CHRISTINA APPLEGATE IN THE SNAKY JAWS-CLONE 'JAWS OF SATAN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSF6SXzmm3ZN7jJLS7ReYuHd46t6YOklBCN7VBBOHn0A6hUPnfBb5UX1rass4UvqJ3-hn5TvAaqsHgV6sX2AmperWza2bA0lo_6S1wtK1u5CBWDUqD6wRAkLr3D2y4xa6Tx1rjfaB3WuNYfF2O0g4QvwsJzZ_K4ePcyql1FZW2hvZ0lUq_cw22diMCw/s1439/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-30%20at%2010.20.03%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSF6SXzmm3ZN7jJLS7ReYuHd46t6YOklBCN7VBBOHn0A6hUPnfBb5UX1rass4UvqJ3-hn5TvAaqsHgV6sX2AmperWza2bA0lo_6S1wtK1u5CBWDUqD6wRAkLr3D2y4xa6Tx1rjfaB3WuNYfF2O0g4QvwsJzZ_K4ePcyql1FZW2hvZ0lUq_cw22diMCw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-30%20at%2010.20.03%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Christina Applegate in JAWS OF SATAN Year: 1981 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Strange when you know a movie by one name, adorning the posters, video cases and disc covers, but another title displays on the actual opening credits... usually fitting a lot more. One example is THE SILENT FLUTE verses CIRCLE OF IRON: the first centers on what the film is about while the other sounds a lot cooler. But in this particular case, banking on the Steven Spielberg shark blockbuster, morphing KING COBRA into JAWS OF SATAN, is actually a better fit...<br> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p> The titular serpent <i>is</i> The Devil seeking Gothic revenge on a priest. Yet we mostly center on Gretchen Corbett’s Dr. Maggie Sheridan, investigating a series of snake bites taking place in a small town where Fritz Weaver’s Father Tom Farrow, ironically aided (with great chemistry) by new age spiritualist Diana Douglas, resides...</p><span></span>

christina applegate, eighties, exploitation, fritz weaver, gretchen corbett, horror, jaws-clone, john mccurry, nancy priddy, norman lloyd, snake

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE IN THE SNAKY JAWS-CLONE 'JAWS OF SATAN'

Christina Applegate in JAWS OF SATAN Year: 1981 Rating: ***1/2 Strange when you know a movie by one name, adorning the posters, video cases...

LISA LANGLOIS IN THE ROGER CORMAN JAWS-CLONE 'THE NEST'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLCy4k6_icGdaB_EIQFqFwo2p-H6TpQlg2Dst-8tmix0MhAmmCX8chtwDlFc9NDWufmMhPcAT4Uu4W0jwZyp1uz3eOSEigc06iNyejELvSPlQL12hpJTtIy45HSq2_N5ApA4WF6MsZy-epJXt16mLZ1mZRxu68ZH2qW_q7VfNdc4bPNRDBcDwES-jdA/s1600/0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="947" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLCy4k6_icGdaB_EIQFqFwo2p-H6TpQlg2Dst-8tmix0MhAmmCX8chtwDlFc9NDWufmMhPcAT4Uu4W0jwZyp1uz3eOSEigc06iNyejELvSPlQL12hpJTtIy45HSq2_N5ApA4WF6MsZy-epJXt16mLZ1mZRxu68ZH2qW_q7VfNdc4bPNRDBcDwES-jdA/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><span class="_mh6 _wsc" id="cch_f1a60812ac19e66"><span class="_3oh- _58nk">"Working on that film was amongst the worst experiences of my career" Lisa Langlois</span></span> YEAR: 1988</u></td></tr></tbody></table>The same year Roger Corman's former New World Pictures put out the slug infestation Jaws-Clone <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2019/11/slugs.html">SLUGS</a>, his new company New Horizons, led by daughter Julie Corman, made a killer cockroach flick titled THE NEST...<br> <br> Which is almost as effective, and with a higher grade of actors including legendary Robert Lansing as a real estate developer who, a cross between the greedy JAWS mayor and a similar land-developer in another Steven Spielberg thriller, POLTERGEIST, is covering up not an Indian burial ground but some kind of waste that harbors mutant cockroaches doing tons of local damage...<br>

body count, creature, eighties, exploitation, horror, jaws-clone, lisa langlois, robert lansing, roger corman, terri treas

LISA LANGLOIS IN THE ROGER CORMAN JAWS-CLONE 'THE NEST'

"Working on that film was amongst the worst experiences of my career" Lisa Langlois YEAR: 1988 The same year Roger Corman's ...

TRACKING THE JAWS-CLONE OF NEW WORLD PICTURES 'SLUGS'

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5B1wENXnOw9-Z9YhgZwWTmPuVlmPwcUkIe_sbfQhz-SBVpHFar5PsmS6HI2cBNupD1OHAXC29FogLfQj7k110PP7mPOA1u6efxv16GT91I5XC7HcnMbHcIdIxQrNdhHMbvyPDWxsOsOxchxU3Bzu2jlJi1SkvKRxJsmSq5FPkcacuJqvvcXwcbplpcKm/s1494/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-27%20at%2010.08.38%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5B1wENXnOw9-Z9YhgZwWTmPuVlmPwcUkIe_sbfQhz-SBVpHFar5PsmS6HI2cBNupD1OHAXC29FogLfQj7k110PP7mPOA1u6efxv16GT91I5XC7HcnMbHcIdIxQrNdhHMbvyPDWxsOsOxchxU3Bzu2jlJi1SkvKRxJsmSq5FPkcacuJqvvcXwcbplpcKm/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-27%20at%2010.08.38%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SLUGS Year: 1988 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Roger Corman's New World Pictures sans Roger Corman made a surprisingly decent Jaws-Clone, taking its time for the body count deaths with pretty good actors spouting pretty good dialogue between gross-out sequences that outshine the suspenseful horror aspect, overall more catered to the drive-in exploitation crowd...<br> <br> Beginning with a bikini-clad blonde on a boat with her boyfriend, the JAWS connection is contrived right up front since SLUGS aren't known for being water/lake creatures... but soon we're at a small town that, within its cozy confides, has a nice guy health inspector who, along with his pretty wife and working class buddy, investigates what could be killing (and skinning bare) various townspeople...<br> </p><p></p>

body count, creature, eighties, exploitation, horror, jaws-clone, suspense, thriller

TRACKING THE JAWS-CLONE OF NEW WORLD PICTURES 'SLUGS'

Title: SLUGS Year: 1988 Rating: ***1/2 Roger Corman's New World Pictures sans Roger Corman made a surprisingly decent Jaws-Clone, takin...

