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Deathcheaters (1976)

 


After revisiting Stunt Rock, I was inspired to rewatch director Brian Trenchard-Smith and actor-stuntman Grant Page’s previous collaboration, Deathcheaters (1976). Page and John Hargreaves portray Rodney and Steve, two Vietnam War veterans who befriend each other in combat and on discharge become stuntmen in the entertainment industry. Recognizing their very particular set of skills, they are approached by intelligence bureaucrat Mr. Culpepper (an elegantly and humorously aloof Noel Ferrier) to infiltrate and obtain secret documents from an island fortress.     

Stunt Rock was a hangout movie punctuated by stunts and suspect musical numbers. Although more of a traditional actioner, Deathcheaters has some of the same hangout vibe, and I found myself charmed by the dinkiness and humour of its oddly drawn espionage world and the onscreen bromance—decades before it became popular parlance—between Page and Hargreaves. My admiration for Hargreaves is well-documented, and though this isn’t among his very best performances, it’s significantly better than his other overture towards action stardom, Sky Pirates, and leans into the same traits as some of his best work, i.e. the inner-city larrikin, fairly charming, kind of smarmy (see also Hoodwink, Don’s Party, Long Weekend). Hargreaves also throws himself gamely into some of the action scenes, though due to an injury Page does much of the heavy lifting stunt-wise, especially in the finale. Margaret Gerard, who played Page’s romantic interest in Stunt Rock (and married Trenchard-Smith offscreen), is Hargreaves' partner here and is mannered but charming, faring well enough within the film’s creaky gender tropes.

I was taken aback to learn that Deathcheaters was filmed as a TV pilot, only to pivot to theatrical release. On further reflection, it makes sense: the abovementioned hangout vibe evokes the comfort food cop and caper television of the 1970s and 80s, as does the witty repartee between leads and recurring gags involving Rodney’s dog Bismarck; a cast of broadly sketched supporting players are introduced over the film, ready for prime time; and Rodney and Steve’s hardline no-killing policy makes for gentler viewing than other Trenchard-Smith films, especially the nihilistic Turkey Shoot. The big finale also betrays its television roots, invested with less weight and import than films of similar ink. But for a project executed for television pilot-dom, the scale of Deathcheaters is mostly impressive and feels cinematic. Its action scenes are cleanly shot by John Seale in his debut, with the film's impressive stunt driving sequences predating Mad Max by three years and Seale’s own work on Mad Max: Fury Road by 39 years.

Ben

 

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