Michael Apted directed Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorillas In the Mist and The World Is Not Enough but before all that, he made this movie that he called an "informed look at the British underworld." That may be because he enlisted ex-gangster Bob Ramsey to act as a contact between the film unit and the local underworld. This kept harassment down and let them shoot in high crime areas.
Jim Naboth (Stacy Keach) has lost his job and his wife Jill (Carol White) and children thanks to his drinking problem. Now a private detective, he's still drinking and she's moved on to a new husband, Foreman (Edward Fox) and taking care of his daughter Christine (Alison Portes).
A gang of kidnappers - Keith (David Hemmings), Vic (Stephen Boyd), Barry (Roy Marsden), Des (Barry Stewart Harwood) and Taff (Alan Ford) - take Jill and Christine to force Foreman to help them with a crime. He's an important businessman, so he hires Jim to get his wife and child back.
The story itself is simple but the real issues are whether Foreman was part of the crime, the past relationship between Jim and Christine, and how Jim and Keith knew each other when Jim was a cop. There's a lot of humiliation of Jim - and Christine - which also seems like Foreman's doing. This may be too British for American audiences - Warner Bros. Said it was "too indigenous" - but I found it interesting.
Jim Naboth (Stacy Keach) has lost his job and his wife Jill (Carol White) and children thanks to his drinking problem. Now a private detective, he's still drinking and she's moved on to a new husband, Foreman (Edward Fox) and taking care of his daughter Christine (Alison Portes).
A gang of kidnappers - Keith (David Hemmings), Vic (Stephen Boyd), Barry (Roy Marsden), Des (Barry Stewart Harwood) and Taff (Alan Ford) - take Jill and Christine to force Foreman to help them with a crime. He's an important businessman, so he hires Jim to get his wife and child back.
The story itself is simple but the real issues are whether Foreman was part of the crime, the past relationship between Jim and Christine, and how Jim and Keith knew each other when Jim was a cop. There's a lot of humiliation of Jim - and Christine - which also seems like Foreman's doing. This may be too British for American audiences - Warner Bros. Said it was "too indigenous" - but I found it interesting.