Young Ziggy living on the island of Malta with his grandfather and elder sister is the only witness to an assassination (the shooting takes place in a crowded square but only Ziggy sees the killers), of course with Ziggy being prone to melodramatic stories no one believes him… except the killers!
Dating from 1970 Eyewitness is a very entertaining variation on the boy who cried wolf theme with a great cast and some wonderful Mediterranean (Malta) locations. Young Mark Lester (following up his breakthrough in Oliver) is very cute as Ziggy, there are also roles for cuddly Lionel Jeffries as Ziggy’s grandfather and the sexy Susan George as his elder sister. Australian actor Tony Bonner is the love interest of George (going by the character name of Tom Jones no less!) Some great English character actors also appear (Peter Vaughan, Peter Bowles, Jeremy Kemp). The story might be slight but the unusual locations and some nice acting turn Eyewitness into an enjoyable little thriller.
Also known as Sudden Terror.
production details
cast
Mark Lester as Ziggy
Lionel Jeffries as Grandpa
Susan George as Pippa
Tony Bonner as Tom Jones
Jeremy Kemp as Inspector Galleria
Peter Vaughan as Paul Grazzini
Peter Bowles as Victor Grazzini
Betty Marsden as Madame Robiac
Joseph Fürst as Local Police Sergeant
David Lodge as Local Policeman
Anthony Stamboulieh as Police Lt Tacharie
Robert Russell as Headquarters Policeman
John Allison as Boutique Boy
Maxine Kalli as Ann-Marie
Jonathan Burn as Waiter
Jeremy Young as Monk
Tommy Eytle as Visiting President
Christopher Robbie as Policeman
crew
Director: John Hough
Producer: Paul Maslansky
Writer: Ronald Harwood
UK | 91 minutes | 1970