Villains is a little gem from 1972, created by Andrew Brown ( co-creator of Manhunt, writer for Armchair Theatre, producer of Prick Up Your Ears, Selling Hitler) aired and commissioned by London Weekend Television. It is a story about nine criminals who plan and carry out a heist on a bank, it is not ‘the normal’ bank raid, heavies armed with sawn off shot guns screaming at petrified bank tellers to fill the bags and no one will get hurt. No, instead they plan what they believe will be the crime of the century, to tunnel into a bank in London’s EC1 area via a disused ladies toilet over the weekend. With meticulous planning and an array of professionals in their field, the criminals think they will walk away with a windfall that shall set them up for life. A new life abroad, Spain, Portugal, South America, anywhere other than Old Blighty.
When people talk about classic British gangster films, invariably they mention Get Carter or The Long Good Friday, yet other classic British gangster films like Villain starring Richard Burton are frequently ignored. Moreover The Hit (1984) directed by Stephen Frears, starring Terence Stamp, John Hurt, Tim Roth & Laura Del Sol is certainly a very much overlooked British gangster film.