BEWARE OF 'BLOOD BEACH' W/ DARRELL FETTY & LENA POUSETTE

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWna3M7Gm9xHU9gqvQ2GV5-rpflEaJlTw48ChBzbp_mqwCGU2FXQb322eaFm8ZJxqjo6q9Pdyr_D1aVwxbGMSSzyhsD8UdX8tYAfRWCY6DsusZeGWIJiRjcEE-GLcUC8wX0oK0gXXnNd6JVZn2hBymIcQzZOkGwlhB4avsrS88SD7Kmp5D3SWQInQtWQ/s1000/blood-beach-570bc59f9ddff.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1000" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWna3M7Gm9xHU9gqvQ2GV5-rpflEaJlTw48ChBzbp_mqwCGU2FXQb322eaFm8ZJxqjo6q9Pdyr_D1aVwxbGMSSzyhsD8UdX8tYAfRWCY6DsusZeGWIJiRjcEE-GLcUC8wX0oK0gXXnNd6JVZn2hBymIcQzZOkGwlhB4avsrS88SD7Kmp5D3SWQInQtWQ/w400-h251/blood-beach-570bc59f9ddff.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BLOOD BEACH Year: 1980 </u></td></tr></tbody></table>BLOOD BEACH is an inspired, intentionally campy Jaws-clone that intentionally never reaches the water, and with a few payoffs, including each death scene, ranging from BIG WEDNESDAY party dude Darrell Fetty as a deputy/musician  to a few doomed locals sucked into the sand...<br> <br> And then investigated by some great actors not only wasted, but marring the horror element including old school drably dressed Burt Young, Otis Young (no relation... Otis is the tall black dude from THE LAST DETAIL who looks nothing like Rocky Balboa's sloppy brother-in-law) and John Saxon in an investigation phase that, sadly, not only takes over the fun but practically smothers it... Basically, too much discussion on what already happened and not enough things happening makes for a rather dull beach... <br>

beach, body count, burt young, darrell fetty, eighties, horror, jaws-clone, john saxon, lena pousette, marianna hill, otis young, thriller

BEWARE OF 'BLOOD BEACH' W/ DARRELL FETTY & LENA POUSETTE

Title: BLOOD BEACH Year: 1980 BLOOD BEACH is an inspired, intentionally campy Jaws-clone that intentionally never reaches the water, and wi...

DENISE GALICK IN THE JAWS-CLONE 'HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWbp61-u3AU25ujb-c85qRuW4WjJgyhPwT-abGKT3sYHoRZyZd7dDNC9A9kqX3p0xyGizQh3lQ4ajZxjuUq2cwZgZSwxZ4RJmqlhfw_C4GThlv2bhLUqKB5JvKTYydqMy8DBlrI6RXAmr8lJ020X09NkdcRjHNkaC4ln6T5STwgHROB--7kCUBRuEMw/s1719/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-28%20at%2010.58.10%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="1719" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWbp61-u3AU25ujb-c85qRuW4WjJgyhPwT-abGKT3sYHoRZyZd7dDNC9A9kqX3p0xyGizQh3lQ4ajZxjuUq2cwZgZSwxZ4RJmqlhfw_C4GThlv2bhLUqKB5JvKTYydqMy8DBlrI6RXAmr8lJ020X09NkdcRjHNkaC4ln6T5STwgHROB--7kCUBRuEMw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-28%20at%2010.58.10%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dense Galick in Humanoids from the Deep 1980  ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Not only did Roger Corman produce a JAWS-clone (directed by Barbara Peeters) where sexy young women are raped by mutated fish-humans, but there's a scientific excuse that's all Darwin's doing: And as bad as HUMANOIDS OF THE DEEP seems as an exploitation horror, it actually fails only when going too far and showing too much... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Not of the lady victims, but the creatures who, resembling ALIEN superglued with seaweed, pilage a local seaside town that, like the JAWS mayor wants business flourishing during shark attacks, goes one step further as Vic Morrow, in order to provide bigger fish for his in-coming cannery, has unintentionally created these monstrosities... </p><p><span></span></p>

ann turkel, anthony pena, barbara peeters, body count, cindy weintraub, d, denise galick, doug mcclure, eighties, exploitation, greg travis, horror, jaws-clone, lynn theel, roger corman, vic morrow

DENISE GALICK IN THE JAWS-CLONE 'HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP'

Dense Galick in Humanoids from the Deep 1980  ***1/2 Not only did Roger Corman produce a JAWS-clone (directed by Barbara Peeters) where sexy...

BO HOPKINS IN THE ITALIAN-IMPORT JAWS-TERROR OF 'TENTACLES'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkJEMbbHeRbGyKcxFBQ9nu-55z3Sdtxwaemo-AZ5lDA75MvSa04TdzQBiA6Gq-beGELjXsIhgwEfCrftv_6IjG9cuB7-vamGngU2tobNuVKyp2V42HhymoRF3u-qd7aFSBoVXdEkYzpdpuovW4ds8ihH559l8jL6FzO9bU-SFEpdDEH3oBYC7gMuNCA/s1381/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-25%20at%206.19.32%20PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1061" data-original-width="1381" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkJEMbbHeRbGyKcxFBQ9nu-55z3Sdtxwaemo-AZ5lDA75MvSa04TdzQBiA6Gq-beGELjXsIhgwEfCrftv_6IjG9cuB7-vamGngU2tobNuVKyp2V42HhymoRF3u-qd7aFSBoVXdEkYzpdpuovW4ds8ihH559l8jL6FzO9bU-SFEpdDEH3oBYC7gMuNCA/w400-h308/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-25%20at%206.19.32%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sherry Buchanan in TENTACOLI Year: 1977 Rates: ****<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table>The haunting techno keyboard riff by one of Quentin Tarantino's long list of sampled bits of soundtrack, Stelvio Cipriani, opens the 1977 Italian-made JAWS-clone exploitation, TENTACLES, on an ominous level that deserves more praise and appreciation to the overall underrated motion picture it envelopes...<br> <br> With creative camera angles, including a ghost boat being towed in to bay while onlookers both move forward and recede slowly from a reverse crane shot, director Ovidio G. Assonitis, who'd produce <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2017/09/TheLittleHeat.html">THE VISITOR</a> two years later and with a list of cult b-flicks under his belt, works stealthily alongside his stock composer to, like the 1975 Steven Spielberg shark <i>summer blockbuster</i>, not spoil the killer octopus all at once, maintaining some good old fashion implied slowburn suspense in an Alfred Hitchcock fashion...<br>

adventure, bo hopkins, claude akins, exploitation, horror, italian-import, john huston, ovidio g. assonitis, seventies, shelley winters, sherry buchanan, stelvio cipriani

BO HOPKINS IN THE ITALIAN-IMPORT JAWS-TERROR OF 'TENTACLES'

Sherry Buchanan in TENTACOLI Year: 1977 Rates: **** The haunting techno keyboard riff by one of Quentin Tarantino's long list of sampled...

RICHARD RUSH DIRECTS ADAM ROARKE IN 'THE SAVAGE SEVEN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsPXRFQOGdvc7k8ZCXhmgEqO-M8qWVwLWoMnrTTGlXdWHZ1UnF6zFtFfn1bsoQtdUHLPanCLVQc-hdccDB-tQG3zeHNqdlEopQkCPJ9Iwb2kZvaBNng5Mli2HVG7mVNSkcYJVvlR3ANJt1rs79tsDSW3crSa-FSsW3PPu5_Bm39oDRz0CDZ5ma924Pg/s2642/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="2642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsPXRFQOGdvc7k8ZCXhmgEqO-M8qWVwLWoMnrTTGlXdWHZ1UnF6zFtFfn1bsoQtdUHLPanCLVQc-hdccDB-tQG3zeHNqdlEopQkCPJ9Iwb2kZvaBNng5Mli2HVG7mVNSkcYJVvlR3ANJt1rs79tsDSW3crSa-FSsW3PPu5_Bm39oDRz0CDZ5ma924Pg/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SAVAGE SEVEN Director: Richard Rush Year: 1968 Score: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Perhaps the reason most 1970's Westerns played like violently marauding, town-taking-over biker flicks is that biker flicks from the <i>1960's</i> were in fact fully-charged/revved-up modern Westerns... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Especially with Richard Rush's THE SAVAGE SEVEN about a rural, dilapidated Indian Reservation resembling a ghost town slum where white actors Robert Walker Jr and John Cardos, along with half-black Max Julien, play the Indian residents, initially dealing with that titular gang led by an otherwise polite, handsome and helpful Adam Roarke... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, adam roarke, biker, charles bail, exploitation, gary kent, larry bishop, max julien, modern western, penny marshall, richard rush, sixties

RICHARD RUSH DIRECTS ADAM ROARKE IN 'THE SAVAGE SEVEN'

Title: THE SAVAGE SEVEN Director: Richard Rush Year: 1968 Score: ***1/2 Perhaps the reason most 1970's Westerns played like violently ma...

