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Hanged Man (The) (TV)
R2 - United Kingdom - Network Review written by and copyright: Paul Lewis (12th May 2010). |
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The Show
 The Hanged Man (Yorkshire Television, 1975): The Complete Series  
Created by Edmund Ward for Yorkshire Television and originally broadcast in 1975, The Hanged Man is a compelling action-oriented series that revolves around Lew Burnett (Colin Blakely), a hard-headed construction magnate who, after the third attempt on his life (the second of which resulted in the death of his wife), decides to 'play dead' and track down the man who tried to have him killed. In doing so, Burnett enlists the help of former mercenary-turned-insurance adjuster Alan Crowe (Michael Williams). The first episode begins in media res, with the attempt on Burnett's life depicted in the opening credit sequence. However, in this preliminary episode we are told who Burnett is only as the episode progresses, via the reminisces of friends and colleagues who believe him to be dead. The opening credits for the first episode, and for all of the subsequent episodes, are accompanied by 1970s funk-influenced music, familiar to viewers of The Two Ronnies (BBC, 1971-87) as the theme to the parodic Charley Farley and Piggy Malone sketches. With this music on the soundtrack, we are presented with shots of Lew Burnett driving an industrial vehicle; Burnett loses control of the vehicle (it has clearly been sabotaged) and crashes into the river. A man who, in later episodes, we learn is a New Zealand contract killer named John Quentin (Gary Watson), watches the scene from a distance, via binoculars. Elsewhere, in a city, Alan Crowe is shown carrying a newspaper. He looks thoughtfully at the headline, which presumably carries news of Burnett's presumed death. This is followed by a bulldozer tearing down a sign saying 'Burnett Construction'. However, Burnett has survived: he is shown clinging to a support of the makeshift wooden bridge that his vehicle overran. On the audio track, Burnett declares via offscreen voiceover, 'The only chance I've got of staying alive is to stay dead, find out who wants to kill me... and why'.  
The title of the series ('The Hanged Man') derives from the Tarot, and each of the episodes ('Wheel of Fortune', 'Tower of Destruction', etc) also take their titles from the Tarot deck. However, this has little to no relevance to the content of the series, aside from (and this is perhaps pushing the point) Burnett's challenge to fate via his decision to fake his own death and wreak vengeance on the people responsible for the death of his wife and for the three attempts to kill him. The series has a strong paranoid edge, characterised by Burnett's assertion (in the first episode) that 'You start making enemies the minute you can look after yourself. Not just me – everybody'. Throughout the eight episodes a subtle conflict is delineated between the paranoid and aggressive Burnett and the more even-tempered and rational Crowe. Blakely and Williams give excellent performances as the two leads: Blakely plays Burnett as full of bluster and testosterone, a 'working class hero' with a strong regional accent and something of a chip on his shoulder, whilst Williams' Alan Crowe is a refined and cultured womaniser, a cold and shrewd character; the revelation that Crowe, introduced as an insurance adjuster, was a former mercenary comes initially as a surprise but becomes more and more credible as the series progresses. Crowe's interest in helping Burnett is ambiguous: early in the first episode, Crowe is chastised by a superior for rising above his station in his suggestion that Crowe has survived. The first meeting between Burnett and Crowe takes place after Burnett has hired two heavies to rob the safe of Burnett Construction, in order to lay his hands on money to fund his crusade. Crowe follows the trail back to Burnett, and in pulls a knife on Crowe. 'Still the knife?', Crowe remarks: 'I read about that in the file. Remarkably un-English, I always thought'. Burnett responds, 'I learnt to use it in some remarkably un-English countries'. Initially, Burnett believes Crowe to be part of the conspiracy to kill him, along with a man named Nelson, one of Crowe's competitors. However, Nelson is murdered by Quentin, and Crowe offers to help Burnett. 'I need a reason', Burnett asserts in response to Crowe's offer. 'Boredom', Crowe asserts: 'I'm sick of pimping between money, respectability and thieves'.  
Burnett's attempts to trace the people who hired Quentin to kill him take many twists and turns, and force Burnett to confront his past demons, including the death of his wