Out

[Mickyosan]

Forgot to mention that in episode 6, there's a line that includes the 'Reels of cotton' rhyming slang line which was also a line from the Sweeney. What I've not yet worked out is if the Sweeney episode in question was also written by Trevor Preston although I assume that's the case.

[Steve Austin]

Mickyosan, I think that was said by Billy Medhurst in the episode In From The Cold. That was written by Tony Hoare. I could be wrong however.

[Dirty Epic]

Feb 10, 2016 7:28:18 GMT Steve Austin said:

Mickyosan, I think that was said by Billy Medhurst in the episode In From The Cold. That was written by Tony Hoare. I could be wrong however.

Correct Steve mate was In From The Cold/Billy Medhurst with the Reels of Cotton line. Some good posts Steve/Micky too and never knew Peter Schofield (Boothroyd from Selected Target) was the ticket collector til now.  LOL! Also you might be right about Brian Croucher and our very own Del too.

[Charles Bronson]

I liked Brian Croucher in Out. I thought he played his Part really well. He come over as a likeable Londoner.
I spotted the resemblance to Del right away too.

[Arthur Pringle]

The fella that fixes Frank Ross's phone is Jimmy Winston, he plays the caretaker of the Lakeside club in 'Hearts And Minds' & was the original keyboard player with the Small Faces ( also in a band called Winston's Fumbs ), his parents ran the Ruskin Arms pub in East Ham which for years was the venue for a Small Faces convention.
His biggest role was in the Doctor Who story 'Day Of The Daleks'.

If you liked 'Out' then 'Fox' should be on your list next if you've not watched it.

'Reels of cotton' is indeed from 'In From The Cold'. Tony Hoare is a similar writer to Preston, similar working class London backgrounds, mixing with crims, etc. I like Preston's writing but I think he tends to lay the slang on a bit too thick, Hoare's writing has a more lighthearted approach, he was the perfect 'Minder' writer.

If I was to criticise 'Out' I'd say that Tom Bell wasn't really physically intimidating enough, in episode 1 he overpowers both the much bigger Oscar James & his muscular henchman with ease & it just doesn't convince. According to the dvd commentary Preston imagined a big, tall actor in the part. Derrick O'Connor is particularly good as he is in 'Fox', he tends to make other actors look like they're overacting ( not difficult in Lynda La Plante's case with her rotten Welsh accent ), an underrated actor imo.

[Stan]

Agree with Arthur; Derrick O'connor plays his part particularly well.

As I've said previously, this series has a real late 70s atmosphere to it.

Now doubt aided by an experienced Euston Films team and excellent locations - gritty where needed.

As has been said above, a series that warrants more than one viewing.

[Villain]

I watched episodes 2,3,4 and 5 last night, I hadn't planned to but couldn't tear myself away. I saw it the first time round back in the Summer of '78 but I was reminded of just how good it was. All the classic Euston Films ingredients were present, making this a fantastic, high quality six parter worthy of repeat viewings. The characterisations and interplay between the actors was spot on, the locations and photography couldn't be bettered and the clobber was a reminder of how people really dressed in the second half of the '70s and as for the cars, well, the Mk2 Granadas and the high end BMW driven by Derek O'Connor really hit the right spot for me. Did anyone notice that Frank's green Grannie and the cozzer's beige one both had Ford press car 'VHK' reg' numbers...? It was screened just a few months after the first series of 'The Professionals' had aired, so the viewing audience at the time was ripe for more gritty TV drama.

Also worthy of note - the repeated use of the word 'cozzer' which takes us back to Frank Kemble in the first episode of The Sweeney. Some people would expect to hear 'rozzer' being used instead but 'cozzer' seems right to me, I can remember it being used by some of my uncle's drinking buddies in Hammersmith back in the day.

Looking forward to watching the final episode tonight

Villain

[Steve Austin]

I'm sure they used the term "cowson" a few times too.

[Villain]

Feb 15, 2016 12:02:07 GMT Steve Austin said:

I'm sure they used the term "cowson" a few times too.

Wasn't sure what I was hearing when they said that!

Trevor Preston's writing in 'Out' is fantastic, the dialogue and slang could easily have been over the top in someone else's hands but it worked because it was all said with such conviction and not overdone in a crappy 'Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels' style. Criminal types really did speak like that at the time.

Villain

[Villain]

Just found these publicity stills from 'Out' while I was looking for something else...





Material for this seems quite scarce compared to other Euston Films productions.

Villain