The Sweeney: The Placer

 "Jack Regan, this is your life..."

I'm still so behind with The Boys, plus there are only two episodes left... it can take it's natural place in the order in which I'm blogging my varioius shows. So tonight it's back to The Sweeney. 

Anyway, this is a well done episode with Regan undercover trying to sniff out the big boss of a loads of villains, full of twists and turns as Regan takes increasing risks to try and incriminate Harry. It's a fascinating type of episode, at once... well, no so much a woodunit as a "provedunit", and filled with peril as Harry risks exposure at every turn. The scenes where he's caught, yet distracts Harry with his girl's unfaithfulness, are gripping.The conclusion is horrifying and satisfying in equal measure.

Oddly enough, despite fleshing out Regan a fair bit, this is quite narrowly plot,plot, plot compared to many episodes. And Haskins is... well, almost supportive here!

A good episode, then, but not one with much subtext or depth beyond the obvious. John Thaw certainly rocks that moustache, though....

The Night Caller (1965)

"And if that is an atom bomb, and you drop it, I'll 'ave you on a charge!"

Yes, the premise really is as said on the poster, if not quite as lurid. In truth, this is an odd conflation of Quatermass II and Alfie and very, very, mid-'60s. If that sounds like an extremely bizarre concoction, it is.

A very young John Saxon stars, and his acting is such that I'm not 100% sure whether he's trying to do a British accent or not. The predictable cast of British character actors add solid support, but the film feels oddly disjointed in spite of some good scenes- the dialogue between the parents of one of the missing girls is delightfully real and naturalistic, and the downbeat ending is deeply effective. Lots of the characters feel real yet, Saxon and Patricia Haines' characters aside, there's little continuity between the cast of the first part of the film in the scientific establishment and the police procedural which then ensues, and that means the film lacks a certain unity. It's also undeniable that, while this is certainly science fiction, for most of the film we see nothing of the alien but its claw, and the final reveal of its appearance is disappointing. It's all very odd, very interesting, but doesn't quite work.

It's also very much of its time, which adds to the interest. Everybody smokes, and Aubrey Morris plays a gay bookseller in those dark pre-1967 days, with his bitterly nuanced relations with the police. Worth seeing for those of us with a particular interest in these sorts of films although not, it must be said, for everyone.