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| King of the 70's Obscure Cinema Shotgun is Ken Hutchison |
The last few years provided Cult Film Freak new favorite actors including Tom Courtenay, who we've yet to start covering; Dana Andrews, the site's patron saint, is all over the damn place; and for the last decade, STRAW DOGS villain Ken Hutchison — and here it begins...
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| Ken Hutchison in Sweeney 2 |
First off, John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as D.I. Jack Regan and D.S. George Carter are two tough and edgy British cops who look tough and edgy, and are better than ever in their second theatrical venture after the series THE SWEENEY went off the air: First being SWEENEY! sans THE and followed by an exclamation point, and the next, fitfully titled...
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| Ken Hutchison in STRAW DOGS |
SWEENEY 2 centers on a strange group of bank robbers who steal
only a particular amount each time, and never has a group of thugs been so cultish and family-oriented...
Oddly mundane scenes with the gang sitting at long outdoor table in their poolside home of Malta (each hit pays for exact sections of their expensive compound) gives a parenthetical glimpse into thugs who, once in London, become shotgun-wielding, nylon-masked marauders (known as "blaggers"), and the leader looks natural with that particular weapon in hand as Ken Hutchinson played the meanest of the bullying and untimely deadly STRAW DOGS villains, Norman Scutt, under the tense and ultra-violent direction of Sam Peckinpah...
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| Ken Hutchison aims in SWEENEY 2 |
In fact, Ken's character, Hill, is the most memorable, and someone to fear, but there are distractions. One scene, playing more for the sort of dark comedy of the series, involves a time bomb in a hotel. Meanwhile, another side-story about Denholm Elliot as Regan's crooked chief under scrutiny is rushed and contrived...
Leaving Hutchison's deadly persona to cut through an intentionally sparse Neo Noir story, second only to a literally smashing chase where a yellow car crashes through a store window and goes blasting through the grungy streets of London. Wherein the action and gunfire evenly curbs the pulpy dialogue, especially between our SWEENEY cops John Thaw as Regan and Dennis Waterman as Carter, always on edge and waiting for the next crime as we get two sparse, offbeat tales from either side of the law.
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| Ken Hutchison in Straw Dogs |
SWEENEY!: The first movie from the TV series, by the title alone... or rather, the tail end of it... simply, SWEENEY!, plays out with more action and intrigue and yet still, something is missing...
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| Double DVD features Hutchison in nylon mask |
The plot is based on a real life scandal in England. A political advisor, played by FRENZY killer Barry Foster, manipulates politician Ian Bannan, whose girlfriend was killed after she recorded her voice for... well that's all part of the jigsaw where ultimately the pieces don't really fall together...
There is, however, a tense underline that puts Regan (Thaw) on his own after a drunk driving accident that he's only partially responsible. Practically making it Thaw's solo venture with tall, partially-balding Dennis Waterman on the sidelines while everyone who messes with Barry Foster's plan is picked-off, which are the most entertaining scenes. One victim is another STRAW DOGS vet; and Collin Welland, as the friendly vicar, was the polar opposite of Ken Hutchison. Overall, in a plot more open and violent than the series, pretty much anything goes. But sadly, even that's limited. (And while, in the usual English-cinema tradition, ugly and/or plain-looking leading men easily land hot dames, it happens in both movies... as it did the series; although there's little value here since the women-targets are so quick and easy, they may as well be worthless whores — with little taste!)
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| Ken Hutchison in GROUPIE GIRL |
GROUPIE GIRL: Sally Thomsett from STRAW DOGS described Ken Hutchison as a "fun-loving rogue," and her sister Jeanette Thomsett appears (somewhere, though we haven't found her) in GROUPIE GIRL, where Ken has a noticeable yet somewhat insignificant role as a member of "the other band," the one that gets the titular beauty handed off from by the 1960's rock group (this was filmed in 1969) that she began traveling with...
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| Ken Huchison loses his shotgun in Sweeney 2 |
Esme Johns as Sally has a dull life, and like the title, she is a groupie. Instead of the pros and cons of a road band's life through the eyes of a groupie, this is a sexploitive envelope being pushed in various hotel bedrooms — with nothing inside the package and when Ken Hutchison's Colin turns up, the title character has all but vanished as the police are on her trail...
