A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEAGUE

If you want crime done right get the military to do it for you.

By now, the question for Noir City attendees should be whether anyone ever gets away with the money in these heist films. So far the crooks are zero-for-the-week. Or maybe one-for-the-week—we didn’t watch La città si difende, so we can’t be sure about that one. But if anyone can do it, it’s the eight thieves in The League of Gentlemen, among them Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, and Richard Attenborough. Each is ex-military, and each is in a bad personal situation, which makes them all willing to partner in a scheme to steal £1,000,000 in used bank notes. The robbery is to be a precision affair, with the English thieves even having thought to adopt Irish accents so the IRA gets the blame. Do these guys actually pull it off? Remember years ago when we promised no more spoilers? We will tell you that The League of Gentlemen is a thriller rather than a film noir. Because it’s paired tonight with the crime comedy The Ladykillers, we don’t think this is one of the festival tickets we would have bought had we been there. We’d want to see film noir at a film noir fest. Yet both movies are high quality affairs and we imagine the audiences will be (grudgingly) satisfied.

England, The League of Gentlemen, Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, Richard Attenborough, poster art, cinema

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

September 11

1973—Allende Ousted in Chile

With the help of the CIA, General Augusto Pinochet topples democratically elected President Salvador Allende in Chile. Pinochet’s regime serves as a testing ground for Chicago School of Economics radical pro-business policies that later are applied to other countries, including the United States.

September 11

2001—New York and Washington D.C. Attacked

The attacks that would become known as 9-11 take place in the United States. Airplane hijackings lead to catastrophic crashes resulting in the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City, the destruction of a portion of The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a passenger airliner crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Approximately 36% of Americans doubt the official 9-11 story.

September 10

1935—Huey Long Assassinated

Governor of Louisiana Huey Long, one of the few truly leftist politicians in American history, is shot by Carl Austin Weiss in Baton Rouge. Long dies after two days in the hospital.

September 9

1956—Elvis Shakes Up Ed Sullivan

Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, performing his hit song “Don’t Be Cruel.” Ironically, a car accident prevented Sullivan from being present that night, and the show was guest-hosted by British actor Charles Laughton.

September 8

1966—Star Trek Airs for First Time

Star Trek, an American television series set in the twenty-third century and promoting socialist utopian ideals, premieres on NBC. The series is cancelled after three seasons without much fanfare, but in syndication becomes one of the most beloved television shows of all time.

September 8

1974—Ford Pardons Nixon

U.S. President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office, which coincidentally happen to include all those associated with the Watergate scandal.