In 1996, Robert Knuckle and journalist Ed Arnold published the true crime book, The Flying Bandit. The book tells the story of Gilbert Galvan Jr, a career criminal, who escaped from a US prison and fled to Canada only to embark on one of the most prolific bank robbery sprees in the country’s history.
Now, Knuckle has collaborated with Canadian filmmaker, Allan Ungar, to produce a movie based on the book and the infamous crimes of the man who would become known as one of Canada’s most daring armed robbers.
New Beginnings
The movie is extremely accurate to the original story and depicts how Galvan, played by Josh Duhamel, escapes from a Michigan prison and crosses the border into Canada. There, he takes up the alias Robert Whiteman, a security analyst, and sets about building a life for himself with his new love, Andrea, played by Elisha Cuthbert.
To finance his new life, Galvan sets about robbing banks, but he knows well enough not to do it in his own backyard, so instead, he begins flying around the country to commit his crimes. Soon he is hitting multiple cities in one day and it doesn’t take long for the press to sit up and take notice.
The Flying Bandit
Galvan’s legend is born when journalists dub him The Flying Bandit and the infamy, the adrenaline, and, of course, the money, become addictive. The sedate suburban life Galvan has built for himself with Andrea starts to fade into the background as he gets sucked into a torrent of crime.
When his bank robberies are no longer enough for him, he turns to loanshark and gangster Tommy Kay, played by Mel Gibson, to set him up with bigger opportunities and suddenly finds himself in over his head.
With Galvan’s notoriety growing he is soon on the run from a tough-as-nails detective, played by Nestor Carbonell who will stop at nothing to catch the infamous Bandit.
Catch It While You Can!
Bandit released in South African cinemas on the 25th of November 2022, and this biographical crime movie is the perfect way for true crime fans to kick off some festive season fun.
