Cash on Demand (1961)

Director - Quentin Lawrence

Peter Cushing stars as a bank manager duped into helping a villain rob his bank. Worth watching just to see Cushing sweating his way through the brief running time (80 minutes). Very good.

Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1974)

Director - Stuart Cooper

One of those ‘adapted from the stage’ films that struggles to get away from its theatre roots. John Hurt is on fire as perma-angry Malcolm, who having been thrown out of art school is determined to get back at his teacher by kidnapping him. Suffers from the usual stage adaptation problem of being very talky and trundling along quite slowly. Despite some great actors (Hurt and David Warner are both up to their usual standard), you can’t help but think they they were already way to old to be playing angry teens. The humour feels ever so dated too, the analogy between Malcolm not being able to get an erection and not being much of a political leader quickly becomes tiresome. All a bit ho-hum really, only worth a watch if you really want to see John Hurt acting his young socks off.

The Thin Blue Line (1988)

Director - Errol Morris

Morris’ breakthrough documentary about a murdered policeman and the trial that followed is chock full of OH-MY-FUCKING-GOD moments. If you like documentaries, and modern documentaries in particular then this is a must see. Essential viewing.

Thief (1981)

Director - Michael Mann

Mann’s debut big screen feature still manages to pack a neon-reflected-in-rain-soaked-streets-to-a-throbbing-electronic-soundtrack punch. Mann takes the downbeat '70s crime guy and drags him kicking and screaming into the '80s. James Cann stars as the diamond thief out to do one last heist, and is perfect in the role. Themes that are touched on in this film show up again and again in most of Mann’s future films, with Heat being the ultimate culmination of that. W O N D E R F U L. 

Naked Violence (1969)

Director - Fernando Di Leo 

Early Di Leo crime flick about a group of young offenders who rape and murder their teacher during class. It’s down to detective Duca (Pier Paolo Capponi playing much the same role here as he did in Cat o' Nine Tails), to figure out who the ringleader is. Dirty and sweaty and with a twist ending ripped straight from an Argento film. Nowhere near as over-the-top as Di Leo’s more famous crime flicks, but well worth hunting down if you like gritty Italian crime flicks.

Sweeney! (1977)

Director - David Wickes

Big screen debut of the superb British ‘70s police TV series. All the swagger that made the TV show so essential is present and correct with the added bonus of swearing and nudity. Barry Foster plays a corrupt American power broker out to influence an OPEC conference. Collin Welland is an angry journo who has caught whiff of what's going on, while Jack and George (John Thaw and Dennis Waterman) are left to try and figure out a string of murders that will eventually lead them to Foster's door. The whole cast look like they spent the time they're not on screen down the local, Thaw in particular. Wickes is a veteran from the show and directs the whole thing as an extended episode. If you love your gritty London '70s films then this is a must see.