Bank Robberies in Old Time Radio

"I rob banks because that's where the money is." – attributed to Slick Willie Sutton

It takes more than a little audacity to rob banks. This is a crime that requires a full level of commitment from its perpetrators. No matter how carefully everything is planned, success is far from guaranteed. There are just too many things that can go wrong, and let's face it, if a crook had any brains, to begin with, he would have found a less risky racket than robbing banks.

Banks are designed from the get-go to keep their customer's money safe. In fact, banks usually keep relatively little actual money, which is to say cash which can be carried on hand. In big-city banks, armored cars pick up and deliver cash several times a day, as needed. The bank only keeps enough cash on hand to cover their customer's needs, and most of that is kept in the vault. The amount of money in the teller's drawers at any one time is not to be sneezed at.

Getting that money means getting the bank employees and any customers on the premises to cooperate That cooperation is gained through the credible threat of violence. Even so, anyone who is willing to threaten violence may be unbalanced enough to use it. Many bank robberies take place during business, which is to say daylight hours, which means that the crooks have to get into the bank without raising suspicion, get the bank staff to give them the cash on hand, and make their getaway before the cops arrive on the scene or risk what is sure to be a bloody shootout.

Frontier bank robberies are a popular trope in Western fiction. In fact, it was a very rare crime because of the risks involved. The first in peacetime (robberies by Confederate soldiers during the War of Northern Aggression were considered Acts of War) was when the James-Younger gang got away with $60,000 from the clay County Savings Association on February 13, 1866, killing one bystander. However, on September 7, 1876, the Gang tried to knock over the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Townspeople realized that the Gang was in town and two local hardware stores began handing out rifles and ammunition. Three robbers who entered the bank killed a teller and a bystander before realizing the danger they were in and got out with just a few bags of nickels. Frank and Jesse James managed to get out of town and escape into the Dakota Territory, but the rest of the gang was killed or captured. The three Younger Brothers were taken alive in nearby Madelia, Minnesota.

Statistics of how many first-time bank robbers get away with their crime are hard to come by, but if they are successful and continue to take down banks the odds are decidedly not on their side. In major crimes, the arrest rate for bank robbery is second only to murder and convicted bank robbers will do "Federal Time" where there is no parole.

Inner Sanctum Mysteries, January 22, 1946, "The Confession". Alex Sturgis the druggist is laying in the emergency room with a bullet in his stomach and he wants to make a confession. The robber from the First National Bank was shot and wandered into Sturgis's store wanting to be patched up but the druggist lets him die. He keeps the money and gains no end of problems.

The Adventures of Superman, February 1, 1946, The Man of Steel is joined by Batman to investigate a series of bank robberies in small towns surrounding Metropolis. In each case, the crook shows super-human strength, can bend steel bars and is dressed in a blue costume with a red cape. After each robbery, the money is given to charity. Batman thinks there is another Superman pulling the jobs.

Boston Blackie, July 17, 1947. The street department has been operating a jackhammer outside Blackie's apartment building. Blackie makes a few calls and discovers that no one is supposed to be drilling at that time of the morning. The noise was cover for the gang breaking into the vault of the bank across the street, and the watchman gets shot.

Crime Club, August 7, 1947, "A Pitch in Time". Rookie cop Hank has been drafted as a pitcher in the annual Police vs Firemen baseball game. His girlfriend does not believe he can throw a curveball, so he finds a stranger standing behind the bank to pitch to. Could Hank's new catcher be a lookout for a gang knocking over the bank?

The Mysterious Traveler, March 16, 1948, "They Struck It Rich". When a three-time loser gets out of the joint on parole he is determined to go straight, but when his job is canceled because of the War, one of his old cellmates shows him an engineering map of the city, which features a tunnel running just a few yards from the bank vault. What isn't on the map is a lost pirate ship, buried in the mud.

Dragnet, April 6, 1954, "The Big Saw". Sergeant Friday interviews a bank cashier who witnessed a well-planned robbery as she was opening the bank that morning. The crooks were inside the bank and knew the opening routine and used it to clean out the vault.

Have Gun, Will Travel, May 24, 1959, "In an Evil Time". The bank executive does not want the news that the legendary Pappy French has gotten away with $50,000, so he hires Paladin to bring the bank robber in, with the money.

Gunsmoke, November 29, 1959, "Hard Lesson". Pete Belvin shows up at his Ma's ranch with the loot from a bank robbery and a nasty bullet wound. He knows that Ma has "healin' hands", but she is dead. His kid brother, Joe, wants to help, but the only way he can think to do is to bring Doc out from Dodge City, even though Marshal Dillon will not be far behind.

See also: Robbery Collection and Al Jennings.