All Coppers Are...

This has the makings of a good film but never quite delivers. it has a good visual sense with some nice camera work and solid location shooting but the story has too many faults.

The plot concerns a working-class criminal and a married cop going after the same girl. The cop and the crim get along well at first but that changes after they know what each other does for a living and it ends in a final confrontation that ends tragically.

The basic fault with the plot is that it's too contrived and relies on far too many coincidences of the main characters running into each other to keep the plotline going. It seems that whenever the cop is on his beat he always seems to run into the criminal and the girl.

Also, the central character is the cop but because the actor playing him fails to inject much charisma into the role the crim comes off as the much more sympathetic and interesting (and better acted) character.

Still, all in all not a bad film.

All Coppers Are .1972, gritty love triangle between a cop, a villain and a girl , the girl played by Julia Foster falls for married policeman, he feels the same but can't leave his wife, villain played by Nicky Henson is a fun outgoing Jack the lad with no responsibility. He's about to get involved in a big robbery hoping to join the big league. It's a gritty time capsule of the early 70s. Guess what happens? Without giving away any spoilers it does leave you dangling, which is pretty annoying.

Enjoyable 6/10.

All Coppers Are isn't exactly a classic - but it's definitely a product of its time. Produced by 'Carry on' Peter Rogers (with a music score from Gerald Thomas), it's another attempt by them to branch out into something grittier and more realistic - hot on the heels of the movies 'Assault' & 'Revenge' over the previous couple of years.

It has an interesting cast, and lots of good period location filming around Battersea - but in some ways this is the most interesting part of the film. It starts off brightly enough as we get to know the characters, and the story involving a young copper and a petty criminal both vying for the charms of the same girl (played by Julia Foster) sounds promising.

The problem seems to lie with the enforced 'grittiness' - it never really feels authentic, and is more like a parody of working class London at that time. It comes across as a little stilted, and doesn't have the same beating heart at its centre as similar 'kitchen sink' films from previous years (such as 'Alfie'). The story ultimately doesn't seem to reach a satisfying conclusion, send out any particular moral message, or leave any lasting impression.

Having said that, there's still plenty to enjoy if you're a fan of early 70s Brit-movies - it's lovely to see a working Battersea power station in the background of a few scenes, and the cast do their best to liven up quite a thin script.

It's very much a period piece - not the worst of its genre, but far from being the best... it's a fair cop.

Famed British journeyman director Sidney Hayers is responsible for creating some truly outstanding genre cinema, including razor-edged thrillers 'Revenge', 'Assault' and Peter Wyngarde creepy occult horror classic 'Night of The Eagle', with 'All Coppers Are...' perhaps, being one of the versatile director's more neglected works. It's interesting to see Martin Potter play straight laced copper Joe, since he is better known for more outré performances in Fellini's Satyricon and Julian in the deliciously eccentric psychodrama 'Goodbye Gemini', with the always likeable Nicky Henson on familiar ground as randy small-time villain Barry, with the vivacious, breathtakingly beautiful Julia Foster being the most sympathetic character as boozy, tough-luck, beguilingly buxom bombshell Sue who genuinely falls for handsome, true-blue copper Joe, but somewhat fatefully ends up in the not so loving clutches of gregarious bad boy Barry.

'All Coppers Are...' could be seen as a rather more glum, kitchen sink version of 'Jules et Jim', with Joe, Barry and Sue's brief ménage a trois forming the catalyst for the increasingly dramatic rift between the ill-matched trio. And for the most part Hayers surprisingly gritty 70s drama remains an entertaining watch, having more artistic credibility than mere nostalgia. While the characters are only lightly sketched, the performances are dynamic, with Julia Foster eliciting some earnest pathos, and the peripheral characters are engagingly played by UK film/TV luminaries Ian Hendry, David Essex, Eddie Burn, and Glynn Edwards, even featuring a delightfully churlish cameo by bawdy British B-Movie icon Robin Askwith! My far from subjective fondness for under-represented 70s British cinema means this film is already preaching to the perverted, but it objectively exudes boodles of period charm, a slinky array of nifty outfits, fabulous shots of the city, some quality banter and a genuinely exciting, surprisingly impactful climax.

This has the feel of the Sweeney and Up the Junction rolled into one, but doesn't really work.

The poster is a real spoiler. It depicts what is going to happen and makes it obvious the way the storyline is going to go.

Julia Foster talks and acts working class, but has a different outfit in every scene.

It's watchable, but nothing more.