The Black Windmill — The Black Windmill(Blu Ray)

During the 1960s and 1970s, Michael Cain appeared in a spate of secret service focused thrillers- most notable of these being The Ipcress File(1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966), and (1967) Billion Dollar Brain- each seeing him playing Secret agent Harry Palmer. One the lesser-known/ seen of these secret service thrillers was The Black Windmill- this 1970’s film found Cain playing Maj. John Tarrant- a British agent whose son has been kidnapped. It co-starred Donald Pleasence, and it’s a competent enough espionage-thriller, with some tense-at-points-quite harrowing set-ups. Here from 101 Films is a recent Blu Ray release of the film, featuring a new print of the picture & a  few recent interviews.

Appearing in 1974 The Black Windmill was helmed by British born US director/producer/editor Don Siegel. He was behind a few genre classics, such as the original Invasion Of The Body Snatchers(1965), Western comedy Coogan's Bluff (1968), classic action cop film Dirty Harry( 1971), and moody/ tense prison break caper Escape From Alcatraz. And while The Black Windmill isn’t up to the level of any of the mentioned, it’s a well-made film, which has some effectively tense & memorable scenes, with both Cain & Pleasence on good form.

The films opens with two private school boys going into a seeming abandon MOD site to fly their remote control aeroplane. Just before they can start playing, up rolls an army jeep-they are told off by the two servicemen and bundled ino the back. They are driven into an eerier searchlight lit hanger, where we meet the sinister Mckee(John Vernon), who initially pretends to be an officer before knocking out both boys, pull off his suit to reveal normal cloths, and buddles the passed out boys in the back of a van taking off down a motorway, before blowing up the jeep with his accomplices in. Fairly soon Maj. John Tarrant(Cain), while at the house of his separated wife gets a call from Mckee- saying he’s got his son, and he has to pay the ransom with diamonds that are sitting in the vault of his secret service dept.

Donald Pleasence plays Cedric Harper- the head of Tarrant's unit, initially, he seems to want help get back Tarrant’s son- then suddenly shuts down, deciding to let the boy rot. So it’s up to Cain to get his son back one way or another, all amping up to a rewardingly tense and suspense lined finale in a  windmill.

The film is a blend of fairly alarming and at points unsettling kidnapper phone calls with the creepily & coldly hissing Mckee, and the screams of Tarrant sons. Tense interaction between Pleasence & Cain, who on both on good form. With some decent action sequences and plenty of intrigue along the way. Oh, and Cain doing an impression of Pleasence. The film largely keeps you locked in through-out, though maybe there could have been a few snippets here & there, as some of the more talky moments in this one hour and forty-five minute do drag a little. But on the whole, The Black Windmill is a worthy addition to the kidnapping/espionage-thriller genre, and if you enjoy both Cain and Pleasence as actors it is worth checking out.

Moving onto this new region B Blu Ray, and we get a nicely defined print, that has a good blend of depth and clarity. On the extras side, we have two interviews- the first is with actor Joss Ackland who played Chief Supt. Wray. The onscreen nine and a half minute interview finds him discussing working with director Don Siegel and on-set memories including him and Cain having a giggling fit just before a downbeat scene. The second interview is with cinematographer  Ousama Rawi, this onscreen interview runs twenty minutes, and finds him fondly recalling working on the film. He goes from talking about his initial interview with Siegel. Going onto discuss working with Cain & Pleasence, the films alternative titles, and more difficult to film scenes. Lastly, we get an original trailer, with the finished release featuring with reversible sleeve with alternate artwork.

If you enjoy 1970’s thrillers then I think you’ll enjoy The Black Windmill, and 101 Films have done a nice job reissuing it- with a good new print, and two worthy interviews.