Eyewitness (1971)

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

One might think a thriller that begins with the (painstakingly-mounted) assassination of a political figure in broad daylight might have more on its mind than just the imaginative little boy who happened upon the shooter after he's committed the crime (such as why the President of Africa was killed while visiting Malta or what exactly did the motorcycle cops and their conspirator with the shopping bag have against this sitting president). No, the producers of this routine (if curiously sadistic) adaptation of Mark Hebden's novel "Eyewitness" wanted nothing more than another variant on the boy-who-cried-wolf theme, a somewhat dreary procedure which automatically puts the viewer a step ahead of everyone on-screen except for the kid and the killer. Young Mark Lester runs up and down the side-streets of Malta in a constant panic; he isn't allowed to use his personality--which we're told by the others is precocious in nature--nor he is able to use his generally relaxed, polite manner and pretty smile until the final scene. As the lad's blustery grandfather, Lionel Jeffries gives a noxious, one-note performance (not helped by a nasty dig at 'poofs'), while smudge-faced Susan George (playing big sister) is over-ecstatic, over-emotional, over-everything. The background score (credited to various names) is wacky at first but soon settles into a nice pattern. Director John Hough holds attention by framing his action with odd accoutrements (such as the shoes of the spectators along a street) and by shooting the action with the camera pointed up at his subjects, as if we were all children gawking at the world around us. ** from ****

If you like a good thriller this is the film for you, there are scenes which will keep you glued to your seats. Ziggy, (Mark Lester) plays the role as a little boy who has an older sister named Pippa, (Susan George) and they live with their grandfather who lives in a lighthouse on the Island of Malta. Ziggy has a great imagination and many times tell stories that are not true and no one really believes anything he tells them. One day Ziggy sees an assassination and also knows what he looks like and can identify this person who is in high authority on Malta. Ziggy is hunted down by this person and no one will believe him when he tries to tell his sister Pippa, they all get mad at him except his grandfather. Susan George looked radiant and very charming playing a great role along with a great child star, Mark Lester. Don't miss this film, it is great entertainment.

"Pins you to the edge of your seat" is the tagline for this film, and while that could be aptly applied to many thrillers; it certainly doesn't suit this one! John Hough's Eyewitness has the basis for a decent story (even if it's not all that original) but it's never capitalised on properly and, for the first two thirds at least, the film is slow, largely uninteresting and lacks tension and suspense; thus not providing what you want or expect from a film that calls itself thriller (much less, one that proudly proclaims that you will be on the edge of your seat). The plot takes obvious influence from the common thriller idea of having somebody witness a crime and then having the perpetrators go after that person; here, we also have a bit of 'the boy who cried wolf' thrown in too for good measure. The eyewitness of the title is a boy named Ziggy who goes to watch a parade and ends up witnessing an assassination. It's not long before the assassins are on his tail, but naturally considering the boy's track record for lying, his family don't believe him...The film is rather well produced; it looks nice, is well directed and mostly features good acting from the ensemble cast. Lionel Jeffries is my pick of the performers and he does well as the eccentric grandfather and head of the family. He gets good support from Tony Bonner as a young stranger who ends up with the family due to a care few and the beautiful Susan George as his granddaughter. The film also features a performance from Mark Lester and this is where the film falls down. The child actor will always be famous for his role as Oliver Twist in the 1968 film (I'm not a fan), but here he is completely irritating and doesn't do much than run around looking scared for the ninety minute duration. The first two thirds of the film are very slow and dull and that's a shame because the film really opens in the final half hour and is actually quite good; but by then I was too bored to care as much as I could have done were it not for the disappointing opening. The climax to the film is quite good and on the whole, while I wouldn't say this is a bad film; it's not a particularly good one either.

Young Lester (of Oliver! fame) finds himself, his family and friends in the greatest danger, after witnessing an assassination. A nice cast and good use of Malta locations makes this an entertaining little thriller. However, the bad-guys Peter Vaughan and Peter Bowles are surprisingly bad for a movie that starts out -and ends- on such a happy note. They are willing to kill literally anybody in the quest for their goal!