[Inspector Abberline]

When it comes to criminally under rated British movies then they do not come much more under rated than Micheal Apted's The Squeeze,other wise why hasn't it had a decent uk release yet,?? and considering the high cult appeal the likes of The Sweeney and Sidney Lumets The Offence have ,you would think it would have a certain cult appeal,especially if you enjoy everything from The Performance to The Long Good Friday.And if that was not enough the screenplay was by Minder creator Leon Griffiths,directed by Michael Apted and starring a feast of British talent including David Hemmings,Edward Fox and er Freddie Starr,(who it has has to be said does a good job.of basically being a more mellow version of his hyperactive tv persona that was). And of course not forgetting the rather marvellous Stacy Keach as an alcoholic ex -police detective who while he isn't throwing up all over himself he is being humiliated by the local gangsters and made to walk home naked with only a shoe to cover his pride. Keach is on top form in the role Jim Naboth an ex-copper with more than his share of inner demons to contend with,alcohol being the main one,which caused him to be sacked and see the break up of his family.My only gripe with Keach's performance is that his accent does waver into something which sounds a little bit Aussie to me,but apart from that its a very convincing portrayal of a man tottering on the edge of despair at times.Of course no gangster film is complete without its villains,the main one being Irish hood Stephen Boyd as Vic and leader of the kidnapping gang David Hemmings as Keith,while both actors are good,Hemmings is masterful in the role as head gang member and manages to be charismatic and sinister in equal measures.Another highlight is an early appearance of hard man for hire Alan Ford,who must have been in every British gangster film since the 1970's.The plot is a fairly straight forward kidnap story,the twist being that the kidnapped woman Carol White as Jill,is Edward Fox's missus,but was also Keach's (Naboth) ex wife as well.If your like me,one of the fun things about British films from the 1970's is seeing all the locations from the past and comparing them to the present day,and The Squeeze uses some marvellous run down areas of London,especially the scenes where the daughter of Jill has been dumped inside a disused factory to die.A truly gripping thriller .