The Violent Enemy

The Violent Enemy is a 1968 film directed by Don Sharp and starring Tom Bell, Susan Hampshire, Ed Begley, and Noel Purcell. The plot concerns an IRA plot to blow up a British power station.[2][3]

The Violent Enemy
Directed by	Don Sharp
Produced by	Wilfred Eades executive William Gell
Written by	Edmund Ward
Based on	novel "A Candle for the Dead" by Hugh Marlow (Jack Higgins)
Starring	Tom Bell Susan Hampshire Ed Begley Noel Purcell
Music by	John Scott (as Patrick John Scott)
Cinematography	Alan Hume
Edited by	Thom Noble
Production company	Trio Film Group W Films
Distributed by	London Independent Producers
Release date	1968
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£250,000[1]

Premise

IRA bomb expert Sean Rogan escapes from prison, and is reluctantly recruited into a scheme by IRA leder Colum O'More to blow up a British electronics factory back in Ireland. Rogan wants a peaceful life but O'More insists.

Rogan is given Hannah Costello to assist him. Inspector O'Sullivan is suspicious of Rogan.

Cast

• Tom Bell – Sean Rogan
• Susan Hampshire – Hannah Costello
• Ed Begley – Colum O'More
• Noel Purcell – John Michael Leary
• Jon Laurimore – Austin
• Michael Standing – Fletcher
• Philip O'Flynn – Inspector Sullivan

Production

The film was based on the novel "A Candle for the Dead" by Hugh Marlow which was published in 1966. The Observer called it "fast and exciting".[4]

It was originally known as Came the Hero and filming began in Waterford in October 1968.[1][5]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin called it a "moderately interesting if not particularly convincing melodrama".[6]

Sky Movies described it as "one of only a handful of British films to deal with the troubles in Ireland. Played as a melodrama, the film is efficiently directed by action specialist Don Sharp. Tom Bell has the right air of disillusionment about him as the IRA man who's learned moderation in a British jail".[7] The Radio Times noted, "it's efficiently made, if unsurprising, and familiar American actor Ed Begley is worth watching as the fanatical Irish mastermind behind the scheme."[8]

The Independent said "The sum of all these substantial parts is less than a masterpiece. Too much of a hint of 'Oirish' accents among English actors. Too much talk of The Cause. Too little movement in the clock above Leary's bar, which is forever stuck at seven minutes past nine. Still it fills an idle hour and a half well enough."[9]

References

1. "Filming starts in Waterford. Was shot in Ardmore Studios, Bray, Co. Wicklow and on location in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford". The Irish Times. 12 October 1968. p. 8.
2. The Violent Enemy at BFI
3. Vagg, Stephen (27 July 2019). "Unsung Aussie Filmmakers: Don Sharp – A Top 25". Filmink.
4. CRIMERATION Richardson, Maurice. The Observer 14 Aug 1966: 18.
5. Aznavour Signs 2-Year Pact Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 12 Oct 1968: c9.
6. VIOLENT ENEMY, The Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 36, Iss. 420, (Jan 1, 1969): 178.
7. "The Violent Enemy".
8. John Gammon. "The Violent Enemy". RadioTimes.
9. "Forgotten films... in familiar settings". Independent. 11 October 2011.

External links

• The Violent Enemy on IMDb
• The Violent Enemy at BFI
• The Violent Enemy at Letterbox DVD