''The Firechasers'' (also known as ''Cause for Alarm'') is a 1971 British

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Sidney Hayers Sidney Hayers (24 August 1921 – 8 February 2000) was a British film and television director, writer and producer. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hayers began his career as a film editor. Among the films he directed are '' Circus of Horrors'' (1 ...

and starring

Chad Everett Raymon Lee Cramton (June 11, 1937 – July 24, 2012), known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. He played Dr. Joe Gannon in the television drama '' Medical Center'', wh ...

Anjanette Comer Anjanette Comer (born August 7, 1939) is an American actress. Early years Born in Dawson, Texas, to Rufus Franklin Comer, Jr., and Nola Dell "Sue" (Perkins) Comer, she attended Dawson High School. Comer gained acting experience at the Pasadena ...

, and

Keith Barron Keith Barron (8 August 1934 – 15 November 2017) was an English actor and television presenter who appeared in films and on television from 1961 until 2017. His television roles included the police drama '' The Odd Man'', the sitcom '' Duty Fr ...

. It was written by

Philip Levene Philip Levene (9 June 1926 – 25 March 1973) was an English television writer, actor, and producer. Education and career Levene trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art and subsequent work included a small role in Bria ...

. An insurance investigator who tries to find out who is behind a series of

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

attacks.

Plot

While investigating the cause of a series of lethal fires in London, U.S. insurance man Quentin Barnaby falls in love with beautiful journalist Toby Collins. Working alongside and pooling information with Toby and her photographer, Jim Maxwell, Barnaby hopes they share a common goal, that of "firechasing" the identity of the arsonist responsible.

Cast

as Quentin Barnaby *

as Toby Collins *

as Jim Maxwell *

Joanne Dainton Joanne may refer to: Music * ''Joanne'' (album), 2016 album by Lady Gaga ** "Joanne" (Lady Gaga song), a 2016 song from the album ''Joanne'' * "Joanne" (Michael Nesmith song), a 1970 song from the album ''Magnetic South'' * "Joanne", a song by C ...

as Valerie Chrane *

Rupert Davies Rupert Lisburn Gwynne Davies FRSA (22 May 191622 November 1976) was a British actor best remembered for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of ''Maigret'', based on Georges Simenon's novels. Life and career Milit ...

as Prentice * James Hayter as Inspector Herman *

Robert Flemyng Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory the ...

as Carlton *

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was an English character actor and comedian. He was known for his acting roles in movies such as Henry Salt in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', Algernon in The Be ...

as Roscoe *

Allan Cuthbertson Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, Western Austra ...

as D.O Jarvis * John Loder as Routledge

Production

The film was shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "A straightforward thriller, presumably made with the American TV market in mind. (Its director, Sidney Hayers, made several episodes of '' The Human Jungle'' and '' The Avengers'' for ITC.) The emphasis is on action and the photogenic qualities of the fires; but while these are mounted with due dramatic flair, the performances are generally wooden, though Keith Barron does manage to invest an unlikely role with some bite. But the only time ''The Firechasers'' really rises above its romanticised world of highpowered journalists and insurance detectives is in the presentation of the mechanics of fire fighting, especially in the climactic fire in a large department store, with the heroine trapped in a lift between floors, fire above and below, and water spraying in on her from the ceiling sprinklers." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' called it "so-so entertainment." ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' wrote, "director Sidney Hayers keeps up the pace as unlikely insurance investigator Everett hunts an arsonist throughout a London peopled with well-known British character actors."

References

External links

* 1971 films British crime films 1971 crime films Films directed by Sidney Hayers Films scored by Laurie Johnson Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in London 1970s English-language films 1970s British films English-language crime films {{1970s-crime-film-stub