| John Thaw | ... | Det. Insp. Jack Regan | |
| Dennis Waterman | ... | Det. Sgt. George Carter | |
| Barry Foster | ... | Elliott McQueen | |
| Ian Bannen | ... | Charles Baker, MP | |
| Colin Welland | ... | Frank Chadwick | |
| Diane Keen | ... | Bianca Hamilton | |
| Michael Coles | ... | Johnson | |
| Joe Melia | ... | Ronnie Brent | |
| Brian Glover | ... | Mac | |
| Lynda Bellingham | ... | Janice Wyatt | |
| Morris Perry | ... | Flying Squad Commander | |
| Paul Angelis | ... | Secret Serviceman | |
| Nick Brimble | ... | Det. Con. Gerry Burtonshaw | |
| John Alkin | ... | Det. Sgt. Tom Daniels | |
| Bernard Kay | ... | Det. Chief Insp. Matthews | |
| Antony Scott | ... | Johnson's Henchman | |
| Anthony Brown | ... | Murder Inquiry Superintendent | |
| John Oxley | ... | Chadwick's Deputy Editor | |
| Peggy Aitchison | ... | Carter's Neighbour | |
| Hal Jeayes | ... | Manservant | |
| Sally Osborne | ... | Sally | |
| John Kane | ... | Special Branch Sergeant | |
| Chris Dillinger | ... | Johnson's Henchman | |
| Peter Childs | ... | Murder Inquiry Inspector | |
| Alan Mitchell | ... | Detective Inspector | |
| Leonard Kavanagh | ... | Pathologist | |
| Anthony Woodruff | ... | Coroner | |
| Michael Latimer | ... | PPS | |
| Matthew Long | ... | Traffic Police Sergeant | |
| Joyce Grant | ... | McQueen's Secretary | |
| Johnny Shannon | ... | Scotland Yard Duty Sergeant | |
| David Corti | ... | Young Boy | |
| Susan Skipper | ... | Chadwick's Secretary | |
| Nadim Sawalha | ... | Chairman of Oil Producers' Conference | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Tony Allen | ... | Bill the Driver (uncredited) | |
| Del Baker | ... | Johnson's henchman (uncredited) | |
| Harry Fielder | ... | Wages Security Guard (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| David Wickes | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Ranald Graham | writer | |
| Ian Kennedy Martin | TV series The Sweeney | |
Produced by | |||
| Ted Childs | .... | producer | |
| Lloyd Shirley | .... | executive producer | |
| George Taylor | .... | executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Denis King | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Dusty Miller | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Chris Burt | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| William Alexander | (as Bill Alexander) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Michael Morris | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Laurie Greenwood | .... | production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Michael Murray | .... | second assistant director | |
| Bill Westley | .... | first assistant director | |
Sound Department | |||
| Tony Dawe | .... | production sound mixer | |
| Clive Smith | .... | sound editor | |
| Hugh Strain | .... | dubbing mixer | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Arthur Beavis | .... | special effects | |
Stunts | |||
| Peter Brayham | .... | stunt coordinator | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Paul Borg | .... | electrician | |
| John Maskall | .... | camera operator (as John Maskell) | |
| Douglas Webb | .... | still photographer | |
Music Department | |||
| Denis King | .... | conductor | |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Action section | IMDb UK section | Add this title to MyMovies |
"Sweeney!" was one of the innumerable TV spin-offs which kept the British film business perilously afloat in the 1970s. For once this low-budget work did not spring from a sitcom but from Britain's best ever cop show, which made "Starsky and Hutch" look like "Sesame Street" with its relentless violence and raucous backchat. ("Sweeney Todd", it should be explained , is London rhyming slang for the Flying Squad, an elite detective unit of the Metropolitan Police.)
Jack Regan and his sidekick George Carter here find themselves out of their depth with a bigger budget and canvas than on the boob tube: they get "webbed up"in an international conspiracy to lower, or raise, or something, oil prices. A suave Energy Minister is too fond of the high-class "brasses" furnished by his American PR agent. He is blackmailed, with multiple-murderous consequences and mucho ketchup.
In some ways this is very much a 1970s period piece: flared trousers, two-tone grey telephones and no computers, police who drink and smoke heroically, ugly lowlifes, hideous pubs, tyre abuse, shootouts in junkyards and an overall grey, downbeat atmosphere which is a far cry from the Swinging London of Hollywood England in the previous decade. "Sweeney" was conceived at the moment of maximum crisis when OPEC was holding the industrialised nations to ransom, inflation was the highest for 60 years and trade unionists and militant socialists seemed poised to seize power in Blighty.
True, a red double-decker bus figures during one chase, but the film makes concessions to mid-Atlanticism neither in casting, nor by moderating the constant Cockney badinage ("leave it aht!", "you wot?", "shut it!", "dull it isn't" (mocking a Met recruitment slogan)) nor by glamourising its high-life scenes. Also carried over from the series is the endless friction between different law enforcers: Regan clashes not only with his superior but with the security services and Special Branch, the Met's anti-subversion arm. Typically, he cocks up the operation to snatch the PRO and bring him to justice. Regan is no superhero.
Contrary to what others have posted, I find Foster's accent and manner all too convincing, and his performance incisive. The theme of politicians being corrupted by their spin doctors remains fresh. Ian Bannen as the blackmailed MP looks and has a role not unlike Robert Vaughn's. Thaw and Waterman are the same crumpled reprobates as on the small screen, but the plot makes too little of their partnership; Regan is suspended and lone-wolfing it for much of the running time.
No doubt the best of "The Sweeney" was on TV, but this is a fair-value distillation and introduction. It makes the mockney gangster movies of Mr Madonna and his posse look pathetic. "Up yours, sunshine!"