Sweeney 2 (EMI 1978, John Thaw, Dennis Waterman)

Sweeney 2 , the second and final big screen outing for Regan and Carter, sees the boys from the The Flying Squad on the trail of a gang of deadly armed robbers. They don’t care who gets hurt and will even kill their own if they get injured. Regan, thanks to a word with his former governor Jupp (now in prison on corruption charges), learns that the gang are based in Malta and only return to the UK to carry out their raids. This of course gives Regan and Carter the chance for a couple of days abroad.

The hard tone of the movie fits into the general harder edge of the fourth season (the movie was made just before the fourth season). It gets pretty full on at times. Like the first movie there is added sex and violence to set it apart from the series. To show this is the big screen Carter and Regan drop the big F on a couple of occasions, something that was a complete no no on TV at the time.

As in the first movie there are lots of familiar faces, although Haskins is once again conspicuous by his absence.

The theme music is completely dodgy though, a disco style mish-mash of an American show and The Stud.

classic quote
“You’re client is so bent it’s been impossible to hang his picture straight on the wall for the last 12 months.”

production details
UK / EMI – Euston / 104 minutes / 1978

Director: Tom Clegg
Writers: Troy Kennedy Martin,

cast
Roddy McMillan as Colly
Frederick Treves as McKyle
Dennis Waterman as Detective Sergeant George Carter
Hubert Rees as Bank Manager
Clifford Kershaw as Gloria’s Father
Denholm Elliott as ex-Detective Chief Superintendent Jupp
Michael O’Hagan as Doyle
Patrick Malahide as Major Conway
Brian Hall as Haughton
Leon Lissek as Cardona Alexandros
Brian Gwaspari as White
Barry Stanton as Big John
James Warrior as Jellyneck
John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan
Nigel Hawthorne as Detective Chief Inspector Dilke
Ken Hutchison as Hill
Anna Gaël as Mrs Hill
Derrick O’Connor as Llewellyn
Georgina Hale as Switchboard Girl
John Alkin as Tom Daniels
Guy Standeven as Logan
Johnny Shannon as Harry
Toby Salaman as Doctor
Fiona Mollison as Mrs Haughton
Lewis Fiander as Goran
Anna Nygh as Shirley Hicks
Michael J. Jackson as Soames
Lynn Dearth as Mrs White
John Lyons as Mead
Sarah Atkinson as Mrs Mead
George Innes as Pete Beale
Matthew Scurfield as Jefferson
Jim McManus as Barman
Diana Weston as Air Hostess
Seretta Wilson as Girl
Stefan Gryff as Nino
John Flanagan as Willard