Villain
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Nine Elms, 1970, looking for the loot...
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Post by Villain on Jan 24, 2017 20:42:53 GMT
I thought it was about time I started a thread on the film which alongside 'Get Carter' is one of the best British crime flicks ever made. For the most part forgotten by many, probably because it's been overshadowed by Mike Hodges bleak vision of Jack Carter heading up north to seek revenge on his late brother, it is nonetheless a fantastic period piece based loosely on the story of one of the Kray twins, with a definite uneasy feel running through most of the plot and the action, not to mention a quite nasty (for the time) portrayal of a violent wages snatch. With a screenplay by Dick Clement and Ian Lefrenais which includes for the first time in any British film the words p*ss, w*nker, orgasm and f*kkers, a high quality cast and locations which ooze late '60s / early '70s London, it ought to have more of a following. More than four decades after being released it certainly bears repeated viewings just as much as 'Get Carter', 'Robbery' and 'The Long Good Friday'. Like 'Get Carter' it was shot in the Summer of 1970 and released in 1971 to some quite unkind reviews from the press, 'Mary Poppins' it wasn't! Based on James Barlow's book 'Burden Of Proof' it was shot mostly around various parts of North, West and South London with the wages blag happening 'out in the sticks' in the new concrete jungle of downtown Bracknell, and conveys a palpable sense of the '60s ending and a new, dull grey and quite bleak decade about to unfold. The casting was spot on with Richard Burton as Vic Dakin, a nasty piece of work who loved his Mum and liked boys, although when the film was first reviewed in 1971 his cockney accent was brought into question by some journalists. Backed up by British acting stalwarts Nigel Davenport, Joss Ackland, Ian McShane, Colin Welland, T.P.McKenna, Tony Selby, Del Henny, John Hallam and Michael Robins, Burton leaves a trail of nastiness and contempt behind him until the law finally catches up with him on a piece of South London waste ground. I've got hundreds of screen grabs from the film, it'd take too long to upload all of them but I'll make a start with some publicity material, stills and behind the scenes stuff.... Liz Taylor was often on set with her husband and even pulled a few pints for the cast and crew in The Assembly Rooms boozer in Kentish Town... Actors Clive Francis, Fiona Lewis and Ian McShane in an early scene in the film where McShane leaves his girlfriend in the clutches of sleazy MP Donald Sinden... More to follow if photo-bucket doesn't implode... Villain
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Post by Gene Hunt on Jan 24, 2017 21:28:48 GMT
Great thread for a brilliant film Villain. One of my favourites. Brilliant characters throughout and a lot of Sweeney faces. Joss Ackland, T P McKenna, Del Henney & Colin Welland, Tony Selby and the brilliant Nigel Davenport. Having visited the locations many times too makes it all the better. A great selection of pictures there too which you've done very well to get onto photo-bucket given it's awful performance of late. Can't wait to see more. Watch out in the not too distant future as I am certain we will be conducting a 4:3tv Villain Meet Gene.
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The Saint
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Swinging London - 1967
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Post by The Saint on Jan 24, 2017 22:44:39 GMT
Thanks for starting the thread Villain, a legendary film and certainly deserves its own thread Gene - a 4:3 Villain meet is a great idea The Saint
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Jan 24, 2017 23:57:05 GMT
Anyone else remember watching it on BBC1 when it was interuppted halfway through for live coverage of the start of the Gulf War bombing campaign? I read that Ray Winstone mentioned this to Ian McShane when they worked on the film '44 Inch Chest'.
Interesting about the swearing as you associate La Frenais & Clement with substituting rude words with mild alternatives like 'nerk' & 'naff'. Strange that American actor Al Lettieri, familiar for playing mob heavies in films like 'The Getaway' & 'Mr Majestyk' is credited as co screenwriter, I wonder how that came about?
I used to buy posters & stills from a guy many years ago & I had a poster of Villain, I think it must've been a pre release poster as there was no text on it at all, just a high contrast image of Burton running, it was in a small size as well. I should've kept it but unfortunately I gave it to someone I knew as he was a fan of the film.
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Bojan Scores
Cameraman
Terry you’re very devious when a bird’s involved...
