Freelance (1971 film)

Last updated

Freelance
Freelance film frame (1971).png
Directed by Francis Megahy
Written byFrancis Megahy
Bernie Cooper
Produced byFrancis Megahy
executive
Lynn S. Raynor
Ronan O'Casey
Starring Ian McShane
Gayle Hunnicutt
Keith Barron
Alan Lake
Peter Gilmore
Luan Peters
CinematographyNorman Langley
Edited byArthur Solomon
Music by Basil Kirchin
Distributed by Commonwealth United Entertainment
Release date
  • 1971 (1971)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Language English
Budget£200,000 [1]

Freelance (US title: Con Man) is a 1971 British thriller film directed by Francis Megahy and starring Ian McShane. [2] It was written by Megahy and Bernie Cooper. It was not released in England until 1976.[ citation needed ] A con artist witnesses an assassination.

Contents

Plot

Mitch is a small-time London con-artist. When he witnesses a gangland hit, he is forced to lie low while trying to carry out his own various schemes.

Cast

Production

Filming began in London in October 1969. [3] It was Ian MacShane's fourth lead role of the year, following Tam-Lin (1970), Battle of Britain (1969), and Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You (1970). [4]

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Workmanlike but thoroughly routine crime drama, whose somewhat dog-eared message is that crime doesn't pay. There is too much chit-chat and – even given the brevity of the film – too many scenes which have little evident purpose. The action, however, is capably managed, and the standard of performances and production is high enough to make one wish that the talent involved had been put to more imaginative use." [5]

The Cambridge Evening News called it "a film of such ordinariness that one wonders how it ever got to be made." [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Oh! What a Lovely War</i> 1969 British musical film by Richard Attenborough

Oh! What a Lovely War is a 1969 British epic comedy historical musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough, with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Jack Hawkins, Corin Redgrave, Michael Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Paul Shelley, Malcolm McFee, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Nanette Newman, Edward Fox, Susannah York, John Clements, Phyllis Calvert and Maurice Roëves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Winner</span> English filmmaker, food writer (1935–2013)

Michael Robert Winner was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several collaborations with actors Oliver Reed and Charles Bronson.

<i>Sitting Target</i> 1972 British film by Douglas Hickox

Sitting Target is a 1972 British crime film directed by Douglas Hickox and starring Oliver Reed, Ian McShane and Jill St. John. It was based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Laurence Henderson.

<i>Villain</i> (1971 film) 1971 film by Michael Tuchner

Villain is a 1971 British gangster film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Richard Burton, Ian McShane, Nigel Davenport and Donald Sinden. It is based on James Barlow's 1968 novel The Burden of Proof. Villain was director Michael Tuchner's first feature film after directing in television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Finch</span> English actor

John Nicholas Finch was an English stage and film actor who became well known for his Shakespearean roles. Most notably, he starred in films for directors Roman Polanski and Alfred Hitchcock.

<i>White Lightning</i> (1973 film) 1973 film by Joseph Sargent

White Lightning is a 1973 American action film directed by Joseph Sargent, written by William W. Norton, and starring Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty, Bo Hopkins, R. G. Armstrong and Diane Ladd. It marked Laura Dern's film debut.

<i>The McKenzie Break</i> 1970 British film by Lamont Johnson

The McKenzie Break is a 1970 British war drama film directed by Lamont Johnson and starring Brian Keith, Helmut Griem, Ian Hendry and Jack Watson. It was written by William W. Norton, produced by Arthur Gardner and Jules V. Levy and filmed in DeLuxe Color.

<i>Cosh Boy</i> 1953 British film by Lewis Gilbert

Cosh Boy is a 1953 British film noir based on an original play by Bruce Walker. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and featured James Kenney and Joan Collins. It was made at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.

<i>Tam-Lin</i> (film) 1970 British horror film by Roddy McDowall

Tam-Lin, also known as The Ballad of Tam-Lin, The Devil's Widow and The Devil's Woman, is a 1970 British folk horror film directed by Roddy McDowall and starring Ava Gardner and Ian McShane.

