Wikipedia

The Gentleman Bandit (1981 film)

The Gentleman Bandit is a 1981 TV movie directed by Jonathan Kaplan and starring Ralph Waite.[3] It is based on the real story of Reverend Bernard Thomas Pagano.

The Gentleman Bandit
Written byMilan Stitt
Directed byJonathan Kaplan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerJohn E. Quill
Running time98 minutes[1]
Production companyHighgate Pictures
Budget$2 million[2]
Original release
ReleaseMay 6, 1981 (1981-05-06)

Plot

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A priest is accused of armed robbery by various eyewitnesses.

Cast

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Production

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Until the eve of the first screening,[4] the working title for the film was The Bandit Priest.[5][6]

The film was based on a true story of the Reverend Bernard Thomas Pagano[7] who was arrested in 1979 for five armed robberies and one attempted robberies. Eventually another man, Ronald W. Clouser, confessed to the crimes.[8][9]

Writer Milan Stitt spent a week interviewing Pagano, his attorney, friends and parishioners in December 1979. He wrote the script in four days.[2] 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.[10] 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.[10]

Filming took place in New York City and Westchester County.[11] It began on 19 January 1981. Pagano himself acted as technical advisor on the film.[2] Pagano later taught theology at Notre Dame High School in Easton, Pennsylvania in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

References

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  1. ^ https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-gentleman-bandit/2030056311/
  2. ^ a b c Caparella, Kitty (11 February 1981). "Once notorious priest takes on reel life". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 2.
  3. ^ Garafola, Peter (22 February 1981). "Optimism Carries Waite". Mount Vernon Argus. p. 51.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "The Gentleman Bandit (1981)". BFI. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  6. ^ "The Gentleman Bandit". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  7. ^ Roberts, Jerry (2009-06-05). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6378-1.
  8. ^ Freeman, Mike; Holmberg, David (6 May 1981). "Questions remain in Pagano Case". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 21.
  9. ^ Malone, Peter (2019-08-19). Screen Priests: The Depiction of Catholic Priests in Cinema, 1900-2018. ISD LLC. ISBN 978-1-925872-91-0.
  10. ^ a b Rev. Bernard Pagano, 81; Cleared of Being ‘Gentleman Bandit’ Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  11. ^ "Ralph Waites portrays clerical bandit". The Ottawa Citizen. 18 April 1981. p. 248.
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