca gibney, candy raymond and ray meagher, it is also the toughest of crime dramas – boasting a drive, grittiness and ferocity seldom seen on australian screens. the melbourne landscape of wet suburban streets, city skyscrapers, passing trams, cobbled lane ways and sleazy shopfronts has never looked better – and the impression of a mean, tough, merciless universe is more than reinforced by the driving complex narrative and the excellent playing of the principals .
this was my first foray into autralian drama and i really enjoyed it. the series comprises three episodes at 90 mins each. it is interesting that the subject of the series (ie the robbery) comes in the middle episode and not at the end, which makes for a tense final episode. i have not given it the full 5 stars as there is one scene at the end of the last episode which just takes the edge off it for me as surely it would not have been allowed to happen? having said that it is based on a trued story so there may be some element of truth there. but i have to say that overall, this was an enjoyable 4 and a half hours of viewing .
but it' s not just the raunch - lite. the makers infused the show with about as much menace as a a pillow fight on it' s a knockout. sure, people are killed, many in violent ways, but the architecture of each scene in pissweak, to coin a vidmar. compare it to the great crime movies and tv shows: the doom coppola creates when fredo is bumped off in godfather ii; joe pesci' s
oh, fuck
in goodfellas when he realises he is not about to be
made
he is about to be, well, unmade; the demise of our very own man of ham, gary sweet, when he jumps into the cop car in blue murder and suddenly knows he' s a gonner; the bar fights in underwhelmy ii are not a patch on the bar fights in blue murder which almost jump out of the television, at which point i grab my drink, jump out of my recliner, and scurry to the side of the room .
this rather forgotten 1986 mini series of 270 minutes length approaches the subject matter rather differently to the more recent underbelly and even blue murder. there isn' t a huge amount of blood and gore, and even less nudity. it concentrates more on the lead up events and meticulous planning of the event, and its aftermath. in this way it is much more of a drama / thriller. the characters are very well developed, the frustration of the women of the criminals is especially well portrayed. the robbery itself took place in april, 1976, however by using non - real names, the makers of this series were able to depict events in a contemporary setting. hence you will see a news of the world (an english paper in melbourne ?) from june 1985, being read by a character in a vk commodore (1984 - 5 model). this show is highly recommended, but rather difficult to find these days .
ray bennett had enjoyed a comfortable career as a burglar, but in 1976 he decided to aim a little bit higher than previous ventures. despite already being known as the thief who would take on jobs others would never dream of, bennett set his sights on the victoria club, home of the ajc (australian jockey club). bennett knew he would most likely need help with a job this large, so recruited a team of six, himself included. some names of note involved include ian carroll, laurence prendergast, brian and leslie kane and norman lee. the gang would target the club so that their break - in would occur just after the bookies had met to settle up with the ajc for the weekend’s trade. the six broke into the offices of the ajc and were staggered by the amount of money they found. different figures have been thrown around, but it is widely thought that the gang were able to steal anywhere between $ 14 million and $ 16 million – an absolutely mammoth sum for 1976; the biggest robbery in australian history at the time. the real reason that the true figure has never been confirmed is that when it came time for the ajc to admit to police they had been robbed, they quoted the missing figure as only $ 1 million as they feared that claiming a larger amount would attract unwanted scrutiny from the tax office – an indictment on the operations of the ajc in itself. as was bennett’s meticulous way, the extraction of the cash had been ingeniously thought out. the thieves had rented an office just a few floors above the ajc offices just weeks before the robbery, and they transported their loot to a safe in this office immediately after removing it from the crime scene. however, at the same time, other members of the gang were downstairs loading decoy bags into a van which then made a swift getaway in public view. the money has never been recovered, and none of the gang of six has ever been convicted of the crime .
ray bennett would eventually tire of being ripped off and his reaction drove him to murder. les kane, rumoured to be one of the gang involved in the ajc robbery was a violent standover man. after continuing to exert pressure on bennett to pay up in 1978, les kane found himself staring down the barrel of three silenced machine guns. ray bennett and two other masked men entered kane’s home while the standover man and his wife and family were out for the evening. hiding in the bathroom, they revealed themselves upon the family’s arrival home and dragged kane into the shower stall where he was filled with bullets by the assassins. kane’s wife and family were only metres away in the living room, but could do nothing as the killers dragged les kane’s body outside. bennett and his associates loaded the body into the boot of kane’s pink ford futura and drove away – the car or body has never been discovered. ray chuck bennett, vincent mikkleson and laurence prendergast were charged with les’s murder. but in the absence of a body, they walked .