ANN CURTHOYS & NINA THOMAS IN 'THE SWEENEY: TOMORROW MAN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrWvytP5lvt5wlXRRpQ6Kpgt6oOMoI2IMLMLPoolDpY8N6a2HpHw61D0Zyvd62uy9YWuE9B_6uUbdLF5Rldt6BFMc4xIy_NGVt0-EFDLReN313QB7_2Xzq3SU5Ev42u8tvy5DhRKJoQWhJ0AfT7et46FL7nwcIHXRTNOjhCSu4ExztI7V_DdXywYuCQ/s2019/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="2019" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrWvytP5lvt5wlXRRpQ6Kpgt6oOMoI2IMLMLPoolDpY8N6a2HpHw61D0Zyvd62uy9YWuE9B_6uUbdLF5Rldt6BFMc4xIy_NGVt0-EFDLReN313QB7_2Xzq3SU5Ev42u8tvy5DhRKJoQWhJ0AfT7et46FL7nwcIHXRTNOjhCSu4ExztI7V_DdXywYuCQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SWEENEY: TOMORROW MAN Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Another episode with an obvious inspiration drawn from Peter Falk's COLUMBO... although it has nothing to do with John Thaw as Inspector Regan or Dennis Waterman as the younger Carter badgering a suspect...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Instead the similarity occurs in the cold open when John Hurt as computer expert Tony Gray ignites a deliberately overboard ploy in chewing-out boss George Cole... but that results in revenge and trickery instead of murder...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

ann curthoys, british, british neo noir, con man, cop, dennis waterman, garfield morgan, george cole, john hurt, john thaw, nina thomas, revenge, sweeney

ANN CURTHOYS & NINA THOMAS IN 'THE SWEENEY: TOMORROW MAN'

Title: THE SWEENEY: TOMORROW MAN Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2 Another episode with an obvious inspiration drawn from Peter Falk's COLUMBO.....

NICOLA PAGETT & BILLY MURRAY ON 'THE SWEEENEY: STOPPO DRIVER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOnAob6L1tFMwryf-c3p6hudsdXuonBeTiSpFI0Y-7zskbv1urv4QLOdIUyvjVDZBrCDbNHVsaZUhrtMC22W3n4Y85hyQ01M-Ovj1m4F12rto9yRTSLXPrEPgnaiXq4UfUvqBJCycaSNztcdEej8qaNKcr_sxNp7X9BWz0hpDMGYs5PIeNbUkvxTrWQ/s1988/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1988" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOnAob6L1tFMwryf-c3p6hudsdXuonBeTiSpFI0Y-7zskbv1urv4QLOdIUyvjVDZBrCDbNHVsaZUhrtMC22W3n4Y85hyQ01M-Ovj1m4F12rto9yRTSLXPrEPgnaiXq4UfUvqBJCycaSNztcdEej8qaNKcr_sxNp7X9BWz0hpDMGYs5PIeNbUkvxTrWQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Billy Murray & John Thaw in The Sweeney: STOPPO DRIVER Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Another action-packed opener that winds up in a den of thieves with loads of pulpy dialogue... and a titular STOPPO DRIVER in this first SWEENEY season, played by Billy Murray, drives like... as described by John Thaw's Inspector Regan... Evel Knievel in that rudimentary chase that winds up killing the crime family's own driver, and they want this whipper-snapper wheelman for their own, so far as kidnapping his just-married wife...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But story-wise the DRIVER winds up riding backseat to the likes of gambling-house moll Nicola Pagett, who, along with her crooked brothers and father (including a rowdy card playing Aubrey Morris), could have had a gritty gangster series of their own, which is what made THE SWEENEY often play out like a gritty criminal's anthology series with our mainstay SWEENEY partners Thaw with Dennis Waterman serving as their inevitable foil.</p><p><span></span></p>

action, aubrey morris, british, british neo noir, dennis waterman, gangster, getaway driver, john thaw, nicola pagett, seventies, sweeney

NICOLA PAGETT & BILLY MURRAY ON 'THE SWEEENEY: STOPPO DRIVER'

Billy Murray & John Thaw in The Sweeney: STOPPO DRIVER Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2 Another action-packed opener that winds up in a den of ...

JOHN THAW IN 'THE SWEENEY: THIN ICE' WITH JOHN FLANAGAN

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwlqW0rf-ZucvIJ-RoQOcwpMNnZVCSuixT62px11TaPuT-OcVuvPjK878x9P27DEEawLK9_w7RthWMjGQ31Lv1P7KkIXLtEuvFeQqd9qX246M5Q5g9EBOWrbP_YFuGkkLHOl38mniyFXIVZ3W4K3ZMkDR1j112HOoGcY8oWLghW3BhS1-FQJlA0JYYQ/s2022/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="2022" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwlqW0rf-ZucvIJ-RoQOcwpMNnZVCSuixT62px11TaPuT-OcVuvPjK878x9P27DEEawLK9_w7RthWMjGQ31Lv1P7KkIXLtEuvFeQqd9qX246M5Q5g9EBOWrbP_YFuGkkLHOl38mniyFXIVZ3W4K3ZMkDR1j112HOoGcY8oWLghW3BhS1-FQJlA0JYYQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Thaw and John Flanagan in THE SWEENEY: THIN ICE Year: 1975 Rating: *** </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>THE SWEENEY season one's third episode THIN ICE can be called the "dog one" as it centers on a sophisticated criminal who flees to France, leaving his beloved pet behind... to be babysat and then imported to France by Brian Glover, an inept/bungling criminal who Regan and Carter (John Thaw and Dennis Waterman aided by grouchy PC John Flanagan as Matt Matthews) keep their eyes on and eventually sink their interrogating hooks into...</p><p></p><p>Making THIN ICE not only a quirky, semi-comedic episode but is the first of a series broken up into GET CARTER style gritty action/exploitation pieces or offbeat ventures like this one; yet it's also replete with the usual ingredients including a strict, overbearing chief for Regan to rebel against (Peter Jeffrey, who co-starred with John Thaw in the DR. PHIBES sequel) and the usual collection of character-actors also including Brian Wilde as a high-class lawyer and token bimbo-moll Margaret Nolan, waiting poolside with the classy antagonist Alfred Marks. </p><p><span></span></p>

brian glover, brian wilde, british, british neo noir, cop, crime, dennis waterman, john thaw, seventies, sweeney

JOHN THAW IN 'THE SWEENEY: THIN ICE' WITH JOHN FLANAGAN

John Thaw and John Flanagan in THE SWEENEY: THIN ICE Year: 1975 Rating: *** THE SWEENEY season one's third episode THIN ICE can be calle...

