16 Movies Based On Real-Life Heists, Ranked
Vote up the true story heist movies that are so good, it's criminal.
Strange as it might seem, some of the most iconic heist movies in cinema history are based on real-life crimes. For instance, the Lufthansa terminal heist in Goodfellas was a real robbery that happened in 1978, resulting in nearly $6-million being stolen. In the early 2000s, a group of teens and 20-somethings robbed a series of celebrity mansions in the Hollywood Hills as depicted in The Bling Ring.
While some of these movies stray from the facts, and in some cases claim to have nothing to do with real cases, others remain surprisingly true to their source material. In fact, it's often the most outrageous scenes in these films that turn out to be the truest ones.
- 130 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: Career criminal Neil McCauley has an unusual relationship with LAPD detective Vincent Hanna. The two respect each other, but Hanna wants McCauley behind bars. He nearly catches McCauley and his team breaking into a building but his cover is blown. Afraid of being caught, McCauley agrees to one final bank heist in which his team steals $12.2 million.
Another criminal tips off the LAPD about the heist, leading McCauley to be unsure of who to trust. In the end, he is shot by Vincent Hanna who holds McCauley's hand as he dies.
The True Heist It's Based On: Neil McCauley was a real criminal who did eight years in Alcatraz, including four years in solitary confinement. While in Chicago, McCauley befriended police detective Chuck Adamson. Shortly before McCauley's final heist, the two men met at a diner, similar to a scene in Heat.
On March 25, 1964, McCauley and his team exited a grocery store on Chicago's south side after stealing over $13,000. Adamson and his team ambushed the men, shooting McCauley multiple times. Two men eventually found themselves in an alley between two row houses where Adamson shot McCauley six times.
More Heat
- #73 of 252 onThe 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
- #356 of 769 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #11 of 54 onThe Best Movies 'Loosely' Based On True Stories
- 221 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: On August 22, 1972, Sonny Wortzik shows up at a local bank to rob it with the help of his accomplices Sal Naturile and Stevie. Wortzik takes the bank staff hostage after realizing that there is only $1,100 at the bank following the daily pick-up.
As the film progresses, Wortzik reveals that he's robbing the bank so that his wife can receive gender-affirming surgery after she attempted to take her own life.
Wortzik and Naturile receive a limo ride to the airport in a plan to escape, but Naturile is killed and Wortzik is taken into custody.
The True Heist It's Based On: In August 1972, 27-year-old John Wojtowicz attempted to rob a bank with accomplices Sal Naturale and Bobby Westenberg. Westenberg left before the robbery even started and a 14-hour standoff with law enforcement ensued. Wojtowicz explained that he was robbing the bank to help his wife, a transgender woman named Liz Eden, receive gender-affirming surgery.
Wojtowicz was eventually apprehended and Naturale was killed by the FBI. Wojotowicz served five years in prison and reportedly showed little remorse for the crime.
More Dog Day Afternoon- #114 of 242 onThe 200+ Best Movies Based On A True Story
- #39 of 199 onThe Best Movies Of The '70s, Ranked
- #7 of 28 onThe Best Oscar-Nominated Movies of the 1970s
- 332 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: Henry Hill rises up the ranks of the New York mafia. The biggest heist Hill is involved in occurs in 1978 when he participates in a $6 million heist of the Lufthansa terminal at the John F. Kennedy Airport. However, Hill's associate Jimmy Conway becomes paranoid that they will be found out and begins a series of hits on those involved. Realizing he could be next, Hill begins working with the FBI and enters the witness protection program along with his wife and children.
The True Heist It's Based On: On December 11, 1978, a heist at the Lufthansa terminal vault was orchestrated by the Lucchese crime family. One of the cargo workers at JFK airport, Louis Werner, assisted in the heist, which involved approximately six men in hockey masks stealing $5.6 million in cash and jewelry. One of the men, Parnell Edwards, was supposed to have the getaway car destroyed but instead parked it on the street in Brooklyn where it was found days later. The van contained fingerprints, and Edwards was murdered soon after. Henry Hill, who had helped devise the heist, eventually worked with the FBI and entered the witness protection program as his character in the film does.