“mona lisa” (1986) neil jordan ‘s career is fascinating, but arguably a very patchy one. however one early indisputable crown jewel is the unlikely romantic crime drama “ mona lisa ” largely due in part by bob hoskins, who in an intriguing flip - side to the role that made his name six years earlier, plays as a good - hearted, but meek underling just getting out of prison. having covered for his old mob boss (michael caine), hoskins’ george is still a flunkie doormat with few options allowing him to go straight, but eventually, is given a cushy job as a chauffeur for a high - class black prostitute (cathy tyson). as george becomes friendlier with simone, affections begin to bloom and george becomes entangled in her life when she pleads with him to track down one of her abused friends from her shady past. hoskins’ range has illustrated that he can playing raging boils or soft - hearted patsys, and in “mona lisa, ” he convincingly plays a low - level stooge with soft devotion in a wonderfully minor key. he’s a man lost in an england he no longer recognizes, and even among a strong cast (caine, somewhat against type, is a great villain, tyson should have gone on to better things than she did, and you can spot early appearances from robbie coltrane as well as future “ the wire ” star clarke peters), he dominates; quite rightly, he won best actor at cannes, and was nominated for an oscar. larry clark was planning a remake a few years ago with mickey rourke and eva green. one breathes a sigh of relief that it somehow never came to pass…
the great bookie robbery was a crime committed in melbourne , australia on 21 april 1976 . a well-organised gang of six stole what is widely believed to be from $ 14 to $ 16 million ( 2011 : $ 88 million ) from bookmakers in the victoria club , which was located on the second floor of a building in queen street , melbourne . the true figure for the amount stolen has never been confirmed , as the victoria club quoted the missing figure to police as only $ 1 million to avoid the attention of the australian taxation office ( ato ) . the men , who included raymond " chuck " bennett who is believed to be the mastermind , ian carroll , laurence prendergast and norman lee , rented an office several floors above and hid the money in that room 's safe before coolly walking out of the building and onto the street . the identity of the robbers was widely known in the underworld and bennett became the target of standover men ( who included brian and leslie kane ) and corrupt police demanding part of the proceeds . the kane brothers were particularly violent psychopaths who wanted ' their cut ' and were willing to torture , mutilate and kill to get their own way . after being told that the kanes intended to kill him , bennett , prendergast and vincent mikkleson murdered leslie kane on 19 october 1978 and went into hiding . the three were later arrested for leslie kane 's murder but as the body was never found the charges were dismissed . with brian kane threatening to kill him , bennett was arrested on a minor charge in 1979 . while being escorted by police from the courthouse holding cells to the courtroom he was taken up a flight of stairs into the path of a man disguised as a barrister . this man shot bennett several times in the chest , he tried to flee but collapsed on the courthouse steps and died a short time later . although brian kane was suspected , circumstantial evidence suggested a conspiracy to kill bennett which included senior members of the victorian police , most notably brian murphy , with whom bennett had a long-standing feud . no one has ever been arrested for bennett ’s murder which was in effect , an execution . the money was never recovered and although norman lee was charged he was later acquitted . none of the other members of the gang were ever convicted . prendergast had disappeared in 1985 and apart from lee , the rest of the gang had all been murdered by the end of 1987 . in 1992 lee was killed by police during a heist at melbourne airport . lee 's lawyer phillip dunn , qc , later revealed the details of the crime , including the identities of all those involved . as no-one was ever jailed or convicted , the great bookie robbery remains technically an unsolved crime . 
