The Hijackers

Anthony Booth - Terry McKinley
Jacqueline Ellis - Shirley
Derek Francis - Jack Carter
Patrick Cargill - Inspector Grayson
Glynn Edwards - Bluey
David Gregory - Pete
Harold Goodwin - Scouse
Anthony Wager - Smithy
Arthur English - Bert

Dull yet atmospheric second-feature thriller with the occasional nice touches in direction, starring PM Tony Blair's father-in-law Anthony Booth and Jacqueline Ellis. Many of those involved in the film would go on the be familiar faces on the small screen, Booth in Till Death Do Us Part, Cargill in Father Dear Father and Glynn Edwards as Dave the barman in Minder.

Terry (Anthony Booth), a happy-go-lucky long-distance haulage contractor, stops off at the Lupin Café on his way from Chester to London and allows Shirley (Jacqueline Ellis) to hitch a lift with him. Terry is carrying a valuable cargo of whiskey, and is unaware that his absent co-driver has given details of the load and route to a gang of hijackers. When he comes across the scene of an apparent road accident little does he realise it’s a staged incident intended to make him stop, when he does the hijackers jump him and steal his lorry. The robbery appears a hopeless case and police Inspector Grayson (Patrick Cargill) informs Terry he can expect little more than his lorry back – less it’s cargo. Complications arise when the leader of the crooks discovers Shirley spotted him during the raid. To keep her quiet they break into Terry’s flat, beat him up, and attempt to drown her in the bath. Together, Terry and Shirley track down the gang, he suspects it was too coincidental for his co-driver not to be involved; she visits her estranged husband in jail for assistance.