Villain (1971)

Murderous, sadistic London gang leader Vic Dakin, a mother-obsessed homosexual modeled on real-life gangster Ronnie Kray, is worried about potential stool pigeons that may bring down his ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Tuchner

Writers:

Dick Clement (screenplay), Ian La Frenais (screenplay),

Stars:

Richard Burton, Ian McShane, Nigel Davenport

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Burton	...	Vic Dakin
Ian McShane	...	Wolfe Lissner
Nigel Davenport	...	Bob Matthews
Donald Sinden	...	Gerald Draycott
Fiona Lewis	...	Venetia
T.P. McKenna	...	Frank Fletcher
Joss Ackland	...	Edgar Lowis
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Mrs. Dakin
Elizabeth Knight	...	Patti
Colin Welland	...	Tom Binney
Tony Selby	...	Duncan
John Hallam	...	Terry
Del Henney	...	Webb
Ben Howard	...	Henry
James Cossins	...	Brown

Storyline

Murderous, sadistic London gang leader Vic Dakin, a mother-obsessed homosexual modeled on real-life gangster Ronnie Kray, is worried about potential stool pigeons that may bring down his criminal empire. The brutal Vic cuts the throat of one bloke who has been a little too loose-lipped, afraid that his gossiping may turn into a grand operatic performance for the coppers. Vic, who enjoys playing at rough trade with his sidekick Wolfe, plans a payroll robbery and directs the blackmailing of Members of Parliament with a taste for unorthodox sex. Scotland Yard Police Inspector Matthews, playing Javert to Vic's Jean Valjean, is moving in on him and the gang. Gang-member Frank is hospitalized for an ulcer, and Inspector Matthews might be able to make him sing. Will Frank spill the beans to the coppers before Vic can silence him?

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Plot Keywords:

homosexual | scotland yard | gangster | gay | power lust | 

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Taglines:

Meet Vic Dakin. Then wish you hadn't.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1971 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Die alles zur Sau machen

Filming Locations:

81-100 York Mansions, Prince of Wales Drive, Battersea, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglo-EMI, Kastner/Ladd/Kanter

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original 1968 novel "The Burden Of Proof" by James Barlow (the inspiration for this film), a prosecuting barrister asks one of the female witnesses in court if she "likes the actor Richard Burton". Burton went on to play the lead role of Vic Dakin in the movie.

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Goofs

The is a clear overdub in the scene where Wolf and Veneita arrive at the country house for the party. As they are walking up the drive they both survey the front of the mansion. Wolf describes the the house as, "fit for a king". Ventia responds, "I bet the bathrooms are freezing". But if you watch her mouth movements closely she is actually completes Wolf's sentence with phrase , "or Queen" .

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Quotes

Vivian: Wolfe, I'm so glad you could come, how terrific.
Wolfe Lissner: Hello Vivian, this is Venetia.
Vivian: Hello Venetia. Well we're all drinking in here so do come on through. I do wish you'd been here last night Wolfe, some lovely faces came down.

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Connections

Version of Sitting Target (1972)

User Reviews

A forgotten Classic

The plot of this film is slim (It is about a build-up to a armed robbery of a car carrying a company's payroll, it's execution and the aftermath in which the robbers are caught) but what stands it out as an underrated classic is :

Richard Burton's riveting performance

The detail put into Burton's character (Vic Dakin)

Dialogue

The robbery

Although the plot is flimsy, the film is centered around Vic Dakin, a mother fixated gangster, similar to James Cagney's Cody Jarret in White Heat. He is based on a real life gangster in 60's London called Reggie Kray (who's story was told in the film 'The Krays' made in 1990).

The characterisation of Dakin in the script is superb. It fleshes out a person who on one hand is a violent psychopath who kicks a man almost senseless to 'make sure he doesn't tell the police on him' and who gets his sexual kicks out of beating and sodomizing (thankfully not shown) his 'special friend' Wolfie, yet on the other is devoted to his mum, thanking anybody who asks for her, and self-righteous and disgusted at the low morals of others ('hooligans', as he complains about a phone box being out of order and bellows 'Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic' to a drinking, gambling, womanising MP).

Burton's performance reminds me of Cagney at the height of his powers, the change of mood in the flick of an eye, one moment pleasant, next nasty and the power to frighten without the need for hysterics. Burton only raises his voice once in this film, at the end, yet throughout menacing and quite frankly frightening.

The dialogue is fast and furious, dialouge bounces off one character to the other 'What you doing here Sargeant?', 'Chief inspector', 'oh, more on your widows pension then'.

The one liners are too numerous to mention: Vic Dakin 'Bleeding pigeons' after narrowly missing the dripping blood of a victim he slashed with a razor and hung out of the top story of the building he just walked out of, 'They're using men from the local rugby team', 'They'll be three short for the game on Saturday', as one the heist members talks to the other about the security men used for the payroll delivery.

The film boasts the most realistic, brutal robbery ever staged. There is no glamourising here, it is hard, vicious violence.

Although the film ended abruptly, where after being caught by the police after murdering a fellow gangster and asked how he is going to silence the dozen or so bystanders who witnessed it, he shouts at them 'What you looking at?'. I felt, that one line, summed up the Vic Dakin character and gave a glimpse into what drove him to behave the way he did.

Villain is up there with the great British gangster films like The Long Good Friday and Get Carter. It is unfortunate that it does not enjoy the same recognition as them.