CLASSIC CRIME CINEMA AMBIANCE FOR 'THE SWEENEY: NIGHT OUT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAji9LB6UDdhwcBM9kWXW9t9QoriFKIib5BqrqjqdUBML5avw1MPWC9Jbt5WKybUDh-6k2Ft2NglxPFqyaYow-80SJk2kIXCKbNLlbYqLysfE7zMG6ZD57Fk6-lSj2sW7uEiQaii79A1htqezY8mwiOuANqTHPZ9AjpgaWabpE860KNj4uXN-_DDNAbw/s2022/1.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="2022" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAji9LB6UDdhwcBM9kWXW9t9QoriFKIib5BqrqjqdUBML5avw1MPWC9Jbt5WKybUDh-6k2Ft2NglxPFqyaYow-80SJk2kIXCKbNLlbYqLysfE7zMG6ZD57Fk6-lSj2sW7uEiQaii79A1htqezY8mwiOuANqTHPZ9AjpgaWabpE860KNj4uXN-_DDNAbw/w400-h275/1.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Sweeney: NIGHT OUT Year: 1975 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the best episodes of the first SWEENEY season stays mostly indoors, and in one small, shabby apartment room belonging to Mitzi Rogers as Iris Lohttps, Jack Regan's loose and lawdy, heart-of-gold lush ex-girlfriend living upstairs from a seedy bar where she works...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Providing NIGHT OUT a kind of neon-noir aesthetic that makes the tough, world-weary, gritty and experienced dialogue of the former lovers that much more pulpy and inspired...</p><p></p><p>And John Thaw's Regan is there for a reason because, in the style of crime classics like LARCENY INC, a group of robbers plan on breaking through the building into an adjoined bank, so it's a waiting game for the exterior cops led by a shallow, political, unapologetic T.P. McKenna's Det. Supt. Grant, who has authority-hating Regan's number from the start, which leads to a delicious 11th hour CLOCKWORK ORANGE homage, combining this episode's gangster roots with new-wave exploitation and even a Western-style barroom brawl for good measure. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, british neo noir, cop, crime, dennis waterman, john thaw, seventies, sweeney, t.p. mckenna, terence plummer

CLASSIC CRIME CINEMA AMBIANCE FOR 'THE SWEENEY: NIGHT OUT'

The Sweeney: NIGHT OUT Year: 1975 Rating: **** One of the best episodes of the first SWEENEY season stays mostly indoors, and in one small, ...

DENNIS WATERMAN GETS ROMANTIC ON 'THE SWEENEY: DRAG ACT'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJwFBnSaUDT5ZUMDBO3Ri3CTDaw9jpu1UVFx2PD5mW6vJ7J7ZIkgXOzH99_c0kSbWkc_4PVoaEprrM1ASIYugDDft9LBIXqdYBHMxa-6CCiXEs2tR7o6GJl0z_bXss_nkBXMYPJrFCyEUCWNF1vA3fYzzRHqz-tVLl4cs_zQf3fc5zkjSPwAaN0DYJA/s1996/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%206.55.54%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1996" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJwFBnSaUDT5ZUMDBO3Ri3CTDaw9jpu1UVFx2PD5mW6vJ7J7ZIkgXOzH99_c0kSbWkc_4PVoaEprrM1ASIYugDDft9LBIXqdYBHMxa-6CCiXEs2tR7o6GJl0z_bXss_nkBXMYPJrFCyEUCWNF1vA3fYzzRHqz-tVLl4cs_zQf3fc5zkjSPwAaN0DYJA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%206.55.54%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SWEENEY: DRAG ACT Year: 1978 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Early on in THE SWEENEY, Dennis Waterman's Sgt. Carter, the young, more vulnerable partner of hot-tempered John Thaw's Inspector Regan, has a wife... who asked for more screen-time and money, and was run over by a car (the episode fitfully titled HIT AND RUN), thereafter making Carter almost as much a womanizer as Regan...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Until the final season's DRAG ACT, Carter's romantic episode paired with pretty Katy Fahy as PC Julie Kingdom (a rookie with an energetic male partner about to get credit for stolen lorries carrying brandy under a miffed Regan's nose)... which includes one of those date montage sequences in a filler episode that, like many, bookends the more intense and violent action upfront and in the finale, and while phoned-in is not altogether awful. </p><p><span></span></p>

british, british neo noir, cop, crime, dennis waterman, heist, john thaw, katy fahy, seventies, sweeney

DENNIS WATERMAN GETS ROMANTIC ON 'THE SWEENEY: DRAG ACT'

Title: THE SWEENEY: DRAG ACT Year: 1978 Rating: *** Early on in THE SWEENEY, Dennis Waterman's Sgt. Carter, the young, more vulnerable p...

JOHN THAW VS TONY SELBY FROM 'THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIbGNZwrHJNpJbTkjx4REXcnq2SxWobH-8B519vxQrri6iZZAbRiftGWBtEslcDeOUUvymj1zZity2E5BlYowmh3ZhhzjAEqoXXLSV-bC7Nryo0nHq1DCCbAXrvYrfPOxOlj4T8bFSX6kcGdr7MIxbHpEn_PedSEvu8lGdMkIuSlqUBILboSANursdQ/s2015/2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="2015" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIbGNZwrHJNpJbTkjx4REXcnq2SxWobH-8B519vxQrri6iZZAbRiftGWBtEslcDeOUUvymj1zZity2E5BlYowmh3ZhhzjAEqoXXLSV-bC7Nryo0nHq1DCCbAXrvYrfPOxOlj4T8bFSX6kcGdr7MIxbHpEn_PedSEvu8lGdMkIuSlqUBILboSANursdQ/s16000/2.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From HIGH SIERRA before to CARLITO'S WAY after, the device of a famously-guilty convict freed on a technicality is nothing new... and the first half of QUEEN'S PAWN has the unapologetic gall of Tony Selby's Johnny Lyon getting Inspector Regan's goat... a whole mountain of them actually...  </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Surrounded by floozy moll Lynn Dearth, pseudo family man Tony Caunter and eventual weak link married couple Christopher Ellison and Judy Monahan, the episode has John Thaw's Regan and Dennis Waterman as Sgt. Carter putting heat on the Lyon's den of thieves; but the most intimidating is a different kind of crook...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, dennis waterman, gangster, john thaw, julian glover, lynn dearth, seventies, sweeney, tony selby

JOHN THAW VS TONY SELBY FROM 'THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN'

Title: THE SWEENEY: QUEEN'S PAWN Year: 1975 Rating: ***1/2 From HIGH SIERRA before to CARLITO'S WAY after, the device of a famously-...

FINAL SEASON KICKOFF 'THE SWEENEY: MESSENGER OF THE GODS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yZwVuz_MND3XvaSQmr__-VqhgiqtxMal9dgSaO_KAQiavzDq4Y_EOTkNePuq_pstKx9SjcHGPvPJ6KEGcqMihWLw0AE8964X_LXqj0MP53BAwbJoOssKTKqhBSyGzaDhKUT9dfmMglWSdWwMmGkdOMvVBRVTrMn0VotGvNtpNE5LivAGf_PfHzIW0g/s2002/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-28%20at%208.58.16%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="2002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yZwVuz_MND3XvaSQmr__-VqhgiqtxMal9dgSaO_KAQiavzDq4Y_EOTkNePuq_pstKx9SjcHGPvPJ6KEGcqMihWLw0AE8964X_LXqj0MP53BAwbJoOssKTKqhBSyGzaDhKUT9dfmMglWSdWwMmGkdOMvVBRVTrMn0VotGvNtpNE5LivAGf_PfHzIW0g/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-28%20at%208.58.16%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Thaw and Michael Tarn in The Sweeney: Messenger of the Gods Year: 1978 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Although THE SWEENEY final season's kickoff episode MESSENGER OF THE GODS is basically an outlet for former <i>British Marilyn Monroe </i>blonde-bombshell Diana Dors to guest star in her middle-age overweight boisterous persona, and the central guest star looks like a brat teenager who'd hang out with Leif Garrett in a disco, it's probably the best episode from the final run that had pretty much run its course...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Following two feature films after season/series three, by four THE SWEENEY got noticeably cheaper, taking place mostly indoors compared to the authentic exterior action of the earlier seasons... but despite some overboard comedic aspects, MESSENGER still belonged to the gritty streets, and of John Thaw's Inspector Regan and his young protege Sergeant Carter played by Dennis Waterman, the latter takes the most risks...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, crime, dennis waterman, diana dors, john thaw, michael tarn, sweeney

FINAL SEASON KICKOFF 'THE SWEENEY: MESSENGER OF THE GODS'

John Thaw and Michael Tarn in The Sweeney: Messenger of the Gods Year: 1978 Rates: **** Although THE SWEENEY final season's kickoff epis...

