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mariocki · 2 years

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Lovely Caroline John being lovely as Ann Stacy, loving wife of a ministry official (and potential traitor) in 1973's Assassin

#fave spotting #caroline john #liz shaw #assassin #1973 #the pemini organisation #classic doctor who #Assassin was Pemini's first feature film but it's immediately obvious how much the crew had learnt from the Hunted shoot #this is far and away a more confident‚ more capable film #it is though a bit.. masculine? it's a very man heavy film about spies and killers and angst where Caroline is one of only two named female #characters. she absolutely shines in her scenes tho‚ and gets a killer put down in against Ray Brooks' slimy private school government man #also she's married here to Frank Windsor and Frank Windor's less than convincing hair piece #it's honestly a very good film and chock full of old tv people #just a bit blokey is all

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mariocki · 2 years

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Edward Woodward as the mysterious - and possibly dangerous - John Drummond, in long forgotten short film Hunted (1972)

#fave spotting #edward woodward #hunted #1972 #the pemini organisation #callan #david callan #short film #ed had just finished the final series of Callan at this point #and was a household name #with a brightish future in films and projects in the states on the horizon #getting him was absolutely a big deal for Pemini #(for context‚ Pemini were a very briefly lived film production company in the uk; they produced three films in total‚ this short and two #features. but Hunted was quite literally their first filmmaking experience and they had basically zero money. everyone worked on the #promise of deferred payments‚ but it's likely Ed never actually got paid: the film was initially denied a certificate by the BBFC and even #once released it saw very little in terms of release. too short to be sold to television and too dark and weird to make a good second #feature to many of the uk film releases in 72‚ it saw a brief showing as a support to Portnoy's Complaint‚ a box office bomb‚ then promptly #disappeared for 50 years. Indicator have just put out a set compiling all three Pemini films sourced from surviving materials which means #this has multiple standard definition inserts from an inferior copy where the original materials have degraded beyond saving. it's also #missing the prologue scene filmed by the crew at a later date to expand the film to suitable television length;that footage‚ which featured #Edward's son Tim in his first ever screen acting role‚ playing the younger version of the character Ed plays here‚ is considered lost)#anyway this is very bleak and very tight‚ and basically consists of no more than Ed and June Ritchie in one room together for 40 minutes #it's very good and eddy baby plays it very straight and very dangerous but you can feel him consciously trying to define the character away #from Callan. perhaps that's why he chose the Scots accent.....

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mariocki · 2 years

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Moments (1974)

"I'm frightened."

"Frightened of what?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm frightened."

#moments #british cinema #the pemini organisation #1974 #films i done watched #peter crane #michael sloan #keith michell #angharad rees #bill fraser #keith bell #jeanette sterke #donald hewlett #valerie minifie #paul michell #helena michell #john cameron #wolfgang suschitzky #the last gasp of the pemini organisation‚ before financial woes saw them disband. a brave project‚ without even the obvious genre trappings #of Assassin or Hunted; a strange‚ forlorn film about a broken man about to end his life and the woman who suddenly disturbs him. it's #beautifully shot (easily the best looking thing Pemini produced) and intelligently made‚ centred on two breathtaking performances from Rees #and Michell. the plot such as it is‚ is slight and relatively unimportant; really this is about the series of gradual revelations‚ about #these characters‚ about the truths and half truths and lies and fantasies they've constructed. the off season hotel and frequent flashbacks #to Michell's childhood both give a sense of uneasy ghostliness and call to mind the work of Dennis Potter. there's something here‚#something about the past as an unhelpful refuge; the future an uncertain outcome; the present an unreliable reality. the script doesn't #always match the brilliance of the ideas at play‚ nor the maturity of the performances. but there's something special here‚ and strange #and unnerving. is Michell working through something‚ to a breakthrough‚ or is he ruling something out? it's about finding peace i suppose #for better or worse; rightly or wrongly. a challenging‚ inconsistent but quite exceptional film. Pemini may not have existed for very long #and their footprint on British cinema was very shallow. but on the basis of the two features they made‚ we lost one of the most inventive #and mature voices in the uk film business the day they shut up shop

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mariocki · 2 years

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Mike Pratt as a government employed contract killer and milkshake enthusiast, named only as Matthew, in Assassin (1973)

#fave spotting #mike pratt #assassin #jeff randall #randall and hopkirk (deceased)#the pemini organisation #1973 #already looking ill at this point (Mike died‚ far too young‚ in 76) Pratt plays the younger‚ itchier rival to Ian Hendry's titular Assassin #actually they were both the same age‚ 42‚ but both looked older; Mike presumably because of the cancer‚ Hendry bc of the drink #he's very very good here‚ playing quite against type as a creepy hired gun who enjoys his work just a little too much #and eats cake and drinks milkshakes for breakfast #it's a lovely little character piece in one of his final film roles. he gets some great scenes as he plays up the cocky #slightly unbalanced thing. most of his work after this point would be tv guest spots as he grew more ill but he's full of energy here as he #prods and irritates the more professional people around him. i know this hasn't got the same interest for others as my DW related #fave spottings‚ but Mike's an old favourite of mine and honestly he brightens up everything he appeared in. he just has that screen #grabbing natural quality that pulls focus. bless him.

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