More Goodfellas- Dig Deeper...Who Would Star In 'Goodfellas' If It Were Cast Today?
- #66 of 769 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #2 of 242 onThe 200+ Best Movies Based On A True Story
- 47 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: Bonnie meets Clyde as he attempts to steal her mother's car. The two become small-time criminals but quickly up the stakes with bank robberies. One of their heists ends with Clyde killing a bank manager and their crimes grow increasingly violent.
The father of Bonnie and Clyde's accomplice C.W. Moss is upset by the way they've led his son astray. Mr. Moss works with police to ambush Bonnie and Clyde who are repeatedly shot to death.
The True Heist It's Based On: Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker met in Texas in 1930 during the Great Depression. Barrow was 21 and Parker was 19. Barrow was arrested and sent to jail not long after, but the two escalated their crime spree after he was released in 1932. The couple became a target of the FBI who spent over a year trying to track them down.
Barrow and Parker were killed by law enforcement in an ambush on the morning of May 23, 1934, near Sailes, Louisiana.
More Bonnie and Clyde- Dig Deeper...This Gruesome Photo Shows The Moment Bonnie And Clyde Were Riddled With Bullets
- #697 of 769 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #86 of 136 onThe 100+ Best Movies For Date Night
- 511 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: Bank employees David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, and Steve Chambers rob the Loomis Fargo and Company security company in Jacksonville, FL, of $18.8 million. Ghantt flees to Mexico with just $20,000 while Chambers and his wife begin living an exceedingly extravagant lifestyle. Chambers also devises a plan to turn Ghantt in to the FBI, then changes the plan to have him murdered.
However, Ghantt and his would-be hitman, Michael MicKinney, develop a friendship and devise their own plan to save Campbell from Chambers. During a party at Chambers's new mansion, Ghantt tricks him into confessing while the FBI is listening. After serving a seven-year prison sentence, Ghantt is picked up by MicKinney who takes him to see Campbell.
The True Heist It's Based On: In 1997, the Loomis Fargo bank in Charlotte, NC, was robbed of $17 million. Bank employee David Ghantt organized the heist with the assistance of fellow co-worker Kelly Campbell and friends Steve and Michelle Chambers. The Chambers caught the attention of the FBI after they began spending lavishly and moved from a mobile home to a mansion.
Ghantt was eventually tracked down in Mexico after the FBI learned that there was a plan to kill him. Ghantt went to prison and was released in 2006 claiming to be “changed.”
More Masterminds- #180 of 242 onThe 200+ Best Movies Based On A True Story
- #42 of 64 onThe Funniest Crime Parodies and Spoof Movies, Ranked
- #12 of 12 onBest Comedy Movies Streaming on Hulu
- 613 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: Pizza delivery man Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) goes to deliver a pizza but ends up being involved in a bank heist. Friends Dwayne and Travis come up with a plan to strap a bomb to Nick's chest and force him to steal $100,000 in 10 hours. If Nick fails, the bomb will detonate and kill him. Nick recruits his friend Chet (Aziz Ansari) to help get the money before Nick runs out of time.
The True Heist It's Based On: On August 28, 2003, 46-year-old pizza delivery man Brian Wells entered a Pennsylvania bank with a bomb around his neck. After stealing $8,000, Wells was apprehended by police and begged for help removing the bomb. Surrounded by camera crews, Wells died after the bomb exploded. There was much controversy surrounding Wells' level of involvement and the police's response. A woman named Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was later found guilty of orchestrating Wells's abduction and the robbery.
Despite the similarities, the team behind 30 Minutes or Less was adamant that there was no connection between Wells's story and the film. Aziz Ansari stated, "It's about normal guys who were forced to rob a bank, and I don't think we are poking fun at any kind of tragedy."
