Villain

Villain - 1971 | 98 mins | Thriller, Drama | Colour

The Production Team

Director: Michael Tuchner.
Assistant Director: Kip Gowans.
Producer: Jay Kanter and Alan Ladd Jr.
Executive Producer: Elliott Kastner.
Script: Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Adapted by Al Lettieri. ( from the James Barlow novel The Burden of Proof)
Cinematographer: Christopher Challis.
Editing: Ralph Sheldon.
Art Direction: Maurice Carter.
Set Decoration: Andrew Campbell.
Make-up Dept: Alex Garfath and Allan McKeown.
Sound: John Bramall.
Original Music: Jonathan Hodge.

The Cast

Richard Burton - Vic Dakin
Ian McShane - Wolfe Lissner
Nigel Davenport - Bob Matthews
Donald Sinden - Gerald Draycott
Joss Ackland - Edgar Lewis
Colin Welland - Tom Binney
Tony Selby - Duncan
Shirley Cain - Mrs. Matthews
Fiona Lewis - Venetia
T.P. McKenna - Frank Fletcher

Plot Synopsis

Scripted by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, Villain is taken from James Barlow's novel The Burden of Proof. A grim underworld drama in the same seedy style as Get Carter. Richard Burton employs a mean sneer as East End gangster Vic Dakin, the villain of the title: a character obviously based on Ronnie Kray. Dakin is a sadistic, razor-wielding, mother-fixated bank robber whose boyfriend Wolf (Ian McShane) is a pimp catering for establishment peccadilloes such as those of crooked MP Gerald Draycott (Donald Sinden). Police Inspector Bob Matthews (Nigel Davenport) of Scotland Yard is on the case and determined to put the gang behind bars.