By Lee Pfeiffer
The latest worthy but unheralded film to get a second life on burn-to-order DVD is director Michael Apted's 1977 thriller The Squeeze, recently made available by the Warner Archive. It's a top-notch movie in the Get Carter tradition and is representative of the type of gritty British crime dramas that have resonated with the public over the years. It's rather puzzling why Apted's film never got a major release. Perhaps it was lack of star power. Although the cast is comprised of outstanding actors, none of them were considered box-office draws at the time.
The film improbably finds Stacey Keach cast as Jim Naboth,an ex-Scotland Yard detective who has fallen on hard times due to alcoholism. Before you scoff, Keach acquits himself quite well by covering up his American accent. He also gives one of the best performances of his career in this film. Naboth is clearly on the road to ruin when we first see him staggering through a London underground station and having to be hospitalized by the police when he tumbles down an escalator. After undergoing intense rehab for his alcholism problem, Naboth is released from the clinic and celebrates by heading to the nearest pub. His life takes an even more dramatic turn, however, when he discovers that his ex-wife, Jill (Carol White) has been kidnapped along with her young daughter by her second husband, a wealthy businessman played by Edward Fox. The gangsters behind the plot are a ruthless bunch headed by outwardly charming David Hemmings, whose apparent social graces mask a truly sadistic personality. The gang demands one million pounds from Fox, who reluctantly accepts the aid of Naboth due to his once enviable reputation as a competent detective.
An interesting angle to the story is the fact that Naboth is anything but a superman. He bungles the case repeatedly, misjudges situations and has to be rescued from drunken binges by his long-time friend, petty thief Teddy (a winning turn by comedian Freddie Starr). Still, Naboth manages to regain his composure and his efforts begin to pay dividends as he races against time to rescue the doomed hostages. The film continues to veer in unexpected directions and this lack of predictabllity gives it an edge that is lacking in most crime movies. It is also one of the kinkiest and most violent films of the genre. The manipulation and use of children as human shields by both the bad guys and good guys lends a disturbing, but realistic air to the story. Additionally, the sexual content is quite explicit. We all dread the inevitable moment in which Jill's kidnappers will not be able to postpone her inevitable sexual abuse. However, it takes a particularly sordid tone as the men force Jill to do a slow strip tease (to an LP of a love song by The Sylistics!) before she is summarily raped. It's as bold and brave of a sequence as any actress has ever done, with White appearing completely nude as her character's humiliation continues unabated. The disturbing sequence leaves viewers with a dilemma, as it was clearly intended to do. On one level, the scene is purposefully shot in an erotic manner, fully capitalizing on White's natural assets. However, as her character is being forced to indulge in this behavior, one can't help but feel guilty about finding it a turn-on. Adding to the complication is the insinuation that the character of Jill is going above and beyond what she is required to do to satisfy her captors' fantasies. This leads to an entirely separate dilemma that calls to mind the rape sequence in Straw Dogs in which Susan George's character seems to be subliminally enjoying the ordeal. As I pointed out before, The Squeeze is not an easy film to watch because it constantly challenges the viewer's moral judgments on any number of levels.
One of the most surprising aspects of the movie is the late career performance by Stephen Boyd, all but unrecognizable here. Boyd's once promising career as a leading man had long dissipated by the time he made The Squeeze, playing a particularly ruthless Irish gangster. He would only make one more film before dying in 1978 at age 45. In this film, he looks a good twenty years older, but I must say that the wear-and-tear on the actor only enhances his performance. His work here is the best I've ever seen, making his early death all the more tragic, as he could have successfully built a career as an esteemed character actor. Hemmings and Fox also give fine performances, the former particularly chilling because of his character's ability to mix a soft-spoken, witty personality with acts of unspeakable cruelty. Director Apted makes excellent use of seamy London locations and the camerawork by Dennis Lewiston is particularly good. The climax is a fiery, action-packed affair that comes close to crossing the line in terms of believability, but as a whole, The Squeeze is an excellent film that deserved a far better fate than it received.
Click here to order from Warner Archives.