Ronnie (Kerwin Matthews) is bored with college life: bored with classes, bored with being in a place run by thinkers, not doers. He comes from a family that does things, he says, a family that does things first. He finds in the life of a nineteenth-century amateur archaeolgist the inspiration to rob a Reno casino. From 5 Against the House (dir. Phil Karlson, 1955):
“It’s what I need in my life — a big first. You guys ever hear of a man named Schliemann?”Got it.
“Sure, played first base for the Giants and later invented a plastic breakfast food.”
“He dug up the ancient city of Troy in Greece.”
“Hey, what a cat, to dig Troy.”
“It was a first, get my point?”
I can think of one other heist film in which a criminal mastermind invokes Troy in his scheming. Anyone know it? My answer is in the comments.
[“Criminal mastermind”: yes, I know it’s a cliché. I’ve been watching Only Murders in the Building.]
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The one I know is White Heat (dir. Raoul Walsh, 1949), in which Arthur “Cody” Jarrett (James Cagney) recounts “a whole army tryin’ to knock over a place called Troy, and gettin’ nowhere fast.” Full dialogue in this post.
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