User Reviews

This had all the trademark features to turn out be a first rate thriller in the frame of Hitchcock, but something just comes off short. Maybe because we already know how the story will play out, but director John Hough's confident, stylistic verve in his set-pieces shows how talent can transcend basic material into something better then it should. Well lets not forget the other aspects that seem to draw you in too. A beautifully picturesque Mediterranean backdrop is easy on the eyes. David Holmes' fancily off-kilter camera-work maintains a smooth flow, despite its constant imaginative changes (reflections, tilts) in positioning to invoke intrigue and tension. The music engraved in the feature by composers' Fairfield Parlour and David Whitaker has a real cheeky twinge, and very edgy awe that peppers the on screen action. It was only Hough's second feature, but definitely one of his sleepers. Some of the exciting acts (of destruction), could go on to cement themselves in his bang-bang, gust buster film "Dirt Mary Crazy Larry (1974)", which also starred Susan George. She co-stars here, but the ravishing starlet seems underdone. However Lionel Jeffries is appealingly amusing whenever in shot and Mark Lester ably does the job. There are good turns by Peter Vaughan, Tony Boner and Jeremy Kemp. The plot is straight-forward, but held together by its "The boy cried wolf" theme interwoven into a cat and mouse thriller with cracking suspense and startling jolts. Some plot devices are too convenient, but it throws up some little gloomy and lethal surprises along the way. An acceptable thriller done with enough panache.

I had long wanted to watch this British thriller because it was entirely filmed in Malta; now, it followed on the heels of two other films shot over here – THE LAST SHARK (1981) and the somewhat similar TRENCHCOAT (1983). Naturally, all three were proudly shown on local TV when I was a kid but, back then, I had only caught Enzo G. Castellari’s notorious JAWS (1975) rip-off.

The plot of EYEWITNESS (released in the U.S. as SUDDEN TERROR) is inspired by the classic low-budget noir THE WINDOW (1949), which I only watched for the first time some three months ago – that of a boy with a very vivid imagination who’s not believed by his family when he tells them he had witnessed a murder but, of course, the villain can’t leave anything to chance and decides to eliminate him. While the earlier film worked because of its intimate nature – it was set in an apartment building – this one (adapted for the screen by future Oscar winner Ronald Harwood) involves a more elaborate set-up, since the murder (of a visiting African leader) was committed in broad daylight and in plain sight of the authorities!

Actually, the perpetrator is immediately revealed to be none other than a policeman – which takes the whole clearly into Hitchcock territory; while there are plenty of suspense sequences typical of the Master, director Hough put his own stamp on the material by a surprisingly flashy style (all zooms and odd angles) as well as a rather vicious streak (no one, not even a little girl and a priest, who’s unlucky enough to get in the way of the killer’s ultimate intent is spared!). This, however, is the film’s main flaw (though it’s equally hampered by gaudy 1970s fashions – especially the oversize dark glasses and tacky clothes sported by an associate of the murderer who comes himself to a sticky end at the latter’s hands): too many turn-of-events feel decidedly implausible, not least police chief Jeremy Kemp’s all-too-sudden realization that the real target of the assassination was himself – which brings him to narrow the search for the assassin down to dissidents within his own ranks…and, just as quickly, is willing to take the young boy’s tale at face value when no one else does (which, naturally, puts him on the trail of the killer and is thus able to save the kid and his family in the nick of time)! Incidentally, my father (who is a film buff himself and used to work as postman) once told us that he had personally handed a letter to the craggy-faced English actor and, I presume, that occurred sometime during the shooting of this film!

