Juri, Westlake may have had Lionel White in mind when he
wrote PLUNDER SQUAD.
He was certainly very familiar with White's work. I
recall an MWA anthology back in the 70s or early 80s that had
a piece by Westlake that involved a White novel. A gang (I
think in Europe somewhere) used a White novel as a plan for a
caper. It worked beautifully but then, as Westlake gleefully
pointed out, "They ran out of book." Life continued beyond
the point where the book ended and they began to screw things
up and were caught.
I can't remember the title of the White novel nor the
anthology, both of which are in storage an ocean away from
where I am writing this. Perhaps someone else can supply
them.
Does the 1958 movie you mentioned, "Plunder Road," star Wayne
Morris and include a scene where two cars lock bumpers in a
traffic jam? That was the first caper movie I can remember
seeing and it really had an impact. I haven't seen it in
forty years and I would be curious to see it again and see
how it holds up.
Richard Moore
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