Since she'd been traded from the initial tour bus to another, smaller vehicle, this second band — that we never even see in concert — has to sweat and strain their way out of being blamed for... well it's not quite clear what that is in this exploitation mess that, for us, stands out as a career ignition for Hutchison, wielding the same sneaky, snarky expressions that'd have purpose the following year. "It's not water I drink out of a bottle, sir," he tells Dustin Hoffman in STRAW DOGS in a subtle, wry, underline vicious manner. Chalk up GROUPIE GIRL as a road movie that runs out of gas before it really begins.
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| Ken Hutchison SWEENEY 2 Lobby Card |
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| Ken Hutchison SWEENEY 2 Lobby Card with another armed Mr. Hill shot |
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| Ken Hutchison as Frank Hill in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison as Frank Hill in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison in GROUPIE GIRL ie I AM A GROUPIE |
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| Relatively New Recent Ken Hutchison photo The Sweeney DVD Interview Introduction maybe around 2004 |
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| Ken Hutchison in GROUPIE GIRL ie I AM A GROUPIE |
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| Not sure if this is Sally Thompsett's sister or the GROUPIE GIRL but... it's probably Maureen Flanagan |
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| Ken Hutchison sprays fire in SWEENEY 2 |
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| From the DVD of SWEENEY 2 with John Thaw, Dennis Waterman and Ken Hutchison |
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| SWEENEY 2 menu for the double DVD |
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| Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Cloaked Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison relaxes with a shotgun in SWEENEY 2 |
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| More shotguns with Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| The Flying Squad chases a Flying Car in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Cool opening credit for SWEENEY 2 |
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| Anna Gaël in SWEENEY 2 as Mrs. Hill (wife of Ken Hutchison's Hill) |
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| Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| From THE SWEENEY season 3 episode Visiting Fireman is CLOCKWORK ORANGE "I was cured alright!" ascot starlet Katya Wyeth |
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| Diane Keen as Bianca Hamilton with gentleman villain Barry Foster in SWEENEY! |
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| Sebastian Witkin in SWEENEY 2: His P.O.V. is of the poster-bearing car window crash |
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| Sebastian Witkin as Skateboarder in SWEENEY 2 snagging the dropped gun |
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| Anna Nygh as Nazi-loving model bank robber moll Shirley Hicks in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Anna Nygh in Sweeney 2 "Do you realize that every single part of that has been machined by hand?" Detective Jellyneck |
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| Ken Hutchison fishing with bullets in Malta welcomes his mates to the island |
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| No. 2 blagger Brian Gwaspari as Mr White w/ Ken Hutchison and Anna Gaël at the dinner table in Malta |
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| Honor among thieves with Ken Hutchison and Anna Gaël at the dinner table in Malta |
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| John Thaw and Dennis Waterman at the bank robbery aftermath in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Dennis Waterman prepares for the last blag in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison after the second robbery in transition in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Anna Mygh and Ken Hutchison before the second blag in SWEENEY 2 |
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| "I LOST MY PURDEY!" Ken Hutchison and Franklin White in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Donald Webster, Del Henney, Ken Hutchison and Jim Norton in STRAW DOGS |
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| Ever the villain, here's Ken Hutchison as Police Sergeant in Gandhi |
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| Anna Mygh and Ken Hutchison as Mr. and Mrs. Hill in SWEENEY 2 |
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| "Loyalty's like a girdle. It should stretch two says." Denholm Elliott and John Thaw in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Dennis Waterman and "Girl" played by Seretta Wilson in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| John Thaw and Dennis Waterman in the island of Malta in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison SWEENEY 2 Lobby Card |
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| John Thaw and Dennis Waterman SWEENEY 2 Lobby Card |
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| Dennis Waterman and John Vine SWEENEY 2 Lobby Card |
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| John Thaw (aiming at a suicide-committing Ken Hutchison) SWEENEY 2 Lobby Card |
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| John Thaw in THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER with Tom Courtenay |
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| Sweeney 2 Foreign poster featuring John Thaw and Ken Hutchison and Anna Nygh |
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| Anna Mygh and Ken Hutchison as Mr. and Mrs. Hill in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Top L/R Ken Hutchison, Peter Vaughan, Donald Webster from Straw Dogs (same direction below) |
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| Ken Hutchison prepares for last blag in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Ken Hutchison in SWEENEY 2 |
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| Diana Weston in THE SWEENEY 2 |
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| Diana Weston on THE SWEENEY episode FEET OF CLAY |
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| Diana Weston in THE SWEENEY 2 |
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