The casting, apart from that of blond-haired adult hero Peter Bonner (as a character named Tom Jones!), is quite effective: Mark Lester – riding high on the success of the multi Oscar-winning musical OLIVER! (1968) – is the boy, Lionel Jeffries his typically eccentric grand-father (a former General who has taken to living inside a light-house!), Susan George as Lester’s elder sister (looking lovely as always, though her trademark earthiness is bafflingly – and disappointingly – kept under wraps) and Peter Vaughan as the dogged and sinister killer cop (he and George would be reteamed not long after for Sam Peckinpah’s controversial STRAW DOGS [1971]). By the way, John Hough kept the Maltese connection going for his subsequent effort – since the TWINS OF EVIL (1971) of his notable Hammer outing, Madeleine and Mary Collinson, were of Maltese origin!

Incidentally, of the myriad films shot in my country over the years, this is surely among the ones to make the most judicious use of our locations – the sea-shore (with prominent salt-flats set against an amazing sunset: indeed, cinematographer David Holmes is to be congratulated for his sterling work throughout), old expansive buildings turned into offices, public gardens (a notable chase on foot just after the initial assassination was filmed at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in our city of Valletta, which is where the Bank I work for holds its yearly Summer cocktail party for staff members!) catacombs, military forts (for the scene in which the villains are kept at bay via a flurry of Molotov cocktails) and cliffs (to where the exciting climactic car chase leads for the grand finale). Typical of the era, too, the film is given a pop/rock soundtrack – with the result (despite the involvement of cult band Van Der Graaf Generator) being pleasant yet unremarkable.

"Eyewitness", a.k.a. "Sudden Terror", is an engrossing adaptation (by Ronald Harwood and an unbilled Bryan Forbes) of a novel by John Harris. While it holds no major surprises, it does deliver at least one twist that the viewer *might* not see coming. It also delivers some fine suspense and action scenes, and benefits a lot from its exotic locale.

It's set on the island of Malta, where an imaginative boy, Ziggy (Mark Lester of "Oliver!" fame) lives with his sexy older sister Pippa (Susan George, "Die Screaming Marianne") and his grandfather (Lionel Jeffries, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") in a lighthouse. Ziggy is prone to a rich fantasy life, so naturally his family is inclined *not* to believe him when he tells them the truth: he witnessed a policeman committing the murder of a visiting dignitary. Thus, the perpetrator (top British character actor Peter Vaughan, 'Game of Thrones') and his accomplice (Peter Bowles, "Blowup") spend the remainder of the running time hunting down the unfortunate Ziggy.

"Eyewitness" is quite fun, as it spins a fairly familiar "Boy Who Cried Wolf" type of yarn. It makes time for a little romance, between Pippa and a vacationing nice-guy stranger named "Tom Jones" (Aussie actor Tony Bonner, "The Man from Snowy River"), as well as some entertaining character details & humour. (Tom dislikes brandy, yet it seems to be the only drink that Grandpa will offer him.) It's willing to go to some dark places along the way, and there is also some fairly graphic violence when characters get shot. It all culminates in a well-executed vehicle chase.

The excellent cast features Betty Marsden ("Carry On Camping"), Joseph Furst ("Diamonds Are Forever"), and David Lodge ("The Return of the Pink Panther") as well, although it is Jeffries, as the crusty, witty "old" man (he was in his mid-forties at the time), that tends to steal the show. Knowing the difference between fantasies and outright lies, it is Grandpa that is first to start lending some credence to Ziggy's story.

All in all, a good film that kick-started the filmmaking career of John Hough, whose 70s classics include "Twins of Evil", "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" (working with George again), "The Legend of Hell House", and the two Disney "Witch Mountain" features. Actor-turned-filmmaker Forbes was also the unbilled executive producer; Jonathan Demme was the music coordinator, and Gary Sherman (director of "Death Line", "Dead & Buried", "Vice Squad", and "Poltergeist III") designed the opening titles.

Seven out of 10.

