Displaying items by tag: Dennis Waterman

SWEENEY 2

UK, 1978, 109 minutes, Colour.

John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, Denholm Elliot, Ken Hutchison, Anna Gael, Barry Stanton, Nigel Hawthorne.

Directed by Tom Clegg.

The Sweeney was a popular television series in 1975 to 1978, 53 episodes. It starred John for and Dennis Waterman. It featured especially  police investigations in London and beyond. It was created by Ian Kennedy Martin and many of the screenplay is written by Troy Kennedy Martin, including this spin-off film.

The first spin-off film came in 1977, Sweeney, large cast including some from the series. The second spin-off, Sweeney 2, in 1978 with the key leads but, mostly, with a different cast. It featured a cameo by Denholm Elliot as a corrupt police officer sent to jail, interrogated by the lead investigator, John Regan (John Thaw) as well as featuring, before Yes, Minister, Nigel Hawthorne as a police superior.

There is a lot of action, daring robberies, car crashes and chases, a long sequence in the disconnecting of a bomb in a hotel, lots of camaraderie and jokes amongst the squad, scenes with the two central characters, and a visit in Malta where the International gang of thieves created a home and a commune with their wives and children.

As a film in itself, it seems fairly conventional. Dennis Waterman had been a child star and made his mark with The Sweeney as well as Mind and New Tricks. John Thaw had appeared in many films, 53 episodes of The Sweeney, 27 episodes of Kavanagh QC and, of course, 33 episodes of Morse. His character in Sweeney seems conventional and somewhat callow compared with the depths in the writing of the character of Morse, his partnership with Lewis, his police style and investigations as well as his personal life.

SCARS OF DRACULA

UK, 1970, 95 minutes, Colour.

Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Christopher Matthews, Patrick Troughton, Michael Gwynn, Michael Ripper.

Directed by Roy Ward Baker.

Scars of Dracula is one of the least persuasive of Christopher Lee’s Dracula films. And there were many. From the 1950s through the 1960s and several in the 1970s, even Taste the Blood Dracula released in the same year as this one.

One can say that Christopher Lee would do the role of Dracula in his sleep – and, in fact, in the early sequences of this film he is asleep (and another is seen later). His presence is somewhat iconic (and remembering that he was in his late 40s and The Lord of the Rings was 30 years in the future). He stands, gazes, bloodshot eyes, moves slowly, gazes for the blood and sexuality of his victims…

In fact, the IMDb quotes Christopher Lee: During an interview, Christopher Lee expressed his well-known frustration with this film: "I was a pantomime villain. Everything was over the top, especially the giant bat whose electrically motored wings flapped with slow deliberation as if it were doing morning exercises."

The film opens with a frequent sequence for Hammer horror, a dead body, scars of Dracula, the village upset, leaving a revolt and storming the castle. But, this story focuses on two young men, not particularly well acted by Christopher Matthews and, especially in the hero role, Dennis Waterman, later to be so successful on TV and Minder and New Tricks.

There are some sex scenes, 1970s style daring, a runaway carriage, birthday party, the young couple searching for the disappearing rake of a brother, his climbing down the castle wall, the beaten servant of Dracula and harsh treatment, with the priest, rather more significant than in other at Hammer films, his willing self-sacrifice and the brutality of his death (IMDb noting that this was modified by the British censor at the time).

No particular reason to see this one except for completion of seeing all the films with Christopher Lee as Dracula.