''McVicar'' is a British drama film released in 1980 by The Who Films, Ltd., starring

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

playing the 1960s armed robber and later writer

John McVicar John McVicar (21 March 1940 – 6 September 2022) was a British journalist and convicted one-time armed robber who escaped from prison. Career As a criminal McVicar's criminal career began in his teens with shop break-ins and car thefts. In 1 ...

. The film was directed by Tom Clegg, and was based on the non-fiction book ''McVicar by Himself'', which McVicar wrote to describe several months of his experiences in prison.

Bill Curbishley William George Curbishley (born 13 March 1942, London) is an English music and film producer and band manager. He has managed English rock groups The Who and Judas Priest, as well as artists Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Life Curbishley was on ...

and Roy Baird acted as producers, and the film received a nomination in 1981 for Best Picture at MystFest, the International Mystery Film Festival of Cattolica.

Plot synopsis

The film is set in two halves, the first in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

and the second half while McVicar is on the run in London. The first half of the film focuses on relations between the prison officers and inmates and also McVicar's plotting and eventual prison escape. The latter half of the film is set in London after McVicar has escaped from Durham. Here he re-establishes relationships with his wife and young son and he eventually decides to try to escape from his life of crime by trying to fund a new life in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Eventually, however, McVicar is forced to fund his family's relocation plan by returning to crime. Soon the Metropolitan Police are hard on his heels and he is eventually recaptured when one of his colleagues in the crime world informs the police officer in charge of McVicar's recapture of his whereabouts. McVicar is returned to prison and his sentence is increased, but during this time he studies for a BSc in sociology and he is eventually released.

Cast

as John McVicar *

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...

as Walter Probyn *

Cheryl Campbell Cheryl Campbell (born 22 May 1949) is an English actor of stage, film and television. She starred opposite Bob Hoskins in the 1978 BBC drama '' Pennies From Heaven'', before going on to win the 1980 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''Testamen ...

as Sheila McVicar * Billy Murray as Joey David *

Georgina Hale Georgina Hale (born 4 August 1943) is an English film, television and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the films of director Ken Russell, including '' The Devils'' (1971), '' The Boy Friend'' (1971), and ''Mahler'' (1974), for ...

as Kate *

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...

as Ronnie Harrison * Brian Hall as Terry Stokes *Peter Jonfield as Bobby Harris *

Matthew Scurfield Matthew Scurfield (born 2 February 1948, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) is an English actor and the eldest child of author George Scurfield and his wife Cecilia (née Hopkinson). His autobiography, ''I Could Be Anyone'', was published in 2008 ( ...

as Streaky Jeffries *Leonard Gregory as Jimmy Collins *Joe Turner as Panda *Jeremy Blake as Ronnie Johnson *Anthony Trent as Tate *Terence Stuart as Sid *

Harry Fielder Henry Arthur Fielder (26 April 1940 – 6 February 2021), sometimes credited as Harry H. Fielder or Harry Aitch Fielder, was an English actor who worked extensively in British film and television from the 1960s to the 1990s. Career Fielder was ...

as Harry 'Aitch' *

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...

as Hitchens *

Malcolm Tierney Malcolm Tierney (25 February 1938 – 18 February 2013) was an English actor who appeared in many film and television roles. Early life Tierney's father, Ernest, was a boilermaker and trained draughtsman, from Warrington, who worked at Blackpoo ...

as Frank * James Marcus as Sewell *

Tony Haygarth George Anthony Haygarth (4 February 1945 – 10 March 2017) was an English television, film and theatre actor. Life and career After leaving Marlborough College, Liverpool, Haygarth worked unsuccessfully in 1963 as a lifeguard in Torquay, and a ...

as Rabies * Anthony May as Billy *

Michael Feast Michael Feast (born 25 November 1946) is an English actor of stage and screen. He was born in Brighton, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He performed in the original 1968 London production of ''Hair''. He worked several ti ...

as Cody *Richard Simpson as Douglas *

Malcolm Terris Malcolm Hope Terris (11 January 1941 – 6 June 2020) was an English actor. He acted in many television programmes, including possibly his best-known role as Matt Headley in '' When the Boat Comes In'', a popular 1970s series. His film career ...

as Principal Officer *Ricky Parkinson as Russell McVicar

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack, a Roger Daltrey solo album, was released as '' McVicar'' and featured contributions by the other three extant members of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...

and

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces, and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Faces ...

, along with other musicians. The music was conducted by

Jeff Wayne Jeffry Wayne (born 1 July 1943) is an American-British composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel ''The War of ...

. The songs are: #"Bitter and Twisted", written by

Steve Swindells Steve Swindells (born 21 November 1952) is an English singer-songwriter, keyboardist, party organizer, club promoter and journalist. Life and career Early life Swindells grew up in the Bath and Bristol area, dropping out of art college to play ...

#"Just a Dream Away", written by

Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became a songwriter and producer by the late 1970s. His co ...

#"White City Lights", written by

Billy Nicholls William Morris Nicholls Jr (born 15 February 1949) is an English singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and musical director. He was born into a musical family, his father Billy Nicholls (Sr.) being a double bassist and big band singer, ...

and Jon Lind #" Free Me", written by

#"My Time Is Gonna Come", written by

#"Waiting for a Friend", written by

#" Without Your Love", written by

#"McVicar", written by

Charts

References

External links