Red-Barracuda This docu-drama focuses on a crime case I was only ever vaguely familiar with. The psychopathic criminal The Black Panther was a petty thief called Donald Neilson who moved up to robbing post offices in the middle of the night between the years 1972-75. These crimes became increasingly violent resulting in the murders of several postmasters. He followed this with his most notorious crime, the kidnapping of Lesley Whittle, an adolescent girl from a rich family. He abducted her from her bedroom in the middle of the night and hid her deep underground in a drainage shaft. The girl died here, hung by a wire noose that he had left her tethered to.This film was very controversial when released. It was singled out by the media as a film which was exploiting a recent notorious criminal case. As a result, after a brief release it was more or less buried, until recently when it was re-released on DVD. Perhaps the film was released too close to the horrible crimes it depicted but even so, this is a carefully handled film which remains downbeat throughout and doesn't veer into exploitation territory. In any case, there is a certain irony in the media getting on their high horse about this film, given that it was the print media's irresponsible actions which more than likely contributed to Lesley Whittle's eventual murder by emblazoning her kidnapping story across their front pages and in doing so seriously jeopardising the ransom situation. What can be said with certainty though is that this is a very strong bit of British cinema. It is underpinned by a chilling central performance from Donald Sumpter as Neilson. He completely convinces as this cold killer. Aside from some poetic license being taken for certain unverifiable moments, the film-makers were at pains to keep the details of the screen-play as close to the record as they possibly could. This has resulted in a downbeat and realistic portrayal of events. Nevertheless, it is highly suspenseful and compelling, if somewhat depressing, stuff. It truly is one of the best true crime films out there and is very much recommended.

Tom Dooley This is a drama based on the real life activities of Donald Nielson played by Donald Sumpter. He was an ex soldier who had joined civvy street and his business had failed. So he started robbing Post Offices using a sawn off shotgun. He used his army survival training to hide out in woods and generally be a bit of a loon.His home life is depicted as him being a misogynistic martinet and all round nasty bloke – he was never going to win 'father of the year'. Then he accidentally shoots a sub Post Master on one of his 'jobs' and his crimes take on a more serious hue. This leads him to commit one of the most notorious crimes of the seventies. That was the kidnapping of Leslie Whittle a 16 year old heiress.Now this is quite well made, there is violence and some nudity (which seemed pointless) but it tries to stick to the facts for the most part. There are some great pieces of observational cinema from the time and I loved seeing how the World worked back when I was a lad. It is far from a 'feel good' film and those that remember the time will probably recall certain aspects of the case differently. But for me this was a well made and acted time piece of a film about one despicable man and his crimes.

christopher-underwood Although I have tagged this as 'liked', I don't think that's quite the word. Impressive, believable and very grim this is a virtual reenactment of real events that I remember well and took place only a couple of years before the film was made. A little bit of stylish photography, a bit of humour, just something to relieve the dull horror and it would have been possible to enjoy the film more.What we have, though, is a unique cinematic impression of a real series of violent attacks and kidnap. The original newspaper reporting at the time presented a most unpleasant picture and here it is honestly and accurately represented on film. Everybody does well but the male lead is exceptional and the poor young girl victim almost too believable. You won't like it but as an example of gritty 70s UK cinema it is a great example.

KingDaddy45 Donald Sumpter is flawless in his portrayal of Donald Neilson, a pretty weird guy. I saw this on tape when I was about five or six, and fifteen years later I still remember certain scenes very vividly. By all accounts one of the most factual true crime pictures ever made.