ianlouisiana Sometimes Mr Winner gave the impression that as long as he got his cheque he didn't care whether anybody liked his films. Fortunately for him he hit a rich vein with his "Death Wish" franchise which were extremely popular and despite critical disapprobation hit a vein particularly in the U.S. where urban violent crime was reaching a new high and vigilanteism seemed to be an answer if not the answer. Long before then he had a number of idiosyncratic British films he could look back on including "The System" and "The jokers" both starring Mr O.Reed. From time immemorial local youths in seaside towns have regarded female visitors as fair game,but this is a game two can play and more often that they realised the hunters became the hunted as happens in "The System" where Ur- alpha male Beach photographer Mr Reed is played at his own game by a rich and beautiful tourist(Miss J.Merrow). Beautifully photographed by Mr Roeg and stylishly directed by an enthusiastic and energised Mr Winner,this film is due a renaissance.

moonspinner55 Randy British lads chase available birds around the seaside; avid shutterbug Oliver Reed 'collects' young lovelies, but may have found the girl who has won his heart and not just his libido. Directed by Michael Winner, photographed by Nicholas Roeg, and starring a somewhat-green yet still charismatic Reed, "The Girl-Getters" (a.k.a. "The System") turns out to be a just-OK drama about would-be jaded boys and girls contemplating sex (the hunt for a willing girl seems to be more exciting to the guys than the actual conquest). It's hard to get an accurate reading on the youthful Oliver Reed: his heavy lids and soft, persuasive bedroom voice ooze false sincerity--but when put on the spot by the teasing model who sort-of fancies him, he suddenly becomes a deadly serious grown-up contemplating his feelings. The rock & roll music and pre-Swinging London fashions (and morals) are interesting, but Winner's quasi-documentary style is scattershot, and the plot doesn't gather much momentum. *1/2 from ****

Ian Brown A neglected but in its unassuming way very well-made little melodrama by a young Michael Winner, shot mainly on location around Torbay right at the start of the Swinging Sixties era. Fairly racy in its day, it never tries to sensationalise its premise that casual sex is as normal as the twist among the holidaying young people.The cast is exceptional. This was Winner's first collaboration with Oliver Reed, whose charisma and aura of watchful menace here is unmistakable. There was never another star in British cinema quite like him. Jane Merrow is just as excellent as the sympathetic but ultimately unattainable Nicola; she makes the character totally three-dimensional without any histrionics. Barbara Ferris also stands out among a talented young cast, especially in her final stoned lament at the evening beach-party.Winner is helped immeasurably by a brilliant cinematographer, Nicolas Roeg (here in between lensing such notable Brit-flicks as The Caretaker, Nothing But the Best and Masque of the Red Death). His location work right from the title sequence gives a vivid sense of place of a jaded seaside resort in the last days of summer.Directorial flair is surprisingly confident, borrowing just enough new-wave technique to languidly establish the film's youth pedigree without ever indulging in obtrusive effect for its own sake.Winner's previous film, West 11, a lowlife murder suspensor, also made good use of a mainly young cast. After The System he moved on to bigger but not necessarily better things before Hollywood swamped what talent he had. A pity, because this film, never acknowledged as being one of the best British b-films of the time, really is pretty good.

ShadeGrenade Film buffs tend to turn up their noses at the mention of the name Michael Winner, but the fact is he made some pretty decent films back in the '60's ( 'The Cool Mikado' excepted! ), of which 'The System' was one.Shot in glorious black and white, it is set in a small British seaside resort, where a gang of young men prey on young female tourists. Object? Sexual conquest. Tinker ( Oliver Reed ), the self-styled leader of this pack of wolves, is a happy-go-lucky photographer who snaps the girls when they arrive, secures their hotel names and room numbers, and then shares the pictures out among his pals, naturally keeping the best looking one for himself. He calls this method 'The System'.Tinker takes a shine to rich man's daughter Nicola ( Jane Merrow ), and begins courting her. She knows what he is up to, and does not attempt to discourage him. Their relationship develops and Tinker finds himself genuinely falling in love, but Nicola is not keen on settling down.Similarities between this film and 'Alfie', released a mere two years later, are uncanny. Both feature a good-looking young man whose interest in females goes only as far as the bedroom. Both feature said hero getting his comeuppance at the end - and at the hands of a woman. The ending implies that, despite being rebuffed, Tinker will be back at the railway station the next summer, still practising The System. Both feature the lovely Julia Foster too.As 'Tinker', Reed gives a magnetic performance. You can see why the girls fall for him like dominoes. Watching this film with my wife, she commented on his eyes, and she's right. They are like blow lamps. Jane Merrow, an actress known mainly to me through her television work such as 'Danger Man' and 'The Prisoner' is gorgeous as the elegant 'Nicola'. Tinker's gang includes David Hemmings ( two years away from starring in the iconic 'Blow-Up' ) and John Alderton, future star of the T.V. sitcom 'Please Sir!'. His character, Nidge, earns Tinker's wrath by openly admitting he has gotten one of his conquests pregnant. Tinker gives him the address of a back-street abortionist ( it was illegal when this was made ), but his friend does the decent thing and marries the girl.I was only two when this came out, so cannot say for certain whether its depiction of the young people of that era is in any way accurate. It feels authentic though. The fight between Tinker and Derek Newark's character is brutal indeed, as is a later scrap involving the rest of the gang. The use of broken bottles in said fight probably contributed to the film's earning of an 'X' certificate ( today it would be 18 ).The whole British holiday atmosphere is wonderfully captured. As Denis Norden once said: "it will take you back - even if you were never there originally!".Peter Draper wrote the thoughtful script, he later collaborated with Reed and Winner on the equally memorable 'I'll Never Forget What'sis name'. He really should have penned more movies.I'm so glad that this picture has resurfaced on D.V.D. One to put on the shelf next to classics such as 'Alfie' and 'Georgy Girl'.