BY LEE PFEIFFER
The 1970s saw a tidal wave of gritty crime films unleashed on the
movie-going public. There were classics such as the first two
"Godfather" movies and "The French Connection", but there were also an
abundance of worthy but rather unheralded mid-range productions that
have proven to stand the test of time. Case in point: "Sitting Target" (released in some countries under the title "Screaming Target"), a
1972 British crime thriller that most readers have probably not seen or
are even aware of but has been saved from oblivion by the Warner
Archive's DVD release. The movie was directed by an equally unheralded
filmmaker, Douglas Hickox, who passed away in 1988 at the age of only
59. If Hickox never created any classics in the course of his career, he
did direct some good, very diverse films including
"Entertaining Mr. Sloane", "Theatre of Blood", "Sky Riders", "Brannigan"
and the sadly under-seen and underrated prequel "Zulu Dawn". In
"Sitting Target", Hickox benefits from a tightly-woven, fast-moving
screenplay by Alexander Jacobs, based on a novel by Laurence Henderson.
He also benefits from a fine cast that delivers impressive performances.
The film opens in a dank, fortress-like prison on the outskirts of
London (actually shot in real prisons in Ireland.) We meet Harry Lomart
(Oliver Reed), who has already spent a number of years in prison and is
looking at a sentence of serving fifteen more because of a high stakes
robbery he and his gang carried out that netted them 200 grand. The
money was never recovered and Harry and his best mate and right hand man
Birdy Williams (Ian McShane) intend to collect the dough once they are
out of jail. Harry spends his time exercising and bulking up to make himself even more intimidating. As it is, he's a violent bloke with a short fuse and a penchant for engaging in brawling (we can't refrain from pointing out that these were the same personality traits that characterized Reed himself.) Plans to escape are put into high gear after Harry's vivacious wife Pat (Jill St. John) pays him a visit and delicately informs him she can no longer put her life on hold waiting for him to be released. She tells him she has a new lover and provides the coup de grace by telling him she is pregnant with the man's child. Harry goes ballistic and swears to escape as quickly as possible for the express purpose of killing her. Using his gangland connections in London, he manages to arrange a daring an elaborate escape plan for he and Birdy as well as another convict, MacNeil (Freddie Jones). Douglas Hickox milks a good deal of suspense out of the escape sequence and when the gang gets out, they are whisked away by a waiting van driven by their henchmen. MacNeil goes his own way while Harry and Birdy get down to business. They are quite a team. Although Birdy is equally murderous, he has disarming charisma, is more intelligent than Harry and far less impulsive. The two acquire a Mauser pistol that converts into a sniper's rifle from an ill-fated gun dealer (Robert Beatty) who crosses them. Harry's plan is to shoot Pat dead from afar by using a distraction to lure her out on the balcony of her high rise apartment on a public housing estate. They also plan to recover the loot which was hidden by a gang member, Marty (Frank Finlay), who they intend to murder if he doesn't cooperate.
The film is consistently fast-moving and engrossing with a top-notch cast in fine form. Reed makes a formidable, terrifying villain and McShane is terrific as his cheery but ruthless partner. Even Jill St. John manages to acquit herself well in a rare dramatic performance, coming off her performance as a Lucille Ball clone in "Diamonds are Forever" (assuming one can overlook her faux British accent that comes and goes). Edward Woodward appears as a police officer assigned to be bodyguard to Pat and there is a well-choreographed knock down fight between him and Oliver Reed.
There's a good deal of violence, so much so that the movie has the distinction of being the first film awarded an "X" rating in Britain for the reason of on-screen brutality. Director Hickox, working with a limited budget, manages to provide an impressive climactic car chase, marred only by some poor rear-screen projection shots of the principals.
"Sitting Target" is by no means a crime movie classic, but it deserved a far better fate. It's gritty and highly entertaining throughout.
The Warner Archive DVD is adequate, but some of the colors are washed out. It certainly merits a Blu-ray upgrade. The only bonus feature is an American TV spot.
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