COLIN WELLAND & DENNIS WATERMAN MAKE 'THE SWEENEY: FACES'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKtuwsiSngkA6RWgJR5qmgPSDsla4gRUzHRE0TaAnTNg-W5uJOT9X-0zAtRdQh_dkIpcM_YNU2rvdNS4aM-e5lskJp5IBq4rgz_2hARdRteJ-Q27TbxE4_Dv8NlvymAlbsAJaoZ4qhWCANXwtMa8N99mzW-m9LxLrD_JbNgzgbnEV3fLjhNlZPQkl5A/s1741/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="1741" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKtuwsiSngkA6RWgJR5qmgPSDsla4gRUzHRE0TaAnTNg-W5uJOT9X-0zAtRdQh_dkIpcM_YNU2rvdNS4aM-e5lskJp5IBq4rgz_2hARdRteJ-Q27TbxE4_Dv8NlvymAlbsAJaoZ4qhWCANXwtMa8N99mzW-m9LxLrD_JbNgzgbnEV3fLjhNlZPQkl5A/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dennis Waterman in THE SWEENEY: Faces YEAR: 1975 Rating: ****<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Starting with a bombastic heist sweeping an entire London street, THE SWEENEY season two episode FACES is, like the pilot <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2022/04/ian-hendry-jill-townsend-christen.html">RINGER</a>, another centering on a grungy and eclectic lot of sordid thieves that only <i>seems</i> to have a leader...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Here it's British actor/screenwriter Colin Welland who, despite looking like a chunky chipmunk and having played a passive vicar in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2022/11/peckinpahdogs.html">STRAW DOGS</a>, turns in one of the most formidable and in that, suspenseful performances when he screams, "OKAY SWEENEY!" at the top of his lungs, carrying a knife from his house to the adjoined junkyard headquarters, and giving Dennis Waterman's Carter good reason to run, and climb, quickly...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

barry stanton, british, british neo noir, colin welland, dennis waterman, gangster, garfield morgan, heist, john cording, john thaw, keith buckley, nazi, seventies, sweeney

COLIN WELLAND & DENNIS WATERMAN MAKE 'THE SWEENEY: FACES'

Dennis Waterman in THE SWEENEY: Faces YEAR: 1975 Rating: **** Starting with a bombastic heist sweeping an entire London street, THE SWEENEY ...

GERALDINE JAMES & GEORGE HARRIS STEAL 'THE SWEENEY: PAY OFF'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQqMk8WIsGFRU2TI231gjCqdC3OPRnWOCfMYEK7As7xwbiqkP7BVIfvapdq294-OvaQM6T4mSsshR5CXdx1nfVl-qKL3mfmHURm_6jlMlD7_BHHarvq5sYk4yDFWPpRvmHCZhvLe4AjEAmPWPuPKUCEiWXSYjtsRUOL-LjMCEPSIEvD7gvg6nST4P2w/s1868/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1868" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQqMk8WIsGFRU2TI231gjCqdC3OPRnWOCfMYEK7As7xwbiqkP7BVIfvapdq294-OvaQM6T4mSsshR5CXdx1nfVl-qKL3mfmHURm_6jlMlD7_BHHarvq5sYk4yDFWPpRvmHCZhvLe4AjEAmPWPuPKUCEiWXSYjtsRUOL-LjMCEPSIEvD7gvg6nST4P2w/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Geraldine James and George Harris in THE SWEENEY: Pay Off Year: 1976 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>THE SWEENEY episode PAY OFF combines two of the British cop show's two most wielded devices: the <i>woman in need</i> and the <i>band of backstabbing thieves</i>, in which this dame is part of, working at the low-rent casino for, and she meets Dennis Waterman's Carter in what seems just another of many one-night-stands when it's anything but...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Instead, classic-beauty Geraldine James is trying to get some inside information about her possibly dead or perhaps just hiding-out-with-the-stolen-cash ex-partner, member of a violent gang of forest-fleeing thieves wearing creepy animal masks during the boisterous cold open/prologue...<br></p><p><span></span></p>

british, british neo noir, david ellison, dennis waterman, gambling, garfield morgan, george harris, geraldine james, heist, john thaw, rural, sweeney

GERALDINE JAMES & GEORGE HARRIS STEAL 'THE SWEENEY: PAY OFF'

Geraldine James and George Harris in THE SWEENEY: Pay Off Year: 1976 Rating: ****1/2 THE SWEENEY episode PAY OFF combines two of the British...

IAN HENDRY AND JILL TOWNSEND CHRISTEN 'THE SWEENEY: RINGER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-1CZV1mGwCvhBoB5ry44hNrDIqAch88d4PQFa4WWusHoDRf-VMIenYEr6nWjrSrcJPu0UwQxQMBB1DN8VIlIouT0od_ImxIYkEykhZUXOFmHaWaxD3rRTuUfI27Y8fqPDvuSdp0nF299LhMzdTVCzIy3grOQP3k0p9mgb0NLfcGiIW1ekl0ZuBEcfFCW/s2528/Screen%20Shot%202023-10-07%20at%203.05.09%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="2528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-1CZV1mGwCvhBoB5ry44hNrDIqAch88d4PQFa4WWusHoDRf-VMIenYEr6nWjrSrcJPu0UwQxQMBB1DN8VIlIouT0od_ImxIYkEykhZUXOFmHaWaxD3rRTuUfI27Y8fqPDvuSdp0nF299LhMzdTVCzIy3grOQP3k0p9mgb0NLfcGiIW1ekl0ZuBEcfFCW/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-10-07%20at%203.05.09%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: RINGER Season 1 Episode 1 Year: 1974 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The rudimentary episode of THE SWEENEY is one of the best, and like all great superheros are judged by their villains, this sordid lot of edgy crooks are straight out of GET CARTER: Literally in the case of Ian Hendry as Dave Brooker, who gets the first one-liner in the first cold open before the roaring theme song and title cards zoom into motion...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Leading to John Thaw's Regan bedded down with such a comfortably and contented girl-next-door in Jill Townsend, you'd never think he'd become a womanizer thereafter... he even borrows her car...</p><span></span>

alan lake, brian blessed, british, cop, crime, dennis waterman, gangster, heist, ian hendry, jill townsend, john thaw, neo noir, seventies, sweeney

IAN HENDRY AND JILL TOWNSEND CHRISTEN 'THE SWEENEY: RINGER'

Title: RINGER Season 1 Episode 1 Year: 1974 Rating: ****1/2 The rudimentary episode of THE SWEENEY is one of the best, and like all great su...

