Drabble

Don Siegel acknowledges one big mistake in his autobiography: due to a writers strike he ended up rewriting the script while he was also preparing the shoot as a Producer-Director. He should never have rushed to make this movie under such conditions. Then he puts the blame on Universal who, in the beginning, suggested he managed all three jobs, then, decided to release it as The Black Windmill, a title which bears no relevance with what the movie is about. Sure, the storyline is far from flowing and it's a pity since there are so many fine performances in it. Donald Pleasance, John Vernon, Delphine Seyrig, Catherine Schell to name a few. Roy Budd's score is wonderfully in line with the atmosphere too. With all these, Don Siegel should really have been able to blame himself for his trademark flaw: used to shoot low budgets with lots of energy he forces a minimalistic loner hero inside the story. In his previous movie, Charley Varrick, it worked much better since the plot was more simple (aftermath of a bank robbery) with only a couple of important characters. Charley Varrick already lacked character development, but with Michael Caine, a counter-espionage civil-servant stuck between his bosses, his wife and the villains, it really bogs down the whole narrative. It's a real pity so many things just don't add up to a tense situation. There is nice interaction in some scenes involving female characters, but basically the plot is not streamlined. One final word, Don Siegel style: the ending, as in Charley Varrick, is quite unsatisfactory. Not that it should be changed to some other outcome, but all good directors know how to close an action movie shortly after the ending climax. I don't know why Don Siegel would add some "post-coïtum" shot, having you wondering about some final twist, but no, it was just some fancy shot demonstrating how much the screenplay wasn't polished enough.

This early 70's British thriller is presented by a famous director (Don Siegel of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Dirty Harry") and stars a couple of very prominent and contemporary popular male names like Michael Caine, Donald Pleasence and John Vernon. Yet it somehow ended up in total oblivion and it has not been released on DVD so far. Perhaps this can partly be explained because it's a very slow and largely action-free movie that came out in era dominated by rough and extravagant exploitation efforts. Still, if you're a fan of espionage or political thrillers in general, you might want to look for "the Black Windmill" after all, since it definitely contains some redeeming elements. Although completely implausible, the story is fairly compelling with some inventive plot twists and – most notably – some excellent examples of dry British humor. Caine plays an agent working for the country's secret service, a job that already cost him his marriage. When his 7-year-old son gets kidnapped and the culprits demand an extremely high ransom to be paid in diamonds, John Tarrant starts the rescue mission on his own. While his supervisors still wonder about where the leak in their organization comes from, Tarrant steals the diamonds himself and heads for France to meet the kidnappers. Nothing spectacular happens for a long, long time and it's only Donald Pleasence's (and others) wit remarks that keep you mildly interested in the film. The entire middle-section is painfully boring and, although the ending makes up for much, it can't possibly be called a classic. Oh, and don't start looking for the mysterious titular black windmill right away, as this uncanny building is just a tiny aspect in the story and not even that relevant. Not trying to spoil things here, just advising the people that are, like me, attracted by the ominous windmill on the box cover not to expect too much.

Two English boys are kidnapped by a criminal crew. One of the boys is the son of British intelligence officer Major Tarrant (Michael Caine). Cedric Harper (Donald Pleasence) is his boss and Sir Edward Julyan (Joseph O'Conor) is the head of MI6. Tarrant is in a meeting with them and others when he gets a call from his wife. Their son has been taken and ransomed for diamonds. Eventually, he has to battle both sides to get his son back. While I like the premise, I am taken back by two issues. First, I got confused by several scenes in the movie. It's possibly due to my stupidity. I don't know the reason for the naked picture session. When the second boy shows up in the hospital, I assumed him to be the Tarrant boy. I kept losing track of the characters. The plot seems simple but I couldn't catch every scene. The second issue is Caine. I never get a sense of terror, anger, tension, or trauma coming from Major Tarrant. In fact, one scene has him making a joke wink as he makes an escape. The performance lacks the needed desperation. It doesn't fit. He's doing it wrong or the directing is wrong. I still like the premise but the execution is off overall.

A poor plot with several holes in it and pretty feeble acting and those 1970's haircuts! The police in this film were pretty dumb but they didn't need to be clever as the crooks were not much smarter and no one was nasty. Oh happy days!

Under the spreading chestnut tree When I held you on my knee, we were happy as can be Under the spreading chestnut tree. Under the spreading chestnut tree I'll kiss you and you'll kiss me Oh how happy we will be Under the spreading chestnut tree" They say the chestnut tree symbolizes honesty ,charity and justice.So this song which could seem somewhat irrelevant over the cast and credits and is heard again in the last scene (sung by a school children choir).And if the message is not clear enough ,the letters of the credits are written on small cubes and when they are in trouble,Caine and his wife take the pseudos of Mr Trapp and Maria,cause they've seen "the sound of music" four or five times with their abducted child . Many things will remind you of "the man who knew too much" (essentially second version) ,even a song plays the role of "que sera sera" .A good private joke even mentions Sean Connery ,future co-star of Caine in "the man who would be king" In spite of the run of the mill plot,Don Siegel makes the best of it ,with strong scenes and an accelerated tempo :the opening sequence ,with the "military" men, gives the jitter ;Delphine Seyrig,an extremely talented French actress famous for her parts in Demy's Truffaut's and Bunuel's movies finds here her first part of a villainess.Hear how she smoothly speaks!She was fluent in English so she was not dubbed! ,fortunately ! Unlike so many veterans trapped in the seventies ,Don "body snatchers" Siegel carried on with exciting movies:the stunning "beguiled" -which tops both "Harry" and "Escape from Alcatraz" which are not flabby stuff either-"the Shootist" with a terminally-ill John Wayne .

