The Criminal 1960

Johnny Bannion Stanley Baker is a career criminal with an entourage of minor criminals and fast girls. After being paroled from a three-year stint in prison, he begins planning his comeback—a racetrack heist for £40,000. He successfully plans and executes the robbery with the help of his partner, a well-connected American named Mike Carter. Unbeknownst to him, the racetrack is owned by another gangster. Word spreads of Bannion’s responsibility; he’s double-crossed by his associates and he is sent back to prison, where he is a well-known figure.

In prison, Italian mob boss Frank Saffron takes Bannion under his wing and secures a move to a different cell block through claiming to be a Roman Catholic. He tells Bannion the outside world wants their £40,000 back but is prepared to give favours if he gets a cut. They make their plans whispering to each other during Sunday mass.

The death of an inmate triggers a prison riot. The other prison boss, the Irish O’Hara, Neil McCarthy is less sympathetic to Bannion. During the riot, Bannion opens the door to let the guards back in and wins favour of the prison governor Noel Willman. He is transferred to a low security prison for his assistance but is booed by fellow inmates as he leaves.

During the transfer, it is revealed that Bannion paid £40,000 for the riot and a “fast car.” The car appears and drives the prison van off the road, rescuing Bannion. However, he has been double crossed. He is taken to a narrow boat where the criminals he robbed are waiting, also with his lover Suzanne Margit Saad as security. They flee, but Bannion is hit by a bullet as they escape. They reach a snowy field where Johnny Bannion shoots one of his three pursuers before being shot himself. He dies before being able to say where the money is.