Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Jonathon Dabell As gritty British thrillers go, Get Carter will probably be remembered as the benchmark. The Squeeze is a 1977 entry into the genre, directed by Michael Apted and populated by a cast of strong actors. While it isn't really in the same class as Get Carter, this film still has its moments, many of them provided by Stacy Keach as the alcoholic hero (a role originally offered to Richard Harris). The emphasis is very much on sleaze, violence and foul language, and it all becomes a bit wearing by the end. But the film is put together with enough skill and handled at an engaging enough pace for it to keep the audience's attention.Ex-cop Jim Naboth (Stacy Keach) is at a real low ebb in his life. His wife has left him, he has difficulty organising himself as a single parent, and his only true passion seems to be for the booze. His ex-wife Jill (Carol White) has remarried and now lives with a successful banker called Foreman (Edward Fox). Alas, Foreman's position makes him an attractive target for potential bank robbers – and his greatest fears become a reality when a gang of vicious thugs kidnap Jill and threaten to kill her unless Foreman assists them in pulling off a bank heist. The robbery is masterminded by Vic Smith (Stephen Boyd), while the kidnapping aspect of their plan is overseen by the sadistic Keith (David Hemmings). Since he knows that contacting the police would spell disaster, Foreman decides his only option is to appeal to Naboth to save Jill. Somehow Naboth must beat his addiction to the bottle, and put aside any differences he has with his ex-wife, in order to complete the job.The Squeeze creates a fairly convincing atmosphere of squalor and ugliness. These are ugly characters, existing in an ugly walk of life, and the film effectively gets across such unpleasant realities. Coming away from the film, I felt physically relieved that I don't mix in the kind of circles pictured in this movie! Keach gives yet another under-rated performance as the troubled hero while Hemmings is excellent as one of the principal villains, and stage comic Freddie Starr does a surprisingly good job as Naboth's friend Teddy, a likable low-life who tries to keep our hero on the straight and narrow. There are aspects of the film that don't work quite so well. There's an almost intentional relentlessness with which the film seeks to dwell upon sleaze that makes the movie rather unattractive. In one especially sordid sequence, the kidnappers force Jill to perform a strip for their entertainment. It's an uncomfortable scene, and while some might argue it adds to our overall antipathy towards the kidnappers, it also has a voyeuristic and perverted edge to it. Another weakness with the film is that occasional plot points don't hang together believably – the way the villains underestimate Naboth, the way Jill gets sexually involved with her captors, the abrupt and unsatisfying way the film ends. Some of these moments just don't quite ring true, and it's more noticeable than ever in a film like this, which seeks to generate an air of gritty realism. The Squeeze will be best enjoyed by fans of hard-boiled British crime thrillers – others might find the seediness, ugliness, unpleasantness and sleaziness a bit of a turn-off.

klincoln1 What a great film I saw it twice at cinemas 1 time It was a support film for one of the Sweeney movies in the days you got 2 films for you money. It is a classic 70s cop film,hard drinking,hard working & tough guy cop,it was about the time of S.Keachs drug burst if you remember it,he is now appearing on channel 5 s prison escape drama. I don't think that Carol White was in many films after this. If you was in London in the seventies you would recognise the greyness and the fact there was no drinking after the pubs close at 14.30 until 17.30,this film should be regarded with the same respect that the Long Good Friday is now being regarded as a seminal 80s film. I have tried to buy it on DVD but it does not appear to be released.

DURANGO-6 Tough, hard hitting British thriller about an ex Scotland yard man, played very convincingly by Stacy Keach, now trying to keep from becoming a confirmed alcoholic. He finds his old skills are needed again when his wife is kidnapped. The cast are excellent, and they, along with the no holds barred script make this one of the best thrillers of the 70's

earwig Early film from Michael Apted (2000 Bond film, The world is not enough, 7up series for TV, etc.) Stacey Keach gives a wonderfully seedy performance playing against type as an English, alcoholic ex-policeman searching for a kidnapped child. Watch out for English comic Freddie Starr in a straight role as Keach's friend and saviour. Filmed in London during the heatwave summer of 1976, most people of my age who were children at the time would remember London like this. The film uses great locations- The Thames, the Underground, tatty 1970s pubs, etc. The opening scene in the Underground station and the climax of the film are particularly good. Keach plays the seemingly hopeless alcoholic with great dignity. The film has a slick pace, an atmospheric twangy 1970s soundtrack, great action scenes and a familiar cast. It may be hard to find this film, it is often tucked away on TV in the middle of the night for some reason, but I would recommend it to all crime/gangster film fans.