Small Time Robber Gangs Movies
These films are movies about small time roving outlaws who used gangs to commit their crimes. Don’t confuse these with mobster movies with mobster movies or street gang movies that stay in one place, running long time continuing crimes (AKA: Rackets), or having a high sophisticated level of organization. (This is a part of my personal grudge with lumping bank robbers like Dillinger into the same category as mafia don Al Capone as “Gangsters”. They are not the same type of criminal!) These gangs are mobile and rob banks and trains and extra and are not confined to the 20th century or to the United States. The list is too heavily weighed with depictions of actual ones that don’t stay in one place gangs/gangsters/outlaws, but fictional ones are included too. Which is your favorite film?
This list is poorly constructed. So if you can suggest better ones, over 6.0 ratings and over 555 votes or more, make your suggestions by posting your wanted posters here.
Robin Hood will not be listed here, because while many of these tried to compare themselves to Robin Hood, and sometimes give apart of their stolen loot to others, almost all of them proved to be just stone cold killers in the end.
The movies with no notes, except for “True Grit”, are the ones with the fictional gangs.
This list is poorly constructed. So if you can suggest better ones, over 6.0 ratings and over 555 votes or more, make your suggestions by posting your wanted posters here.
Robin Hood will not be listed here, because while many of these tried to compare themselves to Robin Hood, and sometimes give apart of their stolen loot to others, almost all of them proved to be just stone cold killers in the end.
The movies with no notes, except for “True Grit”, are the ones with the fictional gangs.
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- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.And their Wild Bunch or Hole-In-The-Wall Gang
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.Ma Jarrett is thought to be based on the real life Ma Barker.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.Actual gang
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsWarren OatesBen JohnsonMichelle PhillipsJohn Dillinger and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the midwest, but one G-Man is determined to bring him down.Dillinger
- DirectorMichael MannStarsChristian BaleJohnny DeppChristian StolteThe Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.Dillinger And his gang
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWilliam HoldenErnest BorgnineRobert RyanAn aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.The Wild Bunch
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsA group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett
- DirectorGeoff MurphyStarsEmilio EstevezKiefer SutherlandLou Diamond PhillipsBilly the Kid and his band of outlaws are pursued across New Mexico territory by Sheriff Pat Garrett, whom the young gunslingers must face-off with if they are to reach the safety of the border.Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett
- DirectorJames NeilsonStarsJames StewartAudie MurphyDan DuryeaA fired railroad man is re-hired and entrusted to carry a ten thousand dollar payroll in secret, even though he is suspected of being connected to outlaws.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsCliff RobertsonRobert DuvallLuke AskewThe gangs of Jesse James and Cole Younger join forces for a bungled robbery of the bank in Northfield, Minnesota.The James-Younger Gang
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsMickey RooneyCarolyn JonesCedric HardwickeGeorge "Babyface" Nelson became one of the most important gangsters of 1930's Chicago by making brutal robberies. In order to compete with Al Capone, he allied himself with John Dillinger.Mickey Rooney played a real life gangster? Talk about playing against type!
- DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsDonald SutherlandMark WahlbergEdward NortonAfter being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneKim DarbyGlen CampbellA drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.While the movie has the fictional Lucky Ned Pepper, the book makes a reference to the Dalton brothers when Mattie Ross says that they were “upright men gone wrong” and Bill Doolin as a “Cowboy gone wrong.”
- DirectorWalter HillStarsDavid CarradineStacy KeachDennis QuaidThe origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the Jesse James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.The James-Younger Gang, and Belle Starr
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyJohn TurturroTim Blake NelsonIn the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.Baby Face Nelson is depicted in this one
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsJames StewartVera MilesMurray HamiltonA dedicated FBI agent recalls the agency's battles against the Klan, organized crime and Communist spies.Use this film that shows 20th century bank robbers like Ma Barker, Pretty Boy Floyd, Alvin “Creepy“ Karvis, and others, that had movies made about them, or not, that are pretty low rated and under a thousand votes.
