The Bank Job (15) Supposed story behind a true bank robbery, starring Jason Statham and David Suchet.

IN SEPTEMBER 1971, thieves tunnelled into the vault of a bank in London's Baker Street and looted safe deposit boxes of cash and jewellery worth millions and millions of pounds.

None of it was recovered. Nobody was ever arrested. The robbery made headlines for a few days and then disappeared - supposedly the result of a UK Government D' Notice, gagging the press.

A new film, The Bank Job, claims to reveal what was hidden in those boxes. The story involves murder, corruption and a sex scandal with alleged links to the Royal family - a story in which the thieves were supposedly the most innocent people involved.

News of the robbery broke when amateur radio ham', Robert Rowland, alerted Scotland Yard that he had overheard a robbery in progress somewhere within a ten-mile radius of Central London.

He began to tape the radio exchanges, while trying to tip off the police. At 2am, a senior officer decided to take his report seriously and called in radio detector vans in an attempt to trace the transmissions.

Unfortunately, by the time Post Office engineers could be brought in from weekend leave, the "walkie-talkie" conversations had ceased.

As the search intensified, police officers checked on 750 banks in the inner London area, paying special attention to the 150 banks within a mile of Wimpole Street.

On Sunday afternoon, they visited Lloyd's Bank on the corner of Baker Street and Marylebone Road, but found no signs of entry - the 15-inch thick doors of the vault were intact and secured by a time lock.

They were unaware that the raiders were still inside. It was not until the bank opened for business after the weekend that the robbery was discovered. The contents of scores of safety deposit boxes in the vault had been looted in what was Britain's biggest ever robbery.

The gang had dug a 40-foot tunnel and then, using a thermic lance, cut through the 3ft of reinforced concrete which formed the floor of the vault. The floor was not wired to the alarm system, as it was thought to be impenetrable.

"I thought this would be an interesting movie, from lots of different perspectives," says director Roger Donaldson. "I enjoy taking a look at what makes society tick and I was interested in the real facts, the history of the period, the time and the politics.

"What interested me about this script is that it's inspired by real people and real events and it's a period of English history that I think is unique and many of the characters in the story are unique in the part they played.

The leading role of Terry Leather is played by Jason Statham, who enjoyed the chance to step aside from the high-powered action roles, for which he is best known: "This, thankfully, hasn't been one that's tested me too much in the stunt department. I've replaced holding a gun with holding a pint of ale.

"It's not particularly action-packed - hanging out of helicopters and doing a lot of the silliness I've been paid to do in the past. It's been more of a sophisticated thriller, with a bit of action slung in as well. People do see me roll up my sleeves, but for the right reasons.

"It's all justified, the motivation of the action that comes at the end of the film is so there, because one of our good friends gets killed and we're in a right sticky spot. I'm sure it's going to be a great crowd pleaser."

The villain of the piece is Lew Vogel, played by David Suchet, who plays Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot in the TV series. He says: "Vogel is a very unsavoury type, a typical East End London boy, who grew up into the vice racket and decided to make money off the immigrants coming into London at that time - while also running the pornography industry in Soho.

"Not a very nice man at all. He can be charming, but absolutely ruthless. It's not so long after the London mafia was around, in the 30s and 40s. He's an extension of that really, a very dangerous man indeed."