Sweeney! (1977 film)

Infobox Film
name = Sweeney!
image_size = 150px
caption =
director = David Wickes
producer = Ted Childs
writer = Ranald Graham
Troy Kennedy Martin
narrator =
starring = John Thaw
Denis Waterman
Ian Bannen
Barry Foster
music = Denis King
cinematography = Dusty Miller
editing = Chris Burt
distributor = EMI
released = January 1977
runtime = flagicon|UK 89 minutes
country = UK
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
followed_by=Sweeney 2 (1978)
imdb_id = 0076788

"Sweeney!" is a 1977 film made as a spin-off from the popular British television show "The Sweeney", which ran from 1974 and 1978. It was released on DVD in 2007.

Production

"Sweeney!" was made by Euston Films who also produced the television series. They had been planning a big screen outing for the show for a while. In the 1970s it was common for popular television shows to be given cinematic releases, amongst which were some of the biggest box office hits of the decade.

A number of the recurring minor characters of the film also appeared in the television series. Garfield Morgan, who played Haskins in the TV shows, did not appear in the film. As with the television series, a large amount of the action took place outside with location footage. It was released in the United Kingdom with a X rating owing to the scenes of violence and nudity.

The film followed fairly closely the events of the Profumo Scandal which had rocked British politics more than a decade before, thought with a much more violent premise. The film was also notable concerning the topical subject of energy and oil usage, a major international issue at the time the film was made.

Plot outline

The film followed the adventures of DI Regan and DS Carter as they became embroiled in a deadly political scandal. One of the leading members of the government, Charles Baker (Ian Bannen) is about to secure a huge deal with OPEC stabilising the world oil market and boosting Britain's position within it. Baker is the rising star of government, a future prime minister who is closely controlled by his urbane, manipulative American press secretary Elliot McQueen (Barry Foster).

When Regan investigates the mysterious death of a prostitute 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 and British security services. The outcome of the film was similar to that of the Profumo affair, through with a typical Sweeney bittersweet ending.

Cast

* John Thaw - DI Jack Regan
* Denis Waterman - DS George Carter
* Barry Foster - Elliot McQueen
* Ian Bannen - Charles Baker MP
* Lynda Bellingham - Janice Wyatt
* Diane Keen - Bianca Hamilton

Reception

A moderate success at the box office, the film was praised for capturing the spirit and setting of the original TV series. The film was successful enough for a sequel the following year "Sweeney 2" which saw some of the action relocated to the Mediterranean.