The Gentleman Bandit (1981 film)
| The Gentleman Bandit | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Milan Stitt |
| Directed by | Jonathan Kaplan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | John E. Quill |
| Production company | Highgate Pictures |
| Budget | $2 million[1] |
| Original release | |
| Release | 6 May 1981 |
The Gentleman Bandit is a 1981 TV movie directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Ralph Waite.[2] It is based on the real story of Reverend Bernard Thomas Pagano.
Plot
A priest is accused of armed robbery by various eyewitnesses.
Cast
- Ralph Waite as Reverend Pagano
- Jerry Zaks as his laywer
- Estelle Parsons as a parishioner
- Giancarlo Esposito as Jamie
Production
Until the eve of the first screening,[3] the working title for the film was The Bandit Priest.[4][5]
The film was based on a true story of the Reverend Bernard Thomas Pagano[6] who was arrested in 1979 for five armed robberies and one attempted robberies. Eventually another man, Ronald W. Clouser, confessed to the crimes.[7][8]
Writer Milan Stitt spent a week interviewing Pagano, his attorney, friends and parishioners in December 1979. He wrote the script in four days.[1] Pagano, a native of Newark, New Jersey, served five years as a chaplain at the VA hospital in Lyons and East Orange in the 1990s, according to Tom Malek-Jones, the chief chaplain for the facility.[9] Pagano, himself a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, was considered "a valuable asset for his work with veterans of that era and did not seem like a robber", Malek-Jones said.[9]
Filming took place in New York City and Westchester County.[10] It began on 19 January 1981. Pagano himself acted as technical advisor on the film.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Caparella, Kitty (11 February 1981). "Once notorious priest takes on reel life". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 2.
- ^ Garafola, Peter (22 February 1981). "Optimism Carries Waite". Mount Vernon Argus. p. 51.
- ^ Marill, Alvin H. (1987). Movies Made for Television: The Telefeature and the Mini-series, 1964-1986. New York Zoetrope. ISBN 978-0-918432-80-3.
- ^ "The Gentleman Bandit (1981)". BFI. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
- ^ "The Gentleman Bandit". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- ^ Roberts, Jerry (2009-06-05). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6378-1.
- ^ Freeman, Mike; Holmberg, David (6 May 1981). "Questions remain in Pagano Case". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 21.
- ^ Malone, Peter (2019-08-19). Screen Priests: The Depiction of Catholic Priests in Cinema, 1900-2018. ISD LLC. ISBN 978-1-925872-91-0.
- ^ a b Rev. Bernard Pagano, 81; Cleared of Being ‘Gentleman Bandit’ Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
- ^ "Ralph Waites portrays clerical bandit". The Ottawa Citizen. 18 April 1981. p. 248.
External links
- Bernard Pagano at IMDb
- The Gentleman Bandit at IMDb
- The Gentleman Bandit at Letterbox DVD
- The Gentleman Bandit at TCMDB
- The Gentleman Bandit at BFI
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