SHERIDAN FITZGERALD STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: ONE OF YOUR OWN'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVYfTi5OExIujRXwcUDDPx77GwAeMaLxHc9UzrCW-UVvKIX03N145hPERHltPO4RJpFrEacOhXNW-tZkCAeVsut-GVdUyDQUMMOgvvKyVqVxFSDA5KRGCHqX44P6DTJWq7HsKzuAitFQOI_quQLMhcZ_1ueEbDnJQTS2kS5JBQ7lnhQU43PIJJpJb8Q/s2032/1.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1382" data-original-width="2032" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVYfTi5OExIujRXwcUDDPx77GwAeMaLxHc9UzrCW-UVvKIX03N145hPERHltPO4RJpFrEacOhXNW-tZkCAeVsut-GVdUyDQUMMOgvvKyVqVxFSDA5KRGCHqX44P6DTJWq7HsKzuAitFQOI_quQLMhcZ_1ueEbDnJQTS2kS5JBQ7lnhQU43PIJJpJb8Q/w400-h272/1.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sheridan Fitzgerald in One Of Your Own 1978 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>THE SWEENEY would sometimes go outside the crowded and bickering New Scotland Yard box as Regan played by John Thaw and Dennis Waterman's Carter would be sent undercover (which is actually unrealistic given how prominent they are to villains); and Season Four's ONE OF OUR OWN has Carter pulling an Edmond O'Brien from WHITE HEAT, impersonating a prisoner to befriend a newly-arrested career criminal in Michael Elphick's Jimmy Fleet... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>There's also a touch of KISS OF DEATH since Carter only spends one night in lockup, resulting mostly in a gangland barroom with dark surrounding alleyways, and, donning glasses and a new haircut, Waterman does all the work while womanizing Regan has all the fun; in particular with gorgeous bartender Sheridan Fitzgerald, originally paired with Carter and who, it turns out in a comedic twist, has the entire Sweeney on her cop-groupie hit list. But given the forty-five minute run-time she only conquers three cops while the gangster throwback story drags with too much dialogue, making the promiscuous peripheral shine more brightly than the gritty (but not gritty enough) mainline. </p><span></span>

action, british, british tv, cop, crime, dennis waterman, gangster, john thaw, michael elphick, neo noir, prison, seventies, sweeney

SHERIDAN FITZGERALD STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: ONE OF YOUR OWN'

Sheridan Fitzgerald in One Of Your Own 1978 Rates: ***1/2 THE SWEENEY would sometimes go outside the crowded and bickering New Scotland Yard...

LUCASFILM ACTORS GUEST ON 'THE SWEENEY: HEARTS AND MINDS'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIXlxt2U4ReWQu8i2EN9_sg_izCfNlYSvHvPFIFv6Ut0mdVs0z7DswGGqUHtcKmUUYxUSU7h5n18M1O3K7c69UTkZZhTFYLGbfEcyWNn_aJsiLqCgLpffEliua6sn8UQ_PHtcaCLVCMw_drzeOiGCctaccPPUxzXl84s1jphxYgLtJQknfwCDQtTtKw/s2028/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="2028" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIXlxt2U4ReWQu8i2EN9_sg_izCfNlYSvHvPFIFv6Ut0mdVs0z7DswGGqUHtcKmUUYxUSU7h5n18M1O3K7c69UTkZZhTFYLGbfEcyWNn_aJsiLqCgLpffEliua6sn8UQ_PHtcaCLVCMw_drzeOiGCctaccPPUxzXl84s1jphxYgLtJQknfwCDQtTtKw/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Thaw and Dennis Waterman in The Sweeney: Hearts & Minds Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2 </u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A final season SWEENEY episode HEARTS AND MINDS has all the makings of jumping the shark, which means, when a show goes bad by crossing that bridge too far, and in this case it's special guest stars Morecambe and Wise... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A British comedy duo (unknown to Americans) who are very loosely connected to the initial theft of a hot new brand of medicine/pills, stolen from the house of a doctor in a modern marriage with future RETURN OF THE JEDI rebel leader Caroline Blakiston, and, later on, another George Lucas connection turns up in cameo detective Paul Freeman aka shifty French archeologist Belloq from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, british tv, caroline blakiston, comedy, cop, crime, dennis waterman, edward hardwicke, exploitation, john thaw, paul freeman, seventies

LUCASFILM ACTORS GUEST ON 'THE SWEENEY: HEARTS AND MINDS'

John Thaw and Dennis Waterman in The Sweeney: Hearts & Minds Year: 1978 Rating: ***1/2 A final season SWEENEY episode HEARTS AND MINDS h...

JOHN THAW COLUMBOS DEL HENNEY ON 'THE SWEENEY: JIGSAW'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6uBIsphyzIsTzRRMaWW0K8PGHTIzG3dOFbbsRxIT9LHxIXcM8-5kNKBnTHc72b19OZvM-AX-ELUdbN4ngBJns2LBbImMZbOr_AohlOmNEzvqzKm-glH6pCnwWzQlXDuDeqL_U8Y64QcugliGuWjzPlLqetDiGKk9FnDsodeLVRYxVEMv8EYxt7jbCA/s2024/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%2012.53.09%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW6uBIsphyzIsTzRRMaWW0K8PGHTIzG3dOFbbsRxIT9LHxIXcM8-5kNKBnTHc72b19OZvM-AX-ELUdbN4ngBJns2LBbImMZbOr_AohlOmNEzvqzKm-glH6pCnwWzQlXDuDeqL_U8Y64QcugliGuWjzPlLqetDiGKk9FnDsodeLVRYxVEMv8EYxt7jbCA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%2012.53.09%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dennis Waterman and John Thaw on THE SWEENEY: JIGSAW Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The first of many STRAW DOGS alumni (ranging from TP McKenna to Jim Norton to Ken Hutchison) to appear on THE SWEENEY, and Del Henney makes sure he's in the right place at exactly the right time, singing at a club where John Thaw's Inspector Regan's having a drink, and right as a heist is going down, somewhere else, making him the unlikeliest of suspects, on purpose, as JIGSAW is basically Regan as Columbo, sans the compliments... </p><p></p><p></p><p>Sticking close to Henney's charming con artist Eddie Boyse, holed up with single mom Sheila Gish and pretending to be a dependable fatherly type to her young daughter, either Regan basically stalks Henney from place to place, including a parental school day, or he's trying to talk his woman/victim into revealing how the heist went down, making the entire premise a Howdunnit, and a pretty good one. </p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, british tv, cop, crime, del henney, dennis waterman, john thaw, mystery, seventies, sheila gish, sweeney

JOHN THAW COLUMBOS DEL HENNEY ON 'THE SWEENEY: JIGSAW'

Dennis Waterman and John Thaw on THE SWEENEY: JIGSAW Year: 1974 Rating: ***1/2 The first of many STRAW DOGS alumni (ranging from TP McKenna ...

ANNA NYGH LIGHTS UP THE FINAL 'THE SWEENEY: JACK OR KNAVE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9AqKRh94a7A7EKxjG9todh6KWti_XACUa-N-OiERdP2J0E6lwJumIQDOvqvidDVBwBBNabjvBVgPb8u5A16myjLDu7nEjKkEM48Ld0fqkf4AAu16V5XERGDDQakSUrvRPWChFqiqZZH8AxJC6bK1cKLa5Bixj2XS0hPRLnl0-RY106aNT9TUnDqE5w/s2021/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%203.04.33%20PM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1381" data-original-width="2021" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9AqKRh94a7A7EKxjG9todh6KWti_XACUa-N-OiERdP2J0E6lwJumIQDOvqvidDVBwBBNabjvBVgPb8u5A16myjLDu7nEjKkEM48Ld0fqkf4AAu16V5XERGDDQakSUrvRPWChFqiqZZH8AxJC6bK1cKLa5Bixj2XS0hPRLnl0-RY106aNT9TUnDqE5w/w400-h274/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%203.04.33%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Anna Nygh in Jack Or Knave Year: 1978 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The final episode of THE SWEENEY has no finality as the show's never been serialized... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>But is another that starts out with a deadly heist, this time of the armored car nature, after which one of the show's most used devices occurs in that John Thaw's rebellious Inspector Jack Regan has to deal with an uptight, by-the-book <i>third partner</i> other than Dennis Waterman's faithful Sergeant Carter, and they butt heads, opinions, motivations and styles along the way...</p><p></p><p>Included within a busy exterior London shopping center-set investigation is punctual chief Garfield Morgan as Haskins and quirky tagalong Richard Griffiths... but perhaps most noticeable to SWEENEY fans is the technically-important culprit from SWEENEY 2, in that Anna Nygh (appearing in both the final movie <i>and</i> episode) turns up, again looking neo gothic punk combined with old-school cigarette-smoking noirish fatale, and, overall, JACK OR KNAVE is not a bad finale but not very great either, finishing with more of a muffled bang yet hardly a whimper. <br></p><p><span></span></p>

anna nygh, british, british tv, cop, dennis waterman, garfield morgan, john thaw, richard griffiths, seventies, sweeney

