The Great Bank Robbery

Gold stolen by outlaws is stashed in the impenetrable bank of Friendly, a small town in Texas. A preacher, Rev. Pious Blue (Zero Mostel), is actually a thief. He and his associates, including voluptuous partner Lyda Kebanov (Kim Novak), plan to tunnel into the vault and blow it up with TNT, just as a Fourth of July celebration drowns out the noise. There are complications. A number of rival gangs (which include Mexican bandits and a gunfighter called Slade (Claude Akins)) are also after the loot. Then there is Ben Quick (Clint Walker) of the Texas Rangers, a lawman out to find evidence confirming the corruption of the banker and town Mayor Kincaid (John Anderson), who is also inside the vault. The reverend's band is successful, distracting the bank's guards by having Lyda pretend to be Lady Godiva, riding nude on a white horse, with just small flower pasties covering her nipples and groin. They intend to escape by hot-air balloon. The gold is too heavy for liftoff, however. Lyda volunteers to abandon ship, in part because she has fallen for Quick, who finds the proof he needs to convict Kincaid while the Reverend floats safely away, along with the gold.