- 78 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: High school friends Marc Hall and Rebecca Ahn begin robbing celebrities' homes in The Bling Ring. Marc and Rebecca soon recruit other friends who break into the homes of celebrities like Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, and Paris Hilton. The group is eventually caught after acquaintances report them bragging about the millions of dollars in cash and belongings they've stolen. While Marc works with police, bling ring member Nickie Moore distances herself and claims to be a humanitarian. The members receive varying prison sentences.
The True Heist It's Based On: According to Alexis Neiers, she became caught up in the Hollywood Hills heists along with her friends Nick Prugo, Rachel Lee, Diana Tamayo, Courtney Ames, and Roy Lopez Jr. The group reportedly stole $3 million in property from celebrities. They broke into the home of Paris Hilton multiple times believing she was too “stupid” to realize she was being robbed. The character of Nicki Moore played by Emma Watson was based on Neiers, including direct quotes from her arraignment.
More The Bling Ring- #45 of 54 onThe Best Movies 'Loosely' Based On True Stories
- #98 of 111 onThe Funniest Movies About High School
- #67 of 67 onThe Best Movies That Pass the Bechdel Test
- 87 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: The 1981 film tells a largely fictionalized version of D. B. Cooper's infamous 1971 skyjacking. After parachuting from the plane he'd just skyjacked, Cooper, who is actually Jim Meade, lands in a forest and hides his $200,000 ransom inside a deer carcass before fleeing in a Jeep he'd hidden in the forest.
From there, Meade is pursued by former friend Remson and former army sergeant Bill Gruen. The remainder of the film is a cross-country chase with Gruen and Remson pursuing Meade in an effort to take the money for themselves.
The True Heist It's Based On: Unlike in The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper, the true identity of the man who skyjacked a Northwest Orient Airlines plane has never been solved. The skyjacking took place on November 24, 1971, during a 36-passenger flight from Portland, OR, to Seattle, WA. Cooper passed a note to a flight attendant that he had a bomb and was requesting a $200,000 ransom.
After landing in Seattle, Cooper was given the money and took part of the crew back onto the plane. He then parachuted from the plane with the money over a forest in Washington state. The case was never solved.
In 2024, new evidence suggested that Cooper may have worked for a company that worked with Boeing.
- 94 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: After the death of his wife, Brian Reader and his friends decide to pull off one more heist. All in their 60s and 70s, the men recruit a younger man named Basil to help them break into the Hatton Garden Safe Department over Easter weekend. After a setback in the robbery, Reader decides to back out but tells Basil about the most valuable boxes to rob.
The men pull off the heist but don't want to give Basil and Reader an even share. Meanwhile, police gather enough evidence to tap their phone lines. The men are arrested and brought to trial with the exception of Basil who has disappeared with the valuables Reader told him about.
The True Heist It's Based On: There really was a Brian Reader who got together with some of his former criminal associates to rob the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit on Easter weekend 2015. A younger man named Michael Seed, who they called “Basil,” assisted them in the heist. The older men were quickly captured and stood trial in 2016, but Seed evaded capture for three years. When he was finally apprehended, he was found to be in possession of over 1,000 items stolen from the safety deposit.
Due to their advanced ages, Reader and other members of the heist were released from prison on the stipulation that they return the millions of dollars in stolen goods.
More King of Thieves- #143 of 156 onThe Best Ensemble Movies Of All Time
- #34 of 37 onThe Best Movies About Old People
- #45 of 50 onThe Best British Crime Movies
- 104 VOTES
The Newton Boys
- Photo:
What It's About: In 1919 Texas, Willis Newton teams up with fellow criminal Brentwood Glassock to rob a series of banks. Newton recruits his brothers and the gang spends five years robbing banks. However, they never kill anyone, are always polite, and tend to target crooked bankers.
The group decides to rob a train in Canada on June 12, 1924. However, the plan goes awry when Glassock accidentally shoots Dock. Dock's injury results in Newton taking him to the hospital where they are soon arrested.
