''Open Fire'' is single

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

film, made for ITV, which first broadcast on 12 November 1994. The film was written and directed by

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. His early film ' ...

, and concerns the police manhunt for David Martin, who escaped from custody following his arrest for shooting a police officer, leading up to the shooting in error of another man, Stephen Waldorf. The film starred

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he star ...

as Martin, as well as

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

as Waldorf,

Douglas Hodge Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as television and film where he has appeared in '' Robin Hood'' (2010), '' Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'' and '' Diana'' (2013), '' ...

as investigating officer DC Peter Finch, and

Kate Hardie Kate Hardie (born Kate Louise Oddie; 26 April 1968) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in '' The Krays'', ''Mona Lisa'' and the 2016 Channel 4 original series ''National Treasure''. Hardie's stage name is derived from those ...

as Sue Stephens. ''Open Fire'' was filmed in

Belsize Park Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England. The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...

and in around Hampstead,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The film has never been released commercially.

Plot

The film concerns the manhunt for David Martin, and the events surrounding this in which Stephen Waldorf, a 26-year-old film editor, was mistakenly identified as Martin and shot by police firearms officers. The story focuses on Finch, a young police officer who, at the beginning of the film, is awarded a medal for bravery in the course of duty after he arrested an armed criminal, and David Martin. Martin — a transvestite with a provocative and aggressive temperament — is released from prison having served his latest sentence. He has escaped twice during his time in custody, and is soon in trouble once again. During the course of a burglary at a private cinema, Martin shoots a police officer as he tries to escape. After he is later arrested, he promptly escapes and goes on the run. By 1983 he is Britain's most wanted man, and a massive police manhunt is under way to apprehend him. As the hunt for Martin intensifies, police identify a suspect whom they believe might be the fugitive, but after he is shot by Finch, he turns out not to be Martin. The car driver fled the scene. Finch is subsequently suspended from duty. The case becomes a police scandal, with Finch accused of attempted murder. Martin is finally caught after being chased into an

Underground station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...

and along a railway tunnel, where police eventually corner and arrest him, without any shot fired.

Cast

as David Martin *

as Steven Waldorf *

as DC Peter Finch *

as Sue Stephens *

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

as Rich * Jim Carter as Det Chief Supt. Young * Colin McCormack as Det. Chief Supt. Haylor * Sam Halpenny as DC Peter Van Dee * Joe Tucker as DS Paul Johnson * Aran Bell as PC Nicholas Carr *

Gwyneth Powell Gwyneth Powell (5 July 1946 – 8 September 2022) was an English actress. She was best known for her portrayal of headmistress Bridget McClusky in the BBC television series ''Grange Hill'' for eleven series between 1981 and 1991. Background P ...

as Gloria Martin * Trevor Byfield as Ralph Martin * Susan Tordoff as Susan Finch

References

External links

* {{Paul Greengrass 1994 television films 1994 films 1994 crime drama films 1990s British films Biographical films about criminals British crime drama films British drama television films Crime films based on actual events Crime television films Films directed by Paul Greengrass Films set in 1983 Films set in London ITV television dramas London Weekend Television shows Television series by ITV Studios