Imdb Ranking 6.0
Niall Hennessy (Rod Steiger) is an explosive expert in 1970's Belfast. His friend, Sean Tobin, an IRA man, needs some explosive's material for a big job they have coming up, but Niall refuses to get involved. Niall says that he doesn't believe in violence any more.
Catholic kids are throwing rocks at the troops. When a petrol bomb gets thrown, rubber bullets are shot. When a soldier gets knocked down with a rock, gas bombs are thrown. Then a bomb is thrown at the soldiers. A soldier gets a machine gun, gets hit in the face with a rock, and goes down but his machine goes off killing five of the protesters. He is then shot in the head. Two other people shot and they were innocent bystanders, Niall's wife and daughter.
Niall flies to England, and when Tobin finds out he sends some of his men to meet him at the airport. On the ride from the airport one of the IRA men, Tilney, pulls a gun and ask Niall what he is going to do. Tobin wants to know. In the struggle for the gun, Tilney gets killed and Niall takes the car from the other. Niall walks in to a shop and sees Kate Brooke (Lee Remick).
Comdr. Rice (Trevor Howard) starts the investigation and they begin a search for Hennessey. He is aided by Inspector Hollis from Scotland Yard. Hennessey takes a tour of Parliament. Tobin thinks he is going to try to blow it up when the Royal family is there for the opening of the new session.
Hennessey drops in on someone the IRA has used before and gives him a new job. Tobin is determined to stop Hennessy. if he kills the Queen, the whole world will come down on the IRA. He thinks it will set them back fifty years. Tobin orders Hennesssy's death for the good of the cause.
Cmdr. Rice thinks Inspector Hollis has been ruined by his experiences in Belfast. he now seems to be hooked on the violence. Hennessy stops by for the device he had built. The man is very nervous and Hennessey knocks him out, takes the device and looks out the window and sees Tobin and the IRA men entering the building. Hennessey escapes with the device.
Tobin comes to see Kate and convinces her that he will take Niall back to Belfast for his own good. When she talks to Niall she tells him to stop by. When she sees he is being set up she tries to warn him and is shot down.
Niall ties up a member of Parliament, Steven Burgess, and then puts on some makeup and dress up like him. Tobin finds out about the plan, and calls up the Burgess house and tells Niall to give himself up, but Niall escapes again.
Niall pretending to be Burgess, actually gets the police to escort him to parliament. We then see real clips of the Royal family arriving at parliament. Hollis finally figures out what is going on and goes to Burgess' place and unties him. Burgess tells him that Hennessey is all wrapped up in bombs.
Then we see some great footage of the Queen and Prince Charles arriving in a horse drawn carriage. We then see real scenes of the royal family in the house of Peers and of the members of parliament who go over to greet her. Tobin and Hollis are both searching desperately for Hennessy. The camera pans from Queen Elizabeth, to prince Charles, to Hennessy. Hennessy reaches under his jacket for a wire. As Hennessy makes his move, Hollis quickly knocks him down and out. Queen Elizabeth looks up but then goes on with her reading. Hennessy is hustled out of the hall but then he escapes telling the guards that Hollis has a gun, but Hollis had already disarmed the device on his body. One of the IRA men shoots Hennessy in the leg and then Hollis finishes him off.
A good story that probably could have been better. Very similar to Day of the Jackal, but for some reason wasn't as dramatic. Rod Steiger was good, although we never really got to know too much about him after the first fifteen minutes. Great integration of real film footage of the royal family and all the pageantry that was involved in the real ceremonies, which by itself makes the film well worth seeing.
