cult film freak: WILLIAM SYLVESTER DIGS INTO 'OFFBEAT' AKA 'THE DEVIL INSIDE'

Written by James M. Tate / 3/20/2021 / No comments / anthony dawson , british neo noir , british new wave , cliff owen , cop , harry baird , heist , john meillon , mai zetterling , neil mccarthy , sixties , william sylvester

WILLIAM SYLVESTER DIGS INTO 'OFFBEAT' AKA 'THE DEVIL INSIDE'

3/20/2021 | No comment

William resembling Chevy Affleck Year: 1961 Rating: ***1/2

There was a reason American actor William Sylvester was available for an American director who filmed in England, where both he and Stanley Kubrick ala 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY literally felt right at home...

And OFFBEAT provides the usually cool/collected William Sylvester real edge and intensity: starting out in dark sunglasses while robbing a bank... then meeting with fellow cops for whom he's a resilient, somewhat roguish undercover agent.

Taking place mostly during one heist... a tunnel job on a quiet city street... the mission's to infiltrate a syndicate of criminals...

Yet this particular den harbors pool playing, working-class types so crooked they're almost normal, including by-the-numbers leader Anthony Dawson and affable everyman John Meillon, who, along with muscle-thugs Neil McCarthy and Harry Baird, pose as construction workers. But the gang's token ingenue Mai Zetterling really stands out... she's pretty, experienced and tough despite falling too hard too fast for our anti-hero, constantly dogged by his stubborn Scotland Yard boss... which, as he and we learn, could be for understandable reasons, and, directed by veteran Cliff Owen, who'd soon make his best heist thriller with A PRIZE OF ARMS, this is Sylvester's best role, juggling a kind of criminal/cop ambiguity like only Noir can.

Mai Zetterling and William Sylvester in OFFBEAT

John Meillon in OFFBEAT aka THE DEVIL INSIDE

Neil McCarthy and William Sylvester pool out in OFFBEAT

William Sylvester in OFFBEAT aka THE DEVIL INSIDE

William Sylvester in OFFBEAT

William Sylvester in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

An OFFBEAT William Sylvester robs a bank blind for THE DEVIL INSIDE

William Sylvester robbing the bank blind in OFFBEAT

Share This Post :

Tags : anthony dawson , british neo noir , british new wave , cliff owen , cop , harry baird , heist , john meillon , mai zetterling , neil mccarthy , sixties , william sylvester

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)THE CROWDED SKY 3)JUNGLE STREET4)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)HELL IS A CITY 7)VIOLENT SATURDAY 8)HOT CARS 9)NIGHT CREATURES 10)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 11)HARDCORE 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)ASH WEDNESDAY 15)PULP 16)THE SYSTEM 17)THE FEARMAKERS 18)THE SERGEANT 19)AL CAPONE 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 22)CURSE OF THE DEMON 23)THE DEFECTOR 24)DUEL IN THE JUNGLE 25)A PRIZE OF ARMS 26)AIR PATROL 27)WHITE HEAT 28)BEAT GIRL 29)EASY LIVING 30)ATLANTIC CITY 31)COMPULSION 32)THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN 33)THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY 34)MADISON AVENUE 35)THE SHARKFIGHTERS 36)DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS 37)MY BLOOD RUNS COLD 38)ROYAL FLASH 39)SWAMP WATER 40)THE DAY THEY ROBBED THE BANK OF ENGLAND 41)THE BREAK 42)THE HIJACKERS 43)THE HEARSE 44)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 45)CANYON RIVER 46)KILLER FISH 47)FRENZY 48)LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN 49)THE KILLING 50)FORCE TEN FROM NARAVONE 51)BULLITT 52)WICHITA 53)WAR OF THE WORLDS 54)KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE 55)LAURA 56)THE LINEUP 57)DEATH WISH 58)SORCERER 59)THE STONE KILLER 60)WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)MARLON BRANDO 4)JACK NICHOLSON 5)ORSON WELLES 6)PETER O'TOOLE 7)TOM COURTENAY 8)CHARLES BRONSON 9)STANLEY BAKER 10)VICTOR MATURE ACTRESSES 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN CARPENTER 7)VAL GUEST 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)MICHAEL WINNER 10)SAM PECKINPAH