"Pins you to the edge of your seat" is the tagline for this film, and while that could be aptly applied to many thrillers; it certainly doesn't suit this one! John Hough's Eyewitness has the basis for a decent story (even if it's not all that original) but it's never capitalised on properly and, for the first two thirds at least, the film is slow, largely uninteresting and lacks tension and suspense; thus not providing what you want or expect from a film that calls itself thriller (much less, one that proudly proclaims that you will be on the edge of your seat). The plot takes obvious influence from the common thriller idea of having somebody witness a crime and then having the perpetrators go after that person; here, we also have a bit of 'the boy who cried wolf' thrown in too for good measure. The eyewitness of the title is a boy named Ziggy who goes to watch a parade and ends up witnessing an assassination. It's not long before the assassins are on his tail, but naturally considering the boy's track record for lying, his family don't believe him...

The film is rather well produced; it looks nice, is well directed and mostly features good acting from the ensemble cast. Lionel Jeffries is my pick of the performers and he does well as the eccentric grandfather and head of the family. He gets good support from Tony Bonner as a young stranger who ends up with the family due to a care few and the beautiful Susan George as his granddaughter. The film also features a performance from Mark Lester and this is where the film falls down. The child actor will always be famous for his role as Oliver Twist in the 1968 film (I'm not a fan), but here he is completely irritating and doesn't do much than run around looking scared for the ninety minute duration. The first two thirds of the film are very slow and dull and that's a shame because the film really opens in the final half hour and is actually quite good; but by then I was too bored to care as much as I could have done were it not for the disappointing opening. The climax to the film is quite good and on the whole, while I wouldn't say this is a bad film; it's not a particularly good one either.

This has a certain amount of promise with its Maltese setting, a host of reliable British actors, a young Mark Lester and a fairly young Susan George. Although the cinematography is fairly sparkling, with shots into motorcycle mirrors, faces caught through gates and a superbly photographed car chase and aftermath, the director seems bored and as much time is spent letting Lionel Jeffries go on just a little too long than opening up a decent story line. There is, as might be expected, too much time with Lester too. Appealing enough as the young lad is, numerous sequences of him chasing or being chased make this seem more like a children's film than anything else, however attractive the streets of Valetta. Regarding the stop and start soundtrack, as an old fan of Van der Graaf Generator, I kept an ear out for their supposed contribution. No luck and nobody seems clear just what their input was but I'm assuming it was their music helping to make that road chase at the end so memorable.

Pros: a beautiful scenery, the plot itself is OK, a few not quite expected events, there's some suspense, a few chases and some of the actors did pretty well. Not an amazing film, but it's pretty good, all things considered.

Cons: the grandfather is way too eccentric and behaves like a retired magician, or a circus ringmaster, not at all like a retired high rank military officer. I get that he likes his grandson and is amused by his free spirited attitude, and while that is cute, there's simply no way to take the grandpop's behaviour seriously. It's just not believable and it did spoil the film for me a fair bit. With that being said, while he acts strangely throughout most of the film, he turns into some sort of action hero towards the end.

One might think a thriller that begins with the (painstakingly-mounted) assassination of a political figure in broad daylight might have more on its mind than just the imaginative little boy who happened upon the shooter after he's committed the crime (such as why the President of Africa was killed while visiting Malta or what exactly did the motorcycle cops and their conspirator with the shopping bag have against this sitting president). No, the producers of this routine (if curiously sadistic) adaptation of Mark Hebden's novel "Eyewitness" wanted nothing more than another variant on the boy-who-cried-wolf theme, a somewhat dreary procedure which automatically puts the viewer a step ahead of everyone on-screen except for the kid and the killer. Young Mark Lester runs up and down the side-streets of Malta in a constant panic; he isn't allowed to use his personality--which we're told by the others is precocious in nature--nor he is able to use his generally relaxed, polite manner and pretty smile until the final scene. As the lad's blustery grandfather, Lionel Jeffries gives a noxious, one-note performance (not helped by a nasty dig at 'poofs'), while smudge-faced Susan George (playing big sister) is over-ecstatic, over-emotional, over-everything. The background score (credited to various names) is wacky at first but soon settles into a nice pattern. Director John Hough holds attention by framing his action with odd accoutrements (such as the shoes of the spectators along a street) and by shooting the action with the camera pointed up at his subjects, as if we were all children gawking at the world around us. ** from ****