ANNA NYGH LIGHTS UP THE FINAL 'THE SWEENEY: JACK OR KNAVE'

Anna Nygh in Jack Or Knave Year: 1978 Rating: *** The final episode of THE SWEENEY has no finality as the show's never been serialized.....

DI DREVIS STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: BAIT' WITH GEORGE SEWELL

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jXjWphc5SC6h1l0fop99zqdTxhM6IBM3_h3xu7hb6IJtI9CWWWF7PABwJJ4wnuFRAFYhrRKzO5MySiTxI-i7GehV7OxCi8qK6r3KRaAZjaNvbAbm1LrJIxFbvsVfeNDD6RCOpp5iasLxlZQP3xml5sHZafE4JOAHmhy4qx17SOtcZWjmzVJfF0ZfmQ/s1988/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%205.03.14%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1223" data-original-width="1988" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jXjWphc5SC6h1l0fop99zqdTxhM6IBM3_h3xu7hb6IJtI9CWWWF7PABwJJ4wnuFRAFYhrRKzO5MySiTxI-i7GehV7OxCi8qK6r3KRaAZjaNvbAbm1LrJIxFbvsVfeNDD6RCOpp5iasLxlZQP3xml5sHZafE4JOAHmhy4qx17SOtcZWjmzVJfF0ZfmQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-31%20at%205.03.14%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Di Trevis and George Sewell on THE SWEENEY: BAIT Year: 1978 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the best episodes of the otherwise comparably subpar fourth/final season of THE SWEENEY features crime-genre staple George Sewell in BAIT working with girlfriend/femme fatale Di Trevis... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>A versatile stage actress, she's able to be attractive one minute and a gun-toting hag the next, starting off vulnerable and injured inside an ambulance before frantically turning tables on the cop inside...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXh9Q68XY_enbqtvq56WDhzKillBf5lghg_Ntap2idR0i82qaRVEPSHwF9BhA0ZCw8wdVVoJBxs5eFog1hnq4v6n3SSImbZbjtu_gV7SUf1ZqOw7enQNHGnS7YzAuQTXmjxv4HJcUe2ZKEG_kEsM-Nb7TzIDnw9opxYICVTIgEmFqZgGarZUVcvgnmQ/s2032/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1159" data-original-width="2032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXh9Q68XY_enbqtvq56WDhzKillBf5lghg_Ntap2idR0i82qaRVEPSHwF9BhA0ZCw8wdVVoJBxs5eFog1hnq4v6n3SSImbZbjtu_gV7SUf1ZqOw7enQNHGnS7YzAuQTXmjxv4HJcUe2ZKEG_kEsM-Nb7TzIDnw9opxYICVTIgEmFqZgGarZUVcvgnmQ/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Di Trevis on THE SWEENEY: BAIT</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A hybrid of OF MICE AND MEN with Sewell the stocky tough guy partnered with tall and dopey Edward Peel, fitfully named Lennie, in an inevitable factory's office payroll-robbery much like the film noir THE KILLERS... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Where Di's Lynn Hurst works as a misleadingly awkward, clumsy secretary while the BAIT title refers to her young child, staked-out by SWEENEY leads John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, who (at one point questioning gorgeous toy store salesgirl Judy Buxton), are more like guest stars on their own show. </p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, british tv, dennis waterman, di trevis, edward peel, george sewell, heist, john thaw, judy buxton, neo noir, seventies, sweeney

DI DREVIS STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: BAIT' WITH GEORGE SEWELL

Di Trevis and George Sewell on THE SWEENEY: BAIT Year: 1978 Rating: **** One of the best episodes of the otherwise comparably subpar fourth/...

CHARLES CHAPLIN ENDS WITH 'A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG'

<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQsaadfERFQTEXbJD3whf7xsL9DWIZd5ZXBMEE43NkvkuX95_Wjb7wQGTEkCcoV_BLYYdiFAe2nhFAtEkbwJ6QUF0_FDM-ysprDTVrpsUcoZ8AgRCuRg-T5OROUtYrqZAR6lov5YJnJZ5_HHOvAhGDbQ4U-Ciq-ZiwxQzsuvf3P-e9xtH8yRaVKvZ7V9e/s400/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="400" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQsaadfERFQTEXbJD3whf7xsL9DWIZd5ZXBMEE43NkvkuX95_Wjb7wQGTEkCcoV_BLYYdiFAe2nhFAtEkbwJ6QUF0_FDM-ysprDTVrpsUcoZ8AgRCuRg-T5OROUtYrqZAR6lov5YJnJZ5_HHOvAhGDbQ4U-Ciq-ZiwxQzsuvf3P-e9xtH8yRaVKvZ7V9e/w400-h325/1.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><u>A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG Year: 1967</u></span></td></tr></tbody></table>By the late sixties, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando were both iconic performers known for their topnotch skills: The first a physical comic and the latter extremely dramatic... </span><br> <span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><br></span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">So when Brando tries for slapstick comedy in Chaplin's final directorial effort, A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG, it's one of the most dramatically awkward and totally ill-suited performances ever... by anyone, perhaps. But it's mostly Chaplin's fault. Having once told Orson Welles that he needn't move the camera using creative angles because his antics made up for it, he should have realized that wasn't the case with Brando and/or Sophia Loren; the latter our titular stowaway on a ship holding the multi-millionaire oilman/ambassador "captive" in his cabin while on the verge of gaining importance in politics, or something like that... </span><br>

angela scoular, carol cleveland, charles chaplin, geraldine chaplin, marlon brando, patrick cargill, romantic comedy, sixties, sophia loren, sydney chaplin, tippi hendren

CHARLES CHAPLIN ENDS WITH 'A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG'

A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG Year: 1967 By the late sixties, Charlie Chaplin and Marlon Brando were both iconic performers known for their top...