<i>Wuthering Heights</i> (1970 film) 1970 British film

Wuthering Heights is a 1970 British drama film directed by Robert Fuest and starring Anna Calder-Marshall and Timothy Dalton. It is based on the classic 1847 Emily Brontë novel of the same name. Like the 1939 version, it depicts only the first sixteen chapters, concluding with Catherine Earnshaw Linton's death, and omits the trials of her daughter, Hindley's son, and Heathcliff's son.

Cliff Owen was a British film and TV director. He directed The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963), two of the three mid-1960s Morecambe and Wise films, and the 1972 film version of the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son.

<i>Hostile Witness</i> 1968 British film by Ray Milland

Hostile Witness is a 1968 British courtroom drama film based on a play by Jack Roffey, directed by Ray Milland and starring Milland, Sylvia Syms, Raymond Huntley and Julian Holloway.

<i>Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You</i> 1970 American film by Rod Amateau

Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Rod Amateau. Intended as a sequel to the 1965 film What's New Pussycat?, it stars Ian McShane, Anna Calder-Marshall, John Gavin and Severn Darden.

<i>The Wild and the Willing</i> 1962 British film by Ralph Thomas

The Wild and the Willing is a 1962 British romantic drama film, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, and Samantha Eggar. It is the film debuts of Ian McShane, John Hurt, and Samantha Eggar. It was written by Nicholas Phipps and Mordecai Richler based on the 1960 play The Tinker by Laurence Doble and Robert Sloman.

Con Man or conman may refer to:

<i>Take a Girl Like You</i> (film) 1970 British film by Jonathan Miller

Take a Girl Like You is a 1970 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Hayley Mills, Oliver Reed and Noel Harrison. Based on the 1960 novel Take a Girl Like You by Kingsley Amis, it was adapted by George Melly.

<i>Eyewitness</i> (1970 film) 1970 British film by John Hough

Eyewitness is a 1970 British thriller film directed by John Hough and starring Mark Lester, Susan George and Lionel Jeffries. Its plot follows a young English boy who, while staying with his grandfather and adult sister in Malta, witnesses a political assassination, and is subsequently pursued by the killers—however, due to his habitual lying, those around him are hesitant to believe his claims. It is an adaptation of the novel by Mark Hebden, the pen name for John Harris, and bears similarity to Cornell Woolrich's novelette "The Boy Cried Murder", originally adapted for film as The Window.

<i>Unman, Wittering and Zigo</i> (film) 1971 British film by John Mackenzie

Unman, Wittering and Zigo is a 1971 British thriller film directed by John Mackenzie and starring David Hemmings, Douglas Wilmer and Carolyn Seymour. It was adapted by Simon Raven from Giles Cooper's 1958 BBC Radio 3 radio drama Unman, Wittering and Zigo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Guillermin</span> French-British film director, writer and producer (1925–2015)

John Guillermin was a French-British film director, writer and producer who was most active in big-budget, action-adventure films throughout his lengthy career.

<i>99 Women</i> 1969 film

99 Women is a 1969 women in prison film directed by Jesús Franco and starring Maria Schell, Mercedes McCambridge, Maria Rohm, Rosalba Neri, Luciana Paluzzi and Herbert Lom. One of the earliest and most financially successful examples of the genre, it was produced by Harry Alan Towers as an international co-production.

References

  1. ↑ "A star can't afford to have the flue". Derby Evening Telegraph. 2 January 1970. p. 8.
  2. ↑ "Freelance". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Movie Call Sheet". The Los Angeles Times. 27 October 1969. p. 76.
  4. ↑ "London local chosen for making 'freelance'". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 18 November 1969. p. 8.
  5. ↑ "Freelance" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 42 (492): 105. 1 January 1975 – via ProQuest.
  6. ↑ "Second rate second feature". Cambridge Evening News. 12 October 1976. p. 10.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.