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Post by Bojan Scores on Jan 25, 2017 8:17:57 GMT
It's interesting that both Carter and Villain have the juxtaposition of the modern architecture and crumbling Victorian buildings as a backdrop. I'm sure it reflects the era as we were going through the Wilsonian modernisation of our town centres and the destruction of our historic buildings. It's an influence that goes through The Sweeney, Professionals and Life On Mars etc,like Blackpool through a stick of rock. I like Villain because it's a good film (obviously), Burton is gloriously hammy, and it's also one of those films where you catch yourself watching the background. I'm one of these idiots looking out for old cars, shop windows, fashions and so on, like it's a wormhole to the past :D
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Jan 25, 2017 9:38:03 GMT
Great film, it was shown on the Sky Talking Pictures channel on Monday night this week. That period, the late 60s into the early 70s I found very interesting, it seemed to be a combination of old and new in many ways, new buildings alongside Victorian ones, Get Carter also features this, also the change from the old money to decimal. On the railways too, steam trains operated until 1968, alongside new electrics and diesels in the then new British Rail blue and grey.
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Villain
Director
Nine Elms, 1970, looking for the loot...
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Post by Villain on Jan 25, 2017 13:17:58 GMT
Thanks for the comments gents, I'll post some more images soon (I had several more lined up to post last night but photo-bucket threw another wobbly so I gave up!). Regarding Al Lettiere, I'm not sure how much involvement he had in the screenplay but his name suddenly rang a bell as he was heavily involved in The Beatles 'Yellow Submarine' film when it was being made in 1967. Behind the scenes shots from 'Villain' are very few and far between but I've recently found some corkers taken during the shooting of the wages blag out in Bracknell which I'll bung up later on. Incidentally, the same area of Bracknell was used a year or so later when production started on the Sean Connery film 'The Offence'. With production set for the Summer of 1970 the producers decided to use some appropriate high end cars as the main vehicles for the cast members, Vic Dakin was given a nearly new Rover P5B Coupe in Burnt Grey over Silver Birch with a Mulberry (deep red) leather interior. Registered 'HXC 802H' this would be driven by Richard Burton and John Hallam in numerous scenes and really looked the part on screen of a top villain's motor and made a change from the usual Mk2 or S-Type Jag. They did of course use a (cough) 'borrowed' S-Type for the blag and getaway car which ended up in a right old state before being abandoned in favour of a Ford Zephyr. Also used in the blag was a Mk1 Triumph 2000 driven by Joss Ackland's character Edgar Lowis, and a Vanden Plas Princess 3 litre used as the wages transport vehicle. Playing Lowis's brother in law was veteran Irish actor T.P McKenna, his mode of transport being a pale blue Series 1 Jaguar XJ6 which was only seen briefly in one scene. When production had finished the P5B Coupe was passed on to producer Robert S. Baker for use in an episode of 'The Persuaders' which was lined up for shooting in the Autumn of 1970. More soon, time for a brew Villain
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jan 25, 2017 13:30:07 GMT
Thanks for posting the 'Villain' stuff Villain and surprised there wasn't a thread for this already? Also interesting that it was the film broadcast on BBC when the first Gulf War broke out. A brilliant film with a few flaws felt Burton was slightly miscast for the role. Maybe should've played Vic with his natural voice instead of the Mockney style which seems to fluctuate between this and Burton's normal voice. Joss Ackland again a good actor is a bit hit and miss here too especially the 'daren't Vic I daren't' and 'festering pig' scenes. Everyone and everything else is bang on and Villian could teach film and TV drama makers a thing or two today about how to do a good British gangster film. A future Villian meet for 4:3 TV being it on!
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Bojan Scores
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Terry you’re very devious when a bird’s involved...
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Post by Bojan Scores on Jan 25, 2017 13:31:28 GMT
I think I recall a P5B coupe in Performance too.
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Villain
Director
Nine Elms, 1970, looking for the loot...
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Post by Villain on Jan 25, 2017 14:25:22 GMT
I think I recall a P5B coupe in Performance too. That was actually an earlier 3 litre Coupe with a set of V8 / Rostyle wheels fitted to spruce it up a bit. The external differences between the 3 and 3.5 litre cars were quite subtle, aside from the wheels the front grille and badges are different, the front wings had foglamps set into them, the stainless steel strip down the body sides were thicker on the 3.5 litre and new rectangular side repeater indicators were fitted into the side strips on the front wings. They also had larger overiders front and rear (with black rubber blocks bolted on from behind) plus an additional strip of stainless steel along the sills, just below the doors, and the metalwork below the strips was painted satin black. On top of all these changes all P5B Coupes had contrasting coachlines painted on by hand, along the body side just below the stainless steel strip and on the roof just above the door frames. Subtle, but very classy and quite expensive to do in the factory! Villain PS : I'm definitely up for a 'Villain' themed meet! Pleased to say that I now sign the route driving trains under the footbridge in South Acton where Richard Burton and John Hallam swap cars after the blag. Not far away on the same stretch of line are South Acton and Acton Central stations, both of which also feature in the film.
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