NEO NOIR 'THE SWEENEY' EPISODE OF 'CHALK AND CHEESE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJBqMALOHh_0EO7rulu6m88TlRnnFojM6_qOOTyOnxyx95gDRMLsMNFqOMxnxI1DWfDj6KqeRDK8Yuwg9JNv5KTrG0SHrAjyM9aso1QzzoOnGTuIcf5qRa33HjIuo3wFBXJ6fYwHnA-IVLnA643rJzvrYyf_rT0t-gAzpxOufCtvvYg87EG0d0VSr9g/s1259/1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="1259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJBqMALOHh_0EO7rulu6m88TlRnnFojM6_qOOTyOnxyx95gDRMLsMNFqOMxnxI1DWfDj6KqeRDK8Yuwg9JNv5KTrG0SHrAjyM9aso1QzzoOnGTuIcf5qRa33HjIuo3wFBXJ6fYwHnA-IVLnA643rJzvrYyf_rT0t-gAzpxOufCtvvYg87EG0d0VSr9g/s16000/1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Paul Jones on The Sweeney Year: 1974 Rates: *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Beginning with a rubbed water-glass rim creating a crystalline sound, there's a misleadingly mellow vibe as we cut from an orange car on the highway to an old rich couple's vehicle cruising a rural, wooded area followed by a blunt-bullying robbery, filmed in askew angles more like an art film than cop TV-show, THE SWEENEY episode title CHALK AND CHEESE means the two ski mask-wearing bandits are polar opposites... yet they have one thing in common... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Real life singer Paul Jones is a lowly boxer... his dad the owner of a grungy boxing gym... while Shane Bryant's a rich kid grown-up flaky and gambling-broke into his mid-twenties...</p><p><span></span></p>

boxing, british, cop, crime, david lodge, dennis waterman, john thaw, lesley-anne down, neo noir, paul jones, seventies, shane briant, sweeney, thriller, TV

NEO NOIR 'THE SWEENEY' EPISODE OF 'CHALK AND CHEESE'

Paul Jones on The Sweeney Year: 1974 Rates: ***** Beginning with a rubbed water-glass rim creating a crystalline sound, there's a mislea...

JOHN CARPENTER DIRECTS STEPHEN KING'S KILLER CAR 'CHRISTINE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zjy_b7JGgV9U1EnxgoEKDZks2pMsL06wWsyGX45CbYPhYmyrLkCBgY0h0gn9C9lbF5u54fxX0VwB8JYtp6IOSoxf5cOA6gNFQCjnn1xVLsZBYt69U_AMSeL6yl3vtw-WOwOMy8jA3UhehNUojJHS5Vg_cgcn_SDZO_Klc7DQXugY3AJRJRqnzCAPJg/s1753/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-26%20at%2010.17.03%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1397" data-original-width="1753" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zjy_b7JGgV9U1EnxgoEKDZks2pMsL06wWsyGX45CbYPhYmyrLkCBgY0h0gn9C9lbF5u54fxX0VwB8JYtp6IOSoxf5cOA6gNFQCjnn1xVLsZBYt69U_AMSeL6yl3vtw-WOwOMy8jA3UhehNUojJHS5Vg_cgcn_SDZO_Klc7DQXugY3AJRJRqnzCAPJg/w400-h319/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-26%20at%2010.17.03%20PM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: Christine YEAR: 1983 Rates: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table>John Carpenter's most sparse and subtle horror film, and based on Stephen King's multi-perspective novel, CHRISTINE is to high school what THE SHINING is to hotel management as Keith Gordon plays an initially geeky character suitably named Arnie, who, best friends since childhood with popular yet humble jock John Stockwell as Dennis, the tables turn when the dork lands the prettiest girl on campus, new student Leigh played by meek ingenue Alexandria Paul..<br> <br> Well Kelly Preston's actually the hottest but that's an opinion, and as head cheerleader, football hero Stockwell has her in the bag yet still tries for/strikes out with Leigh before a cool Carpenter glide-cam sports scene where Dennis, running for a long bomb pass, sees Arnie kissing the tall beauty, leaning on an old, recently purchased Chevy he seemed possessed by from the moment he laid eyes on this titular 1950's vehicle, and all to Dennis's distrust and chagrin. <br>

alexandra paul, body count, bully, christine belford, harry dean stanton, horror, john carpenter, john stockwell, keith gordon, kelly preston, killer car, stephen king, teen

JOHN CARPENTER DIRECTS STEPHEN KING'S KILLER CAR 'CHRISTINE'

Title: Christine YEAR: 1983 Rates: **** John Carpenter's most sparse and subtle horror film, and based on Stephen King's multi-pers...

TOM CRUISE, BRYAN BROWN AND ELIZABETH SHUE IN 'COCKTAIL'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxNu58GFi1VT7LR-jHly64PK57cIa9PjavgroEPmN8nnoxV_3tPcu408811UzUDD3Qv75mJEnmPV_276ou_PFAgJjioGyXfgYGrKJf61vyQGMBa9OxWxyLvgbjGIaYtyhFEXpKQyNw8VqRrOWZsQW-ImnCCvJ88THEeGO3OWCYGMeHwi_0TvBK1Hi1Q/s1701/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%206.41.16%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="1701" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuxNu58GFi1VT7LR-jHly64PK57cIa9PjavgroEPmN8nnoxV_3tPcu408811UzUDD3Qv75mJEnmPV_276ou_PFAgJjioGyXfgYGrKJf61vyQGMBa9OxWxyLvgbjGIaYtyhFEXpKQyNw8VqRrOWZsQW-ImnCCvJ88THEeGO3OWCYGMeHwi_0TvBK1Hi1Q/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-04-02%20at%206.41.16%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>year: 1988 cast: Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elizabeth Shue, Lisa Banes Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>TAPS aside, which was before he became a big star, Tom Cruise simply can’t lose. At one point he hardly played a character that didn’t come out a sheer winner, or wasn't the best at something: flying jets, shooting pool, practicing law, or serving drinks – he’s always pinnacle at his game...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In COCKTAIL, Tom’s struggling dreamer Brian Flannagan, out of the military and trying to make it big in New York City, is doing bartender acrobats with wily mentor Bryan Brown as the freewheeling Doug Coughlin, all too easy. But when Brian winds up serving drinks in the Bahamas, Elizabeth Shue, as Jordan, brings the story down to Earth....</p><span></span>

andrew shue, bryan brown, eighties, elizabeth sue, gina gershon, kelly lynch, laurence luckinbill, lisa banes, melodrama, romance, tom cruise

TOM CRUISE, BRYAN BROWN AND ELIZABETH SHUE IN 'COCKTAIL'

year: 1988 cast: Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elizabeth Shue, Lisa Banes Rating: **** TAPS aside, which was before he became a big star, Tom Cr...

JAMES BOOTH AND HELEN GILL FROM 'THE SWEENEY: POPPY'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-68eI2XIUaTB-G3F9AIcFBF27MxhLpj_3eYLAWMeWMlh9iGYdabiaOgkvBtARVB1r1s53Dn0zWJYV7r9clTfzoFbFwr48rUIFdkoKv_vhoknvpcdZ0ckU1sN1I3QUePOkhEf3aHYQ2-2rBu8lXEKqeBs6WUK7YAgkXBBD917EIOWjLGYmJxkP3i6Gg/s2005/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%201.32.47%20AM%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="2005" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-68eI2XIUaTB-G3F9AIcFBF27MxhLpj_3eYLAWMeWMlh9iGYdabiaOgkvBtARVB1r1s53Dn0zWJYV7r9clTfzoFbFwr48rUIFdkoKv_vhoknvpcdZ0ckU1sN1I3QUePOkhEf3aHYQ2-2rBu8lXEKqeBs6WUK7YAgkXBBD917EIOWjLGYmJxkP3i6Gg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%201.32.47%20AM%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Helen Gill in Poppy Year: 1975 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Britain's THE SWEENEY is both a regular cop series and a revolving villain anthology wherein Scotland Yard's Flying Squad can sometimes merely provide peripheral exposition...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Like in the stellar, and very fan-favorite episode POPPY, centered on classy bad guys sparked by a local London bank robber returned from Paris to bring the money back... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, british, cop, crime, dennis waterman, heist, helen gill, james booth, john rhys-davies, john thaw, series, sweeney

JAMES BOOTH AND HELEN GILL FROM 'THE SWEENEY: POPPY'

Helen Gill in Poppy Year: 1975 Rating: ****1/2 Britain's THE SWEENEY is both a regular cop series and a revolving villain anthology wher...