McVicar (1980)

Just what I expected

Admirable film.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I'm a big fan of prison dramas and for some reason the ones made around this era seem to be the best in terms of quality: they're usually the most down-to-earth and realistic, and often hard-hitting with it. MCVICAR is a film with a lot of baggage attending – not only is it a true story, it stars one of Britain's biggest music stars, Roger Daltrey, in the titular role. Could it live up to expectations? I think so. In essence, this is the British answer to Eastwood's ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ – a story of one man's journey to escape the mundane nature of prison life. Yes, there are the expected clichés and yes, the last act of the film is far less interesting and suspenseful than what's come before, but for the most part MCVICAR is a film that does the business. Director Tom Clegg, later a mainstay of television with the SHARPE movies, does an excellent job and I think this is the highlight of his resume. It's a taut, compelling and funny crime film.Great cast, too: Daltrey is decent as McVicar, playing up the hard-man persona with plenty of guts; Adam Faith is solid as the good-guy prisoner with plans of freedom. I also enjoyed Billy Murray as McVicar's buddy on the outside, the brief cameo from an incredibly haggard-looking Ian Hendry, and Steven Berkoff as another inherently sinister type. Okay, it doesn't really offer anything you haven't seen before, but that doesn't stop MCVICAR from being a highly entertaining movie.

I do not see peoples strange fixation with this film. Are people not aware of what an evil sick child molester that Wally Probyn is? I was one of these man victims, he repeatedly raped me for four years from the age of 7. He also used to take indecent photographs of his victims for his sick pleasure. I got to know what a conniving cowardly man Wally Probyn was and he certainly does not deserve god like status. Wally Probyn was convicted at The Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) he received a 4 year sentence for abusing his step daughter, I was a supporting witness, but I was put through weeks of police interviews, taken to places where he had abused me and had to look through 1000's of indecent photographs this man had taken of other poor young children some were severely mentally disabled. This will haunt me forever. Every time this film comes on to TV I feel sick, he had a long history of paedophilia back from when he raped his own 3 year old sister.

First rate prison thriller with exceptionally good lead performances by Daltrey and Adam Faith (charming).Great use of music, get the soundtrack if you are a Who fanOften not spoken about as one of the best British movies made when it should be.

This one ranks up there with "Get Carter" (1971) and "the Long Good Friday" (1980) as one of the greatest UK gangster flix of all time. Roger Daltry is excellent in the title role, kind of like an English Papillon, except he's not innocent! The soundtrack's average but it does contain one truly funky, synthesizer-heavy instrumental ("Escape (part one)") that helps the action flow along better. Plus Daltry wears quite possibly the coolest pair of on-screen Adidas since Bruce Lee's in "Game of Death" (1978) The only thing missing is Keith Moon as a maniac convict but you don't have to like the Who to dig this one. I mean as McVicar himself says, "Being a thief is a terrific life. But the trouble is they put you in jail for it." Nuff said.