Callan (1974) – Nostalgia Central

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The character of David Callan finally made it to the big screen in this expansion of the 1967 Armchair Theatre television play A Magnum for Schneider, which served as the pilot for the Callan TV series.

Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter (as Callan’s pathetic and odoriferous Dickensian thief friend, Lonely) are the only cast members to appear in both productions.

While Callan is an agent for the British Secret Service, he is as different from 007 as chalk from cheese.

While Bond is the complete ultra-sophisticate, Callan is at the other end of the social scale.

He is shabby and down at heel in appearance, travels by bus, and is more often found dining on fish and chips than champagne and caviar.

Callan has one big failing as an assassin: he has a conscience. He is a man who questions when he is assigned a victim to kill.

And for this, his ice-cold boss, Hunter (Eric Porter), who heads a British government undercover section called ‘The Section’, has taken him off the beat and put him into a deadly dull desk-bound routine keeping the books in a City office for Mr Waterman (Kenneth Griffith) – a job he hates.

Then Callan is brought in from the cold to assassinate wealthy German businessman Schneider (Austrian actor Carl Mohner), who is behind a highly profitable racket smuggling guns and explosives.

Callan meets the seemingly amiable man and instantly finds they have one thing in common. Both collect model soldiers and enjoy playing elaborate war games.

So, once again, the British agent is questioning the motives behind having to eliminate Schneider.

Yet he carries on and makes plans for the killing in his own way and in his own time with the weapon of his choice.

Schneider’s loyal girlfriend, Jenny, is played by the beautiful Catherine Schell.

David Callan
Edward Woodward
Hunter
Eric Porter
Schneider
Carl Möhner
Jenny
Catherine Schell
Toby Meres
Peter Egan
Lonely
Russell Hunter
Mr Waterman
Kenneth Griffith
The Greek
Michael Da Costa
Liz
Veronica Lang
Dr Snell
Clifford Rose
Arthur
David Prowse
George
Don Henderson
Padilla
Nadim Sawalha