The True Heist It's Based On: There's a good amount of truth in The Newton Boys considering that Willis Newton and his brothers pulled off one of the greatest train robberies in history. However, the claim that they never killed anyone has been disputed, and it was reported at the time that their robberies could turn violent. “Sure, we shot a few people, but we never killed a single man,” Willis later said in an interview.
After serving his prison sentence, Willis Newton lived to be 90, passing away in 1979.
More The Newton Boys- #86 of 103 onThe Best Movies About Brothers
- #33 of 50 onThe Best Matthew McConaughey Movies, Ranked
- #25 of 54 onThe 50 Best PG-13 Historical Movies
- 114 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: Set in 1855 London, Edward Pierce is a wealthy socialite and career criminal. After learning that three boxes of gold bars are to be transported from London to Paris, he teams up with accomplice Robert Agar and two other men, along with the help of Pierce's mistress, Miriam, to pull off the heist.
Pierce and Agar manage to get the gold off the train, but Pierce is covered in soot and must wear Agar's ill-fitting clothes off the train. Pierce is quickly apprehended by police and he is put on trial.
The film ends with Agar posing as a police officer and Miriam transferring the keys to Pierce's handcuffs to him through a kiss. The three criminals take off together as Pierce is heralded as a local hero.
The True Heist It's Based On: On May 15, 1855, three boxes of gold left London. After the first station stop, it was noted that one of the boxes was 40 pounds lighter than it should have been, but the train proceeded. When the boxes were finally opened, it was discovered that the gold had been stolen and replaced with lead shot.
Edgar Agar eventually came forward and told police he had orchestrated the train robbery with William Pierce, James Burgess, and William Tester. Agar's share of the gold was meant to go to his wife while he served a prison sentence for a different crime, but Pierce allegedly kept the money.
- #11 of 13 onThe 13 Best Action Movies Set on Trains
- #38 of 56 onThe 50+ Best Movies Of 1979
- #23 of 58 onThe 55+ Best Movies Of 1978
- 123 VOTES
The Old Man & the Gun
- Photo:
What It's About: Two years after breaking out of San Quentin in 1979, 74-year-old Forrest Tucker is on the run. While evading police, Tucker befriends a woman named Jewel and goes on a series of robberies to help her pay off her mortgage, which Jewel doesn't know.
Tucker's biggest heist involves teaming up with former associates Theodore Green and Tom Waits Waller to steal $430,000 in gold bars from a bank. Although the three men (known as the “Over the Hill Gang”) get away with the bars, Tucker is later shot and captured. In prison, he toys with the idea of escaping for the 17th time.
The True Heist It's Based On: The real Forrest Tucker managed to escape prison 18 times. Tucker was known for his politeness during robberies and never had to use a gun. He also put superglue on his fingertips to prevent leaving fingerprints at a crime scene.
Between his escape from San Quentin in 1979 and being captured again in 1983, Tucker robbed approximately 60 banks. After serving 10 years in prison, he was released in 1993 only to end up back in prison in 1999 after robbing a series of grocery stores. Tucker died in prison in 2004.
- #18 of 31 onThe Best Movies About Stealing Money
- #42 of 57 onThe 50+ Best Bank Robbery Movies
- #6 of 13 on13 Times Movies Reused Footage From Other Movies
- 133 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: In 1950, Tony Pino and his brother-in-law Vinnie recruit a group of criminals to rob a Brink's bank in north Boston. Tony recently discovered that there's barely any security there, and he was easily able to rob a Brink's truck. After sneaking into the bank, the men steal $2.7 million in cash and checks. Tony is questioned by police, but they're unable to pin the crime on him.
Eventually, accomplices Specs O'Keefe and Stanley Gusciora are apprehended in Pennsylvania for burglary. O'Keefe breaks under police questioning and Tony is arrested along with Vinnie and the others. To Tony's amazement, he's considered a local celebrity when he arrives at court for his trial.
