''Hennessy'' is a 1975 British

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Don Sharp Donald Herman Sharp (19 April 192114 December 2011) was an Australian film director. His best known films were made for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer in the 1960s, and included ''The Kiss of the Vampire'' (1963) and ''Rasputin, the Mad Monk' ...

and starring

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...

, Trevor Howard,

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film ''Days of Wine and Roses (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 ...

, Richard Johnson, Peter Egan, Stanley Lebor and

Sir Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

, the latter in his film debut.

Plot

After the death of his family during a

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Niall Hennessy comes up with a plan to blow up the British Houses of Parliament.

Cast

− Niall Hennessy *

− Kate Brooke * Richard Johnson − Insp. Hollis * Trevor Howard − Cmdr. Rice * Peter Egan − Williams *

Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents hope ...

− Tobin * Ian Hogg − Gerry * Stanley Lebor − Hawk * John Hallam − Boyle * Patrick Stewart − Tilney * David Collings − Covey *

John Shrapnel John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. O ...

− Tipaldi *

Hugh Moxey Hugh Vincent Moxey (27 September 1909, Somerset, – 9 March 1991, Wandsworth), was a British film and television actor. Moxey spanned his career for 40 years, where he was best remembered in supporting roles in 1950s British war films, incl ...

− Stephen Burgess (M.P.) *

Margery Mason Margery Mason (27 September 1913 – 26 January 2014) was an English actress and director. She was the artistic director of the Repertory Theatre in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland in the 1960s. Career Mason played Sarah Stevens, the ...

− Housekeeper *Paul Brennan − Maguire * Paul Blake − Rally Leader * Patsy Kensit − Angie Hennessy

Production

The film was a co production between

Peter Snell Sir Peter George Snell (17 December 1938 – 12 December 2019) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner. He won three Olympic gold medals, and is the only man since 1920 to have won the 800 and 1500 metres at the same Olympics, in 1964. Snell ...

and American International Pictures. The original director was to be John Guillermin but by the time the producers raised finance he was on another project so they approached Don Sharp, then directing '' Callan''. Production started in February 1974 and finished in September.

Footage of Queen Elizabeth

The film contained footage of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

speaking at the

State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...

and apparently reacting to something happening in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, taken in 1970. The clips were purchased by AIP from Movietone News and incorporated in the film. Buckingham Palace consented to use of the clip in the film but later said this was a misunderstanding as to the way the news footage would be used in the film and they would not do it again.News Clip of Queen Causes Film Flap ''Los Angeles Times'' 7 June 1975: f18.Royal flush ''The Guardian'' 24 June 1975: 15.

Release

The

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

initially refused to classify the film because of the footage. Producer

Samuel Z. Arkoff Samuel Zachary Arkoff (June 12, 1918 – September 16, 2001) was an American producer of B movies. Life and career Arkoff was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Russian Jewish parents. He was the son of Helen (Lurie) and Louis Arkoff, who ran his ...

managed to get it passed by adding a disclaimer stating that the British Royal Family had not participated and footage of the Queen was from newsreel and by cutting a six-second sequence where the Queen appeared to react to the explosion. The

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribu ...

then refused to screen the film in its Odeon Cinemas, citing commercial reasons.

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

also refused to distribute it, with Chairman Sir Bernard Delfont claiming it was too sympathetic to the IRA to be shown at that present time. Critics such as Alexander Walker protested against this. As a result, it was only shown at a small number of independent cinemas.

Critical Reception

The ''Guardian'' called it "quite a good thriller". The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "routine but competent."

References

External links

* *

at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{Don Sharp British thriller films 1975 films 1970s thriller films Films about the Irish Republican Army Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Films set in London Films directed by Don Sharp Golan-Globus films Films with screenplays by John Gay (screenwriter) Films scored by John Scott (composer) 1970s English-language films 1970s British films