The Squeeze

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.

source: The Squeeze

Trailer—The Squeeze

The Squeeze

Drunken former cop Jim Naboth (Stacy Keach) gets experimental treatment. He's now dry, but no longer in Scotland Yard. Foreman (Edward Fox) barges in looking his wife and daughter. She happens to be Jim's ex-wife. Keith (David Hemmings) and his gang had kidnapped them for ransom. Director Michael Apted is doing a British crime drama. It's a good example of 70's gritty crime movie. Stripping Stacy Keach naked is very memorable. The pacing is uneven at times. I would like for the tension to stay at a higher level and build up better. The actors are all great. This is solid work and fitting for the 70's.

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.

This is a cracking, gritty Brit thriller with superb performances from all concerned, nice sleazy atmosphere, and fast paced. Easily on par with The Long Good Friday, but for some reason not as well known. Great print on the USA Warner Archive disc too. Recommended.

A few major flaws. Its really slow pacing made things confusing and dampened any tension. The ex-cop's drinking problem was taken more seriously than the kidnapping. And the last minute climatic ending was disappointing. ------------------------------ My IMDb ratings 1 Deliberately botched 2 I don't want to see it 3 I FF'd through it 4 Bad 5 I don't get it 6 Good 7 Great but with a major flaw 8 Great 9 Noir with moral 10 Inspiring with moral.

Unlikely duo (British comedian and actor) Freddie Starr, and (American Actor) Stacy Keach; team up in this eccentric 1970's Brit Gangster-Kidnap-Heist. In combination with Edward Fox, David Hemmings, and Stephen Boyd; this ensemble deliver a movie that successfully encapsulates both the time and the place (Central London UK). Leon Griffith's intelligent Screenplay, and David Hentschel's driving musical score, create a 'perfect-storm' of a movie-drama that it's mega-budget movie peers, could only dream of. Punching way above it's weight, this overlooked Gem comes with the Highest Recommendation.

I'm a big Stephen Boyd fan and had to catch this film as it was his second to last film before his untimely death. I rate this film above average. The story moves at a decent pace, and the acting is fairly good, but truthfully, it's nothing to write home about. A really great cast is wasted here as far as I'm concerned. Guess I can't blame any of the actors involved, as the script is lacking in true greatness. However, it is an entertaining enough film. Regarding Stephen Boyd. He looked lean and fit, but he looked ill. It just wasn't the Stephen Boyd of old. Was he ill here? Who knows. I know he died a short time later. For my money, I'd rather remember the handsome, talented, and likable Boyd in his prime. So, instead of sitting through the squeeze, I'd rather see Stephen Boyd in The Best of Everything, Ben Hur, Island in the Sun, and the Oscar.