''Sweeney!'' is a 1977 British

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

film and extension of the ITV television series ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Insp ...

'' which aired on ITV from 1975 to 1978. The film did well enough at the box office that a sequel, ''

Sweeney 2 ''Sweeney 2'' is a 1978 British action crime drama film. It was made as a sequel to the successful 1977 film ''Sweeney!.'' Both films are an extension of the popular British ITV television series ''The Sweeney'' (1975–78). Some of the action ...

'', was released in cinemas in 1978.

Plot

Detective Inspector Jack Regan (

John Thaw John Edward Thaw, (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor who appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles. He starred in the television series '' Inspector Morse'' as title character Detective Chief Inspector ...

) and Detective Sergeant George Carter (

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', '' Minder'' and '' New Tricks'', singing the theme tunes of th ...

) become embroiled in a deadly political scandal. One of the leading members of the British government, Charles Baker (

Ian Bannen Ian Edmund Bannen (29 June 1928 – 3 November 1999) was a Scottish actor with a long career in film, on stage, and on television. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in '' The Flight of the Phoenix'' (1965), the first ...

), is about to secure a huge deal with

OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headqua ...

(Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), stabilising the world oil market and boosting Britain's position within it. Baker is a rising star in the government, regarded as a future prime minister, and he is closely controlled by his urbane, manipulative American press secretary, Elliot McQueen (

Barry Foster (actor) John Barry Foster (21 August 1927 – 11 February 2002) was an English actor who had an extensive career in film, radio, stage and television over almost 50 years. He was best known for portraying the title character in the British crime series ...

). That night, Regan is forced to drink alcohol, and completely intoxicated drives his car into a crowded market. The following day, he is suspended from duty for at least two weeks. When a prostitute (played by Lynda Bellingham) dies in mysterious circumstances, Regan investigates 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 Service and the British security services. Ultimately, despite having an injured foot, Regan returns from his suspension and he is reunited with DS Carter. At Tilbury, East London, Regan and Carter gather around a group of men with Elliot McQueen due to be arrested, but McQueen is shot dead by a sniper riding in a black taxi. DS Carter shouts the final words, "They didn’t kill him; you did!"

Cast

as Detective Inspector Jack Regan *

as Detective Sergeant George Carter * Barry Foster as Elliot McQueen *

as Charles Baker MP * Colin Welland as Frank Chadwick *

Diane Keen Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom ''The Cuckoo Waltz'' and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''. She also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from ...

as Bianca Hamilton * Michael Coles as Johnson *

Joe Melia Joe Melia ( Giovanni Philip William Melia; 23 January 1935, Camden, London - 20 October 2012, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire) was a British actor. Educated at the City of Leicester Boys' Grammar School and Downing College, Cambridge, wher ...

as Ronnie Brent *

Brian Glover Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His ...

as Mac * Lynda Bellingham as Janice Wyatt *

Morris Perry Frank Morris Perry (28 March 1925 – 19 September 2021) was a British actor, best known for his roles on television. Perry was born in Bromley, Kent, England. His TV credits include '' City Beneath the Sea'', '' The Avengers'', ''Z-Cars'', ''C ...

as Flying Squad Commander *

Michael Latimer Michael James Latimer (6 September 1941 – 25 June 2011) was a British television stage and film actor who later in his career turned to writing, directing and producing. Early life Latimer was born in Calcutta, where his father had a busines ...

as P.P.S. *

Johnny Shannon Johnny Shannon (born 29 July 1932) is an English actor who appeared in numerous television and film productions over a 40-year period, often playing policemen or crooks in crime dramas. Shannon's most memorable roles include the crime lord Harry ...

as Scotland Yard Duty Sgt. * Nadim Sawalha as Chairman of the Oil Producers' Conference

Production

''Sweeney!'' was made by

Euston Films Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary company of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network ...

, who also produced the television series. This was the second of three films based on the TV series. The first, ''Regan'', 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. Euston 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 Nat Cohen (23 December 1905 – 10 February 1988)William D. Rubinstein, et al (eds.''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p.171 was a British film producer and executive. For over four decades he was one of t ...

EMI Films EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief conne ...

. Filming was relatively quick and inexpensive, using cast and crew from the series. 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. Most of these, however, had been comedies - ''Sweeney!'' was an attempt to make what the film magazine ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'' described a more "internationally marketed action packed screen adventure." A number of minor characters in the film had previously appeared in the television series. However, Garfield Morgan, who played Regan's boss, Haskins, in the TV show (but who would be largely absent from the final series on TV the following year) did not appear. As with the television series, a large amount of the filming took place on location (as on all

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 echoes 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 also featured the major international issues of energy policy and oil usage.

Reception

The film was praised for capturing the spirit and setting of the original TV series. It was successful enough for a sequel the following year, ''

'', which saw some of the action set in the Mediterranean. Announcing the sequel,

Barry Spikings Barry Spikings (born 23 November 1939) is a British film producer who worked in Hollywood. Spikings is best known as a producer of the film, ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards. Biography Spikings was born in Boston, Lincoln ...

of EMI said the first film "was successful, so we're helping fill the demand by making another one".British money is suddenly big in Hollywood,'right up with Fox and Warner.' Mills, Bart. The Guardian 2 September 1977: 8.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0076788, Sweeney!
''Sweeney!''
at BFI 1977 crime films 1977 films British crime films 1970s English-language films Films based on television series Films set in London EMI Films films 1970s British films