Sitting Target (Douglas Hickox, 1972)
"The dog's next. That's more your cup of tea"
Boasting an incredible cast, Sitting Target is a long lost crime caper that must've slipped down the side of the sofa at MGM/Turner/Warner Brothers. Whatever the problem was, it's nice to see this on DVD after 40 bloody years.
Harry Lomart (Oliver Reed) is a violent criminal who is facing 15 years in the nick for a violent robbery. When his lovely wife (Jill St. John with a dodgy accent) visits him, only to tell him she's up the duff by another fella and leaving him, he goes bloody B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
So, with the help of his buddies 'Birdy' (Ian McShane, who happens to be in the next cell), and MacNeil (the fabulous Freddie Jones), the three of them make an implausibly easy escape from the high security prison just so revengeful Harry can KILL HIS BIRD. This makes her a... SITTING TARGET.
Brutish, stylishly directed and well-acted, Sitting Target is a whiskey-fuelled crime caper of high quality. It's not a true classic of the genre though, but with added support from Edward Woodward, Frank Finlay and a smashing role for the lovely Jill Townsend as Maureen (Phwoar!) it rises above the standard action fare of the early 1970s. It's a genuine pleasure to see the damn thing after 40 years. Also an excellent soundtrack by Stanley Myers!
