Olsen-bandens store kup (1972) Online

Well made Danish comedy with an ironic and sarcastic twist of social realism. The movies in this series are probably the best danish comedies ever made, they are not annoying as several of the older Danish comedies and the humour is intelligent and peculiar.

In my opinion one of the best Olsenbanden movies made. As the other earlier Olsenbanden movies, this one has supreme acting from Sprogøe, Grundwald, Bundgaard and Walther. On top of this comes what I believe is Arthur Jensens best part ever as the petty-thief Kongen, with high ambitions and a snobbish attitude. I never liked Poul Reichardt much and I don´t find him convincing in this movie either playing the part as Knaegten, the partner of Kongen.

What makes this Olsenbanden movie exceptional is the brilliant script. The fact that Egon Olsen (Sprogoee) has found a worthy advisory in Kongen carries this movie through very well - much better than some of the later movies in the series.

So 8/10 from me for some good entertainment

This is the last of the poor movies regarding the Olsen Gang. The last true example of poor writing and a lack of creativity. After this, they truly start getting clever and sophisticated. There are good things in this - the speech near the end and the main robbery both leap to mind - the problem is that they're few and far apart. The plot starts out fine(if the initial, pre-credits robbery is below what the Gang would usually be caught doing(literally)(though it is, admittedly, based on a rather humorous observation)), but it quickly gets off track. Unrealistically fast developments, too many mix-ups(though not as many as in the first) and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of lucky coincidences. More of the famous and beloved trademarks are set(this is the first time we see a red suitcase, which later become the definite sign of money being transported as carry-on luggage, and this is also the first time Ove Verner Hansen is seen and introduced as a threatening presence(then again, with his physique, what else could he be?), though not in the role we later become accustomed to him playing), and the series slowly reaches the quality that we Danes remember it for. This is less than the former, but not worse than the first two(and slightly better, on some things). The humor is mostly silly... still some humane details, but the satire is less biting and accurate. Slapstick is present. There was even a point where two characters burst into song. Luckily, from the next film and onwards, this transcends the typical Danish film of this period... something this one, except for as far as a few attributes go, cannot claim to have accomplished. Yet again, the writers bring in a rivaling gang of criminals... third time's the charm, huh? It might have been effective to at least separate the films where you use this plot item... three films in a row, all with the major opposition coming from the same basic group of people(and not the police, at that). The two petty thieves are hardly credible as the long-time nemesis of The Olsen Gang... they're certainly less talented. The character of Sonja, the younger sister of the younger thief seems to be added mainly to attract the young male crowd. How else to explain the utterly gratuitous shot of her getting into the jacuzzi naked(from the back, but still)? Jesper Langberg takes over from Peter Steen(apparently portraying the same character?) in making fun of the police, but to much less effect. The new police chief is fine, but Watt-Boolsen suits the later role(s) as a criminal/businessman(in these films, the line between the two trades can be quite thin) much better. Similarly, Arthur Jensen is far more entertaining in his later supporting roles than in his performance as The King, the older of the two thieves. Claus Ryskjær has a nice, if tiny, role where he is his usual neurotic self(later to be given a larger role in the ninth film). The planning aspect of the film starts to take shape for the later films nicely this time around, but Bahs and Balling has Egon make a ridiculous mistake in this(not to mention the endless mix-ups and coincidences between the various characters) that we'd never see the Egon of later films do. In fact, many of his actions in this seem tailor-made simply to allow The King and The Jack to get the better of him. A less well-written effort, but also the last of the poor ones. Grant it a viewing for the jokes and gags on confirmation, and then rush on to the remaining films of the series. I recommend this to only the biggest of The Olsen Gang fans. 6/10

I had watched this film a long time ago, as a kid. When I saw it again, after seeing most of other Olsen-banden films, I found this one a bit disappointing. It seems, like the movie makers were searching for a proper formula for the series - which they fortunately found in later films. In this film, firstly, the gang is involved in a common burglary, against honest citizens. The only excuse for an opening scene is, that this is a very funny situation joke. The title big score is stealing 4 millions of collected taxes. ...Not that a government guarantees to make a proper use of money collected from people, but it feels better, when our heroes punish some dishonest individuals, who deserved it. The police in the film are just annoyingly goofy, but this is also the last film of the series to make such simple jokes of the police.

The ending is dissatisfying and just wrong - if the Olsen's gang could not keep the stolen money, then why on Earth the script makers awarded an evil woman from the other gang with the loot?... Was it only because she was attractive, although her character did not do anything in the whole film to be likable? Moreover, the lone woman in an expensive fur, showing a suitcase full of money, would probably soon fell a victim of some scoundrel, and we even see a candidate, clearly interested in her money. By the way, Annika Persson hardly said a word in the film, and as far as it is known, this is her only role. There was even a nudity scene, when we saw her from a back, coming to bath - if I recall correctly, the only nudity scene in a whole series. Although pleasant to look at, her character did not fit to the series. All in all, I feel it would have been more appropriate ending, if contents of the suitcase just had spilled on the airport ground.

Despite this criticism, the film is worthy to look at. There are some funny twists, when Yvonne criticizes Kjeld and Benny, praising Egon, or when Benny takes over planning in Olsen's style, and Kjeld acts like Benny. Even a musical scene with Kongen and Knægten is an intelligent and funny spoof of old Hollywood movies, and does not seem out of place.