Sweeney!

For other uses, see Sweeney.
Sweeney!
Directed by David Wickes
Produced by Ted Childs
Written by Ranald Graham
Starring John Thaw
Dennis Waterman
Ian Bannen
Lynda Bellingham
Barry Foster
Diane Keen
Music by Denis King
Cinematography Dusty Miller
Edited by Chris Burt
Production
company
Distributed by EMI Films
Release dates
  • January 1977 (1977-01)
Running time
 89 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Sweeney! is a 1977 British crime film, made for the cinema as a spin-off from the television series The Sweeney which aired on ITV from 1975 to 1978. It was released on Region 2 DVD in 2007. The film did well enough at the box office that a sequel, Sweeney 2, was released in cinemas in 1978.

Plot

The film followed DI Regan and DS Carter as they became embroiled in a deadly political scandal. One of the leading members of the British government, Charles Baker (Ian Bannen), is about to secure a huge deal with OPEC, stabilising the world oil market and boosting Britain's position within it. Baker is the rising star of the government, regarded as a future prime minister, and he is closely controlled by his urbane, manipulative American press secretary Elliot McQueen (Barry Foster).

When Regan investigates the mysterious death of a prostitute (Lynda Bellingham) as a favour to one of his informants, he becomes aware that Baker and McQueen might be involved. A spate of killings follow - which sees Regan take on both the criminals and the hierarchy of the Metropolitan Police and the British security services. The outcome of the film was similar to that of the Profumo affair, though with a typical Sweeney bittersweet ending.

Cast

Reception

It was praised for capturing the spirit and setting of the original TV series. The film was successful enough for a sequel the following year, Sweeney 2, which saw some of the action relocated to the Mediterranean.

Announcing the sequel, Michael Deeley of EMI said the first film "was successful, so we're helping fill the demand by making another one".[1]

Production

Sweeney! was made by Euston Films, who also produced the television series. They had been planning a feature film version for some time: this movie was part of a £6 million six-film programme announced two years earlier, in 1975, by Nat Cohen of EMI Films.[2]

The movie was released in 1977, following the conclusion of the show's third season on television, as a money-making big screen outing for what had become an extremely popular series. In the 1970s it was common for television shows to be given cinematic releases, amongst which were some of the biggest box office hits of the decade.

This was the second of three feature films based on the TV series. The first, Regan,[3] an 80 minute made-for-tv movie which aired on ITV in June 1974, served as the pilot for the TV show, launching the first series off the back of its success.

A number of minor characters in the film had previously appeared in the television series. But Garfield Morgan, who played Regan's boss, Haskins, in the tv show (but who would be largely absent from the final season on tv the following year) did not appear. As with the television series, a large amount of the action took place outside the studio, with extensive location filming (as on all Euston Films productions). The film includes some nudity, and a great deal of graphic violence, which had been impossible to do for a television audience, hence the picture was released in the United Kingdom with an X-certificate rating (over-18's only).

The film follows fairly closely the events of the Profumo Scandal which had rocked British politics more than a decade before, although the film has a much more violent premise. It was also notable for featuring the topical subjects of energy policy and oil usage, major international issues at the time the film was made.

References

  1. ↑ British money is suddenly big in Hollywood,'right up with Fox and Warner.' Mills, Bart. The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 2 September 1977: 8.
  2. ↑ Boost for studios The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 9 July 1975: 5.
  3. ↑ http://eustonfilms.blogspot.co.uk/2011_07_01_archive.html The Story of Euston Films
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