Callan (1974)

Anecdotes

Callan is a 1974 British thriller film directed by Don Sharp and starring Edward Woodward, Eric Porter, Carl Möhner and Russell Hunter. It was written by James Mitchell based on his novel A Red File for Callan, itself based on Mitchell's pilot episode for the ITV television series Callan (1967–1972).

Production

The script by James Mitchell is based on his original TV pilot "A Magnum for Schneider" and the novelization thereof, Red File for Callan, although only the novel is listed in the film's credits (as A Red File for Callan). The film was based more on the novel than on the original television script.

Callan's boss Hunter is played by Eric Porter, and Meres too is re-cast, this time played by Peter Egan. The only recurring actors from the TV series were Edward Woodward as Callan, Russell Hunter as Lonely, and Clifford Rose as Dr Snell. Carl Mohner was cast as Schnider due to the original 1967 TV Movie actor Joseph Furst moving to Australia in 1972.

Callan was the first film with a Dolby-encoded optical soundtrack.

The film was shot in late 1973 at Lee Studios and on locations such as the Spint Crossing at Newbury. Director Don Sharp called it "a joy to film" in part because Woodward's "character was so set but he came to it so fresh again." "We're making a much more extended approach than the TV series," said Woodward during filming. "We could have easily fallen into the trap of making an elongated TV series, but we didn't want it to look cheap.

Sharp said the film received "lovely notices".

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