The True Heist It's Based On: The Brink's bank in north Boston was robbed by 11 men on January 17, 1950. Led by Anthony Pino, the FBI referred to the robbery as “the crime of the century.” It wasn't until 1954 when police arrested Joseph James O'Keefe that the FBI gained any traction in the case. Unlike in the film, it took O'Keefe until January 1956 to finally admit his involvement in the robbery and the names of the others involved. O'Keefe's disdain that the other robbers got to live their lives while he was in prison reportedly led to his confession.
- 143 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: After being caught smuggling drugs, Martine Love agrees to help the British Security Service (MI5) break into a bank vault to retrieve compromising pictures of Princess Margaret in The Bank Job. Love recruits a man named Terry Leather and several others to dig a tunnel into the bank and retrieve the photos. The robbers are caught after someone picks up their walkie-talkie communications on his ham radio. The news of the heist is all over the papers until a government gag order is instituted to protect Princess Margaret.
The True Heist It's Based On: A group of robbers tunneled into a Lloyds Bank vault in September 1971. Known as the “walkie-talkie bank job” and the “Baker Street robbery,” the case garnered major press attention due to police not pursuing a tip. A man named Robert Rowlands was adjusting his ham radio when he heard the robbers digging into the vault. Rowlands called the police and was reportedly told to record the conversation. That conversation served as both evidence in the robbers' arrests and dialogue for the film. There's no evidence that photos of Princess Margaret were involved in the robbery.
More The Bank Job- #6 of 32 onThe Greatest Heist Caper Movies, Ranked
- #12 of 31 onThe Best Movies About Stealing Money
- #5 of 94 on90+ Movies And Shows With Job In The Title
- 154 VOTES
- Photo:
What It's About: Bill Miner has been released from prison after 33 years. Set in 1901, the 60-something-year-old is unsure how to live out the rest of his life. After seeing The Great Train Robbery, one of the first films ever made, he decides to rob a train himself. Meanwhile, he falls in love with photographer and feminist activist Katherine Flynn.
Miner is initially successful in robbing a train, but his criminal career becomes his downfall. The film ends with him escaping prison, indicating his life of crime will continue.
The True Heist It's Based On: On September 10, 1904, Canada experienced its first train robbery after 60-year-old Billy Miner robbed a train with two accomplices. They stole over $6,000 in gold dust, $900 in cash, and an $80,000 bond. Miner fled to the United States but returned to Canada for a second train robbery in 1906 but was apprehended. Miner was sent to the Georgia State Penitentiary. Billy Miner died at age 70 but it's unclear if he died at Georgia State Penitentiary or San Quinten.
- 164 VOTES
What It's About: Four college students decide to rob the rare books section of a university library. Seeking inspiration for his art, Transylvania University student Spencer Reinhard devises a plan to steal valuable books with the help of friends Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk, and Charles Allen II. Warren claims to have contacts in Amsterdam who can sell the books on the black market for millions of dollars.
The group first attempts to rob the library while dressed as old men but they quickly leave after seeing multiple librarians guarding the books. They botch a second attempt, which leads the FBI directly to them.
The True Heist It's Based On: In December 2004, Reinhard, Lipka, Borsuk, and Allen robbed the rare books section of the Transylvania University library in Lexington, Kentucky. They tased librarian Betty Jean Gooch in the process and only gathered a fraction of the $5.7 million worth of books they planned to steal. Reinhard and Lipka took the books to Christie's auction house in New York and used fake names, but Reinhard made the mistake of giving the Christie's representative his actual cell phone number.
The students were arrested just two months later and received federal charges of robbery. Each man pled guilty and was sent to prison for at least seven years.
More American Animals- #3 of 12 onThe Best Crime Dramas Movies Streaming on Hulu
- #29 of 39 onThe Best American Movies
- #52 of 65 onThe Best Slow Burn Movies That Won't Burn You Out