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsRobert RedfordCasey AffleckSissy SpacekBased on the true story of Forrest Tucker and his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.Forrest Tucker and The Over The Hill Gang
- DirectorRob CohenStarsVin DieselPaul WalkerMichelle RodriguezLos Angeles police officer Brian O'Conner must decide where his loyalty really lies when he becomes enamored with the street racing world he has been sent undercover to destroy.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsAnsel ElgortJon BernthalJon HammAfter being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsPatrick SwayzeKeanu ReevesGary BuseyAn F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsHenry FondaCharles BronsonClaudia CardinaleA mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsBrad PittCasey AffleckSam ShepardRobert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.The gang leader is in the title
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsCharles BronsonSusan CabotMorey AmsterdamThe criminal exploits of Public Enemy number 1, George 'Machine-Gun' Kelly, during the 1930s.An early Charles Bronson movie directed by Rodger Corman.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsRandolph ScottKay FrancisBrian DonlevyFictionalized story of how the Dalton brothers were wronged by a crooked development company and became outlaws when the corrupt local courts offered them no justice.The Dalton gang
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRod SteigerJames CoburnRomolo ValliA low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsAntonio BanderasAnthony HopkinsCatherine Zeta-JonesA young thief seeking revenge for his brother's death is trained by the once-great, aging Zorro, who is pursuing his own vengeance.Believe this or not! While Alejandro Murrieta (who becomes Zoro) was fictional, his brother Joaquin Murrieta and Three-Fingered Jack were real and were apart of the Five Joaquins Gang. Captain Love was real too and he caught Three-finger Jack and a Murrieta in real history.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsColin FarrellScott CaanAli Larter5 Southern friends return home when the war ends 1865. But Yankee soldiers and Pinkerton are busy helping a railroad baron grab land from farmers along the planned railroad west. The 5 friends fight back.The two James brothers and the three Younger Brothers that formed the James-Younger Gang. And yes,sadly, their days as a part of Quantrill's Raiders.
- DirectorRay EnrightStarsAudie MurphyBrian DonlevyMarguerite ChapmanOutraged by Redleg atrocities, the James and Younger Brothers along with Kit Dalton join Quantrill's Raiders and find themselves participating in even worse war crimes.The James-Younger gang, Kit Doolin, and Quantrill's Raiders
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsRobert WagnerJeffrey HunterHope LangeBiopic loosely based on the last 18 years of Jesse James' life and focused on the relationship between brothers Jesse and Frank James.Jesse James
- DirectorGregor JordanStarsHeath LedgerOrlando BloomGeoffrey RushAn innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.Ned Kelly, a “Bushranger” from Australia. Who said roving bank robbing gangs are all in the United States? I didn’t.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsShelley WintersDon StroudPat HingleA psychologically disturbed matriarch presides over her damaged family of bank-robbing misfits.Ma Barker, and the Barker/Klovis gang
- DirectorCharles GuggenheimJohn StixStarsSteve McQueenCrahan DentonDavid ClarkeA gang's plans for a St. Louis bank robbery are complicated when the sister of one of the thieves starts voicing her well-founded suspicions.This film depicts an actual bank robbery. (Suggested by Dan Dassow)
- DirectorDavid MackenzieStarsChris PineBen FosterJeff BridgesToby is a divorced father who's trying to make a better life. His brother is an ex-con with a short temper and a loose trigger finger. Together, they plan a series of heists against the bank that's about to foreclose on their family ranch.(Suggested by Pencho15) I believe this one is based on a real life gang of brothers.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsGilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' AndersonA.C. AbadieGeorge BarnesA group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.(Suggested by Pencho15)
- DirectorAlejandro GamboaStarsMiguel RodarteIrán CastilloIsaura EspinozaAn army deserter turned bandit robs from thieves to give the money to the poor. He was famous for being caught by the police "with his pants down".Jose de Jesus Negrete “El Tigre” (Suggested by Pencho15)