the great bookie robbery was a crime committed in melbourne, australia on 21 april 1976. a well-organised gang of six stole what is widely believed to be from $ 14 to $ 16 million (2011: $ 88 million) from bookmakers in the victoria club, which was located on the second floor of a building in queen street, melbourne. the true figure for the amount stolen has never been confirmed, as the victoria club quoted the missing figure to police as only $ 1 million to avoid the attention of the australian taxation office (ato). the men, who included raymond " chuck " bennett who is believed to be the mastermind, ian carroll, laurence prendergast and norman lee, rented an office several floors above and hid the money in that room's safe before coolly walking out of the building and onto the street. the identity of the robbers was widely known in the underworld and bennett became the target of standover men (who included brian and leslie kane) and corrupt police demanding part of the proceeds. the kane brothers were particularly violent psychopaths who wanted' their cut' and were willing to torture, mutilate and kill to get their own way. after being told that the kanes intended to kill him, bennett, prendergast and vincent mikkleson murdered leslie kane on 19 october 1978 and went into hiding. the three were later arrested for leslie kane's murder but as the body was never found the charges were dismissed. with brian kane threatening to kill him, bennett was arrested on a minor charge in 1979. while being escorted by police from the courthouse holding cells to the courtroom he was taken up a flight of stairs into the path of a man disguised as a barrister. this man shot bennett several times in the chest, he tried to flee but collapsed on the courthouse steps and died a short time later. although brian kane was suspected, circumstantial evidence suggested a conspiracy to kill bennett which included senior members of the victorian police, most notably brian murphy, with whom bennett had a long-standing feud. no one has ever been arrested for bennett ’s murder which was in effect, an execution. the money was never recovered and although norman lee was charged he was later acquitted. none of the other members of the gang were ever convicted. prendergast had disappeared in 1985 and apart from lee, the rest of the gang had all been murdered by the end of 1987. in 1992 lee was killed by police during a heist at melbourne airport. lee's lawyer phillip dunn, qc, later revealed the details of the crime, including the identities of all those involved. as no-one was ever jailed or convicted, the great bookie robbery remains technically an unsolved crime.
the great bookie robbery was a crime committed in melbourne, australia on 21 april 1976. a well-organised gang of six stole what is widely believed to be from $ 14 to $ 16 million (2011: $ 88 million) from bookmakers in the victoria club, which was located on the second floor of a building in queen street, melbourne. the true figure for the amount stolen has never been confirmed, as the victoria club quoted the missing figure to police as only $ 1 million to avoid the attention of the australian taxation office (ato). the men, who included raymond " chuck " bennett who is believed to be the mastermind, ian carroll, laurence prendergast and norman lee, rented an office several floors above and hid the money in that room's safe before coolly walking out of the building and onto the street. the identity of the robbers was widely known in the underworld and bennett became the target of standover men (who included brian and leslie kane) and corrupt police demanding part of the proceeds. the kane brothers were particularly violent psychopaths who wanted' their cut' and were willing to torture, mutilate and kill to get their own way. after being told that the kanes intended to kill him, bennett, prendergast and vincent mikkleson murdered leslie kane on 19 october 1978 and went into hiding. the three were later arrested for leslie kane's murder but as the body was never found the charges were dismissed. with brian kane threatening to kill him, bennett was arrested on a minor charge in 1979. while being escorted by police from the courthouse holding cells to the courtroom he was taken up a flight of stairs into the path of a man disguised as a barrister. this man shot bennett several times in the chest, he tried to flee but collapsed on the courthouse steps and died a short time later. although brian kane was suspected, circumstantial evidence suggested a conspiracy to kill bennett which included senior members of the victorian police, most notably brian murphy, with whom bennett had a long-standing feud. no one has ever been arrested for bennett ’s murder which was in effect, an execution. the money was never recovered and although norman lee was charged he was later acquitted. none of the other members of the gang were ever convicted. prendergast had disappeared in 1985 and apart from lee, the rest of the gang had all been murdered by the end of 1987. in 1992 lee was killed by police during a heist at melbourne airport. lee's lawyer phillip dunn, qc, later revealed the details of the crime, including the identities of all those involved. as no-one was ever jailed or convicted, the great bookie robbery remains technically an unsolved crime.