Double X: The Name of the Game (1992)

While taking a holiday in Scotland, American traveller Michael Cooper pulls elderly man Arthur Clutten into his car following an explosion at a hotel. Cooper discovers Clutten's back story, and learns why people are our to kill him.

Director:

Shani Grewal (as Shani S Grewal)

Writers:

Shani Grewal (screenplay) (as Shani S Grewal), David Fleming (based in part on a short story: 'Vengence')

Stars:

Norman Wisdom, William Katt, Gemma Craven

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Norman Wisdom	...	Arthur Clutten
William Katt	...	Michael Cooper
Gemma Craven	...	Jenny Eskridge
Simon Ward	...	Edward Ross
Bernard Hill	...	Iggy / Iggy Smith
Leon Herbert	...	Ollie
Chloë Annett	...	Sarah (as Chloe Annett)
Derren Nesbitt	...	The Minister
Vladek Sheybal	...	Pawnbroker
Terry Forrestal	...	Swarthy Man
Steve Calrow	...	Detective (as Steve Carlow)
Roger Low	...	Foreman
Clifford Predgen	...	Prisoner
Rod Stenna	...	Associate
Elwin 'Chopper' David	...	Ross' Bodyguard (as Elwin-A-David)

Storyline

While taking a holiday in Scotland, American traveller Michael Cooper pulls elderly man Arthur Clutten into his car following an explosion at a hotel. Cooper discovers Clutten's back story, and learns why people are our to kill him.

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Plot Keywords:

gunfight | bank robbery | torture | car chase | double cross | 

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Genres:

Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 June 1992 (UK)

Also Known As:

Double X

Filming Locations:

Chauntry House Hotel, Bray, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

String of Pearls Production, New World International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Colour by) (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Closing credits: The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

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Goofs

After Maurice's (Norman Wisdom) car explodes in the hotel car park Michael Cooper (William Katt) pulls him into his car and speeds away pursued by another car. Some distance down the road, Maurice skids round a corner leaving tyre skid marks on the road. There are already marks on the road as if from a first take. Maurice is forced to reverse back round the corner, skids round, leaving more marks and drives off with the other car in pursuit. By this time, there are more skid marks on the road than there should be, indicating that there'd been a number of takes.

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Quotes

Michael Cooper: I felt sorry for the little guy but he was wrong about one thing. I was in, far too deep to back out. Whether I wanted to or not I had to see it through to the end.

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Crazy Credits

The sub-title "The Name Of The Game" is displayed as though in neon lights, which then flicker and some go out to change it to "Name The Game".

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Connections

Version of Vengeance (1984)

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Soundtracks

Give It Your Best
Written by Raphael Ravenscroft (as Raf Ravenscroft) & Julian Littman
Courtesy of Studio Two Publishing & Virgin Music Publishers
Music engineered by Andy Tate

User Reviews

"Long Good Friday" it ain't

"Iggy fronted the organisation but the brains behind it was a man called Edward Ross - cold, calculating and totally ruthless."

At times, "Double X" is so inept and clumsy that it looks like a 10-year-old's concept of a gangster thriller. In "The Long Good Friday", you believed in the organisation headed by Bob Hoskins' superbly frightening Harold Shand - by contrast, Simon Ward's bunch look like a set of kids playing at being criminals. The idea that a man whose criminal empire seems to encompass a dozen people and a small nightclub is planning to build new cities across the world is as ludicrous and overblown as the film's pretensions.

On the credit side, "Double X" manages a neat twist two-thirds of the way through as well as a couple of good performances - Chloë Annett as Sarah takes the film more seriously than it deserves whilst Bernard Hill has lots of fun as the limping and sardonic Iggy. But the photography is strangely drab despite some nice locations and the soundtrack is awful. The makers should check out Ian David Diaz's excellent "The Killing Zone" for an example of how to make this type of film.

Finally, watch out for the scene where Norman Wisdom slaps his double-crossing lover Gemma Craven. This has to be the wimpiest, most laughable "slap" in motion picture history! The fact that the director didn't ask for a retake sums up the problems with "Double X".