What is that 60s/70s heist movie?

September 4, 2012 7:09 PM

What's that movie? Heist film where a sharpshooter fires a metal pellet into a lock from a distance.

I saw a heist film years ago that was probably made in the 60s or 70s.

In one part of the film, the robbers need to overcome a lock that is on the far side of a reinforced gate. They figure out that they could trigger the lock by firing a pellet of soft metal into it, the metal would fill the spaces where the key would fit and the lock would open.

They hire a sharpshooter to do the job. They make him set up the rifle and custom bullet on a tripod, possibly with a scope. At the crucial moment, he becomes disgusted with the insult to his skill that the tripod is. In a tense moment - they only get one chance - he takes the rifle off the tripod, shoulders it, and makes a perfect shot.

posted by tomble to media & arts (3 answers total)

Le Cercle Rouge
posted by dobbs at 7:49 PM on September 4, 2012

Is it Le Cercle Rouge?

"In the opening scene, Corey (Alain Delon), who is about to be released from prison, is recruited for a robbery by a prison guard whose relative has worked as a guard for the jewelry shop being targeted and knows how to get past elaborate security mechanisms. After Corey agrees to do the job, he must recruit a sharpshooter who can disable with a well-placed bullet the central lock that controls infrared cameras protecting the jewels. That person is Jansen (Yves Montand), a former cop."

[on preview: what dobbs said]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 7:51 PM on September 4, 2012

That must be it! Thank you!
posted by tomble at 11:03 PM on September 4, 2012