I suppose if you were 12 years old and lived in a lighthouse on a small island, you might be as naive as Mark Lester's character, "Ziggy," in this film. I suspect, though, that "not very smart" would need to be added, and I wonder if the correspondence to the comic strip character of the same name is more than coincidental. Everybody in this movie is a stereotype, but most irritating was Mark Lester himself who, after doing such a fine job in "Oliver!," here only gets to run around looking perpetually frightened out of his wits. I don't know for whom exactly this one was intended, but if you're not totally impressed by loud motorcycles with bad mufflers, I'd give it a miss.

If you like a good thriller this is the film for you, there are scenes which will keep you glued to your seats. Ziggy, (Mark Lester) plays the role as a little boy who has an older sister named Pippa, (Susan George) and they live with their grandfather who lives in a lighthouse on the Island of Malta. Ziggy has a great imagination and many times tell stories that are not true and no one really believes anything he tells them. One day Ziggy sees an assassination and also knows what he looks like and can identify this person who is in high authority on Malta. Ziggy is hunted down by this person and no one will believe him when he tries to tell his sister Pippa, they all get mad at him except his grandfather. Susan George looked radiant and very charming playing a great role along with a great child star, Mark Lester. Don't miss this film, it is great entertainment.

Having visited the island 16 months ago I was able to recognise many of the locations in Valletta.That is about the only memorable aspect of this film.One gets fed up pretty quickly with Mark Lester.Peter Vaughn makes an effective villain.

In this interesting variation on THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF and THE WINDOW, a little boy(Mark Lester), known for telling tall tales, witnesses the brutal murder of a visiting President in Malta. Naturally, when he tries to tell his family they don't believe him, but the killers do! A good suspense film, but the cast is better than the material. Lester(of OLIVER fame) is outstanding as the colorful little lad, and Susan George and Lionel Jeffries as his frustrated sister and grandfather are fine support.

The Malta setting couldn't save this. The acting was diabolical, and everything seemed so amateurish. Jeremy Kemp was just so wooden he looked like he had escaped from the Thunderbirds set. The car chase at the end was very good and realistic with the Triumph Vitesse getting pounded by the Land Rover. We are well used to serial killing in dramas nowadays but somehow the complete disrespect for life in this film was somehow shocking. How many murders were there ... 8??

Eyewitness is a curious little known thriller starring Mark Lester who was riding high at the time because of Oliver!

In fact it is the type of thriller that was common where kids are in peril and try to avoid the baddies only to keep bumping into them. Eyewitness though is a little bit sadistic as well as being hysterical.

Lester plays Ziggy. An imaginative boy who likes to tell fantastical tall stories.

He lives in a lighthouse in Malta with his grandfather (Lionel Jeffries) and his older sister Pippa (Susan George.)

While watching a parade. Ziggy sees a policeman assassinate a visiting African dignitary. He is pursued by the two policemen but he manages to evade them

When Ziggy tries to tell his sister about it, she disbelieves him.

Ziggy is plagued by bad luck. At each turn it seems that the two policemen are on to him as they wish to silence Ziggy and they take no prisoners. They leave a trail of bodies behind such as a father and a child, a priest. Anyone who gets in their way is acceptable collateral damage.

The real police investigating the murder of the African leader soon suspect that the assassins pretended to be policemen so they would not be noticed in the crowd.

I thought there was some uneven acting as several of the cast were overacting. Jeffries was trying too hard to be zany. George's role was plain annoying.

Peter Vaughn was suitably icy cold as one of the villains. However the film just loses control of the plot as the dead bodies mount up.

i bought this movie because i became a fan of mark lester after watching oliver. however i was somewhat dissapointed in this movie while it is exciting theres i snoyt much too it other than the boy being chased around by the bad guys. in is very voilent for a flim rated pg but of course pg 13 did not exsit back then.i guess basically it is a good movie to watch when you have nothing better to do.