I caught this film when it was shown on British television recently and was surprised that I had never previously heard of it, despite the fact that it stars an actor as iconic as Michael Caine and was made by a director as famous as Don Siegel. The "black windmill" of the title is one of the two Clayton Windmills (known locally as "Jack and Jill") on the South Downs near Brighton; this windmill plays an important part in the plot. As in "The Ipcress File", Caine plays a British secret service agent, but his character here, John Tarrant, is very different to Harry Palmer. Whereas Palmer was a working-class outsider, a former Army sergeant who was virtually blackmailed into joining the secret service to avoid a criminal charge, Tarrant is an establishment insider, part of the officer class. (He holds the rank of Major). He is engaged in an undercover operation to counter the activities of a gang of arms smugglers selling weapons to terrorists in Northern Ireland. (The film was made in 1974 when the Northern Irish troubles were at their height). The film starts with Tarrant's young son David being kidnapped and held to ransom. The kidnappers appear to have a detailed knowledge not only of Tarrant's family circumstances but also of the work he is engaged on; as their ransom they demand a valuable quantity of uncut diamonds which he has recently acquired to fund his intelligence work. Tarrant initially believes that the kidnappers are connected either to the arms dealers or to the terrorists for whom they are working, and confides in his superior, Cedric Harper. As matters progress, however, he begins to wonder whether matters are really as they seem and whether he can really trust his colleagues. This is far from being Caine's worst film. (For an actor of his distinction he made more than his fair share of dreadful ones, "Blame It on Rio" and "Ashanti" being two that come to mind). It does, however, highlight one of his weaknesses as an actor, namely that in the early part of his career he was not very good at conveying strong emotions. Most of his iconic roles, at least from this period, involved him playing characters who, for one reason or another, avoid showing much emotion. This could be because they need to keep up the "stiff upper lip" (his characters in "Zulu" and "Battle of Britain"), because they hide their feelings beneath a mask of impassivity (Jack Carter), because they deliberately avoid emotional commitment (Alfie Elkins) or because they try and distance themselves from their feelings through cynicism and irony (Frank in "Educating Rita"). Certainly, some of his more mature performances do show greater emotional depth, such as "The Honorary Consul" and "The Quiet American", but in "The Black Windmill" he is rather wooden, never suggesting the anguish and anxiety of a man whose son is being held for ransom. Some of the acting is better; Janet Suzman as Tarrant's estranged wife Alex provides the emotional conviction that Caine's performance lacks, while Donald Pleasence is very effective as the smooth but unsympathetic and possibly duplicitous Harper. The film as a whole is a professionally made thriller, if not a very original one, but an essentially American director like Siegel was not the most natural choice to direct a British spy thriller like this one. "The Black Windmill" is never going to rank on his filmography as highly as the likes of "Dirty Harry" and "The Shootist". 6/10

Michael Caine plays 'major John Tarrant' who's son is kidnapped as a direct consequence of his job as an MI6 operator. Based on a novel by Clive Egleton, this above average thriller sees Caine in the kind of role he can play in his sleep; as the hero (with the wavy fringe) seemingly in control of his emotions, speaking just about as much as 'Dirty Harry' and finally when confronting the bad guys; running amuck.

Implausible plot. Cheesy special effects. One of the worst acted films I have ever seen. Stand wooden faced, then scowl and shout. Over and over. Given the caliber of the actors and since they were all doing it, I have to blame the director. Unwatchable. I gave it a two because it was not actively offensive, just really, really bad. ------------- "And wasn't that Richard Attenborough playing the jeweler visited by the two men from New Scotland Yard" I thought the exact same thing. It was the highlight of the movie. Too bad he wasn't in the rest of the movie. He must have read the script.

Every now and again you come across a film that's somewhat a letdown, even when those expectations are kept at bay. Don Siegel's mid-70s espionage-thriller 'The Black Windmill' that starred Michael Caine falls in that category. If anything it was that title (which the story is adapted off Clive Egleton's novel "Seven Days to a Killing") which caught my eye. Siegel's adapt, controlled workhorse direction tackles the subdued material with little suspense, but constructing something tight, sullen and dry with the main focus on building something out of its elaborately knotty (but dubious) premise. It's a true pot-boiler entangled with twists. While the material is stimulating (with some good work by the solid support performances and an occasionally witty line) and the sturdy set-pieces are competently crafted, however the pacing is too blotchy and in the end it builds to really nothing. It loses some weight due to the lack of suspense and urgency with a crackerjack climax that's just too quick. Michael Caine's composed performance is strongly delivered, and John Vernon makes for an ideally icy and conniving villain. Donald Pleasance is delightfully squirmy (which his character likes to really fiddle with that moustache) and Janet Suzman provides some fire. Delphine Seyrig and Clive Revill offer able support too. Roy Budd's sizzling, but low-key music score works well and Ousama Rawi lenses it with a great illustrative eye. Siegel's touch is evident in both of those devices. An unexceptional feature, but still its well organised and performed.

I've read several comments that point out the clumbsiness of the action editing in "The Black Windmill." I think what is being overlooked is that what we have been seeing for the past thirty years on tv and video has been a pan-and-scan version of a Panavision film. The action was designed for a widescreen and we've only been seeing half of it, sloppily panned-and-scanned, making it seem jumbled. I believe that the widescreen dvd release will prove me right. Admittedly, in terms of Siegel action-drama quality,this flick falls in the middle ground between the great "Dirty Harry" and the so-so "Telefon." But even the low-budget Telefon is much more exciting in its original wide aspect ratio than in "full" screen.