What was the first heist movie in which a protagonist got away with it?

January 1, 2020 2:07 PM

After watching some classic Jean-Pierre Melville films (and also Trading Places) with my dad over the last few days, I began wondering what the earliest example of the heist genre might be in which at least one of the protagonists gets away with the crime. And by that I mean a protagonist makes off with something of value acquired through illegal means without facing a moral reckoning, neither directly stemming from the crime nor in some indirect/ironic way.

Given the history of the genre, I’m mostly curious about films from the US, UK, and France, but I'm definitely open to hearing about any relevant examples. I’d also be interested in early examples of other (non-heist) crime films where the protagonist doesn’t pay a price for their dirty deeds.

posted by theory to Media & Arts (20 answers total)

For the US, I'd assume it'd have to be prior to the Hays Code ruining all the fun.
posted by zamboni at 2:16 PM on January 1, 2020 [3 favorites]

The first example of a non-heist crime film meeting your criteria that comes to my mind is Robert Altman's 1992 The Player.
posted by brianogilvie at 2:18 PM on January 1, 2020

Probably not the earliest...but The Thomas Crowne Affair with Steve McQueen from 1968.
posted by victoriab at 2:25 PM on January 1, 2020 [5 favorites]

The Thomas Crowne Affair has just been mentioned. Later than that we've got The Italian Job (1969) ending on a literal cliffhanger, and The Hot Rock (1972) and The Sting (1973) ending less ambiguously. The ones I can think of from earlier than that tend to end with deaths and/or arrests.
posted by kyrademon at 2:30 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

FYI, TV Tropes mentions some of these under the trope "The Perfect Crime," though not all are successes.
posted by brianogilvie at 2:46 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Depending on how much you trust the ostensible protagonist, it could be argued that in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951), Guy basically gets away with a successful conspiracy to murder his pregnant ex by proxy.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:47 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

The successful gentleman-thief Raffles was a Victorian/Edwardian character in stories by E. W. Hornung. Checking Wikipedia finds a couple of Raffles films and Raffles (1930 film) looks as if it might fit your requirements.
posted by Azara at 3:09 PM on January 1, 2020 [2 favorites]

Jewel Robbery (1932) fits the bill (though I don’t think he gets away with the whole haul). Kay Francis and William Powell, pretty fun.
posted by praemunire at 3:19 PM on January 1, 2020

Well, it's almost certainly not the earliest, but Inside Man with Denzel Washington certainly fits your requirements (I think).
posted by forthright at 3:41 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Band of Outsiders, 1964. RIP Anna Karina.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 3:45 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Depending on your definition of a heist, maybe How to Marry a Millionaire ?
posted by Mchelly at 4:29 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

You should watch The Sting. Robert Redford & Paul Newman and many other great actors.
posted by theora55 at 4:34 PM on January 1, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Arsène Lupin, in the 1916 British film, maybe. wiki
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:29 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

1930 pre-Code mystery whose titular character became a common descriptor for clever thief: Raffles.
posted by lemon_icing at 6:11 PM on January 1, 2020

Raffles ends up morally reforming enough to die on the battlefield as a volunteer in the books, so better confirm that any Raffles movie doesn’t include his “redemption” (English side in the Boer War, not exactly great to the modern eye).
posted by praemunire at 6:19 PM on January 1, 2020

Best answer: Filibus (1915). The titular lead is a Baroness/sky pirate who uses an airship to commit burglaries and dresses up like a man to “court” the sister of the detective pursuing her.
posted by chrisulonic at 7:50 PM on January 1, 2020 [6 favorites]

Theres a BillyBob Thornton BruceWillis movie with a killer plot and they play the bad guys who get away brilliantly. I dont remember the name though. They both fell in love with the same woman.
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 9:19 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

BillyBob Thornton BruceWillis movie
Bandits, loved that movie.
posted by Gorgik at 9:54 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Maybe I'm underthinking it, but...any version of Robin Hood?
posted by doctornecessiter at 6:01 AM on January 2, 2020 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Filibus sounds amazing, and is easily a best answer for that synopsis alone. Thanks for the link.
posted by theory at 11:57 AM on January 5, 2020