I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A different way of telling a story

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Boy do I miss these rough, sleazy and raw crime thrillers. "The Squeeze" is a hard one to figure out… I was somewhat disappointed but then again at the same time I wasn't entirely disappointed by this gut-busting 70s British crime caper. I hope I didn't confused anyone, but while it packed enough tough dialogues, brutal action and a lean edge, it didn't really have any sort of impact or rhythm to it all. It plays out like a glum waiting game, as it doesn't really explode until the final 10 minutes and even then it's quite anticlimactic. The thrills are there, but it doesn't completely ignite with it steering more so to a character-laced story to instrument it's calculative and hard-hitting framework. Most the time is spent on Keach's washed-up, drunk ex-detective character Jim Naboth battling the temptation and dependency of alcohol, while in between that trying to find his kidnapped ex-wife and her daughter who are being held hostage to pull off a million pound security firm robbery. His character isn't painted in a very glowing light, like the scenes where he's hitting the bottle (even though time isn't on his side) and especially the film's climax where he's holding a gun to a child's head. While pathetic in what seems like too big of an ask, there's still good will there in his reflective nature and his young son sees it (despite the hardship he endures because of it) and so does Freddie Starr's character Teddie --- a reformed criminal friend who wants Jim to join him in a co-venture of a private detective business. Freddie pretty much looks after him (almost like a protective mother figure/or nagging wife) when he gets on the drink, and tries his best to keep him clean to perform the job. Starr is great and has some amusingly snappy dialogues exchanges with Keach. However the driving force behind it would be that of Keach's outstanding lead performance, along with a cracker ensemble support cast of the likes of David Hemmings, Steven Boyd, Edward Fox, Carol White and Freddie Starr. These villains are your typical well-mannered, but suitably nasty underworld guys with David Hemming and Stephen Boyd making a great duo whose characters perfectly complement each other. Hemming playing it neurotically cold with underlining cruelness and Boyd oozes in confidence as the head honcho. White brings a strong showing to her character, especially throughout the whole abduction ordeal, like her humiliating strip dance.Director Michael Apted does nothing too flash, by keeping it efficiently workmanlike, tight and engraving a gritty authenticity to its dramas and London locations. It's quite well-made. If Don Siegel had directed a British gangland feature, "The Squeeze" could almost pass at that in style… although while not quite gangland he did make the Michael Caine starring "The Black Windmill". The stimulating screenplay by Leon Griffiths is tautly written and quite straight-up with its blunt illustrations, where the whole weary alcoholic sub-plot (morally abstruse in nature) could be seen as a smokescreen to get you invested into the character, while letting the kidnap situation feel like nothing more than a constant niggler with unpleasant lashings to spice it up. David Hentschel's stirring, electrifying music score never lets up with its electronic digs and intense, sickening guitar riffs… which had me thinking of Jimmy Page's scorching score for "Death Wish 2." I loved it! Not a great film, but a good one.

As gritty British thrillers go, Get Carter will probably be remembered as the benchmark. The Squeeze is a 1977 entry into the genre, directed by Michael Apted and populated by a cast of strong actors. While it isn't really in the same class as Get Carter, this film still has its moments, many of them provided by Stacy Keach as the alcoholic hero (a role originally offered to Richard Harris). The emphasis is very much on sleaze, violence and foul language, and it all becomes a bit wearing by the end. But the film is put together with enough skill and handled at an engaging enough pace for it to keep the audience's attention.Ex-cop Jim Naboth (Stacy Keach) is at a real low ebb in his life. His wife has left him, he has difficulty organising himself as a single parent, and his only true passion seems to be for the booze. His ex-wife Jill (Carol White) has remarried and now lives with a successful banker called Foreman (Edward Fox). Alas, Foreman's position makes him an attractive target for potential bank robbers – and his greatest fears become a reality when a gang of vicious thugs kidnap Jill and threaten to kill her unless Foreman assists them in pulling off a bank heist. The robbery is masterminded by Vic Smith (Stephen Boyd), while the kidnapping aspect of their plan is overseen by the sadistic Keith (David Hemmings). Since he knows that contacting the police would spell disaster, Foreman decides his only option is to appeal to Naboth to save Jill. Somehow Naboth must beat his addiction to the bottle, and put aside any differences he has with his ex-wife, in order to complete the job.The Squeeze creates a fairly convincing atmosphere of squalor and ugliness. These are ugly characters, existing in an ugly walk of life, and the film effectively gets across such unpleasant realities. Coming away from the film, I felt physically relieved that I don't mix in the kind of circles pictured in this movie! Keach gives yet another under-rated performance as the troubled hero while Hemmings is excellent as one of the principal villains, and stage comic Freddie Starr does a surprisingly good job as Naboth's friend Teddy, a likable low-life who tries to keep our hero on the straight and narrow. There are aspects of the film that don't work quite so well. There's an almost intentional relentlessness with which the film seeks to dwell upon sleaze that makes the movie rather unattractive. In one especially sordid sequence, the kidnappers force Jill to perform a strip for their entertainment. It's an uncomfortable scene, and while some might argue it adds to our overall antipathy towards the kidnappers, it also has a voyeuristic and perverted edge to it. Another weakness with the film is that occasional plot points don't hang together believably – the way the villains underestimate Naboth, the way Jill gets sexually involved with her captors, the abrupt and unsatisfying way the film ends. Some of these moments just don't quite ring true, and it's more noticeable than ever in a film like this, which seeks to generate an air of gritty realism. The Squeeze will be best enjoyed by fans of hard-boiled British crime thrillers – others might find the seediness, ugliness, unpleasantness and sleaziness a bit of a turn-off.

Stacey Keach does a good job as a washed-up, ex-scotland, yard detective. He's an alcoholic bum who has few graces. The film is devoid of glamour, from the grimey wallpaper to the low-life characters - it's like it is. But the film appears to suffer from some really bad editing. The story line flies from deep to shallow, and ends abruptly with a ridiculous finale which made me feel disappointed that I stayed up so late to watch it! Still, I think it was worth the vigil. The performances, by Keach, Freddy Starr, Edward Fox and the villains made it watchable.

Tough, hard hitting British thriller about an ex Scotland yard man, played very convincingly by Stacy Keach, now trying to keep from becoming a confirmed alcoholic. He finds his old skills are needed again when his wife is kidnapped. The cast are excellent, and they, along with the no holds barred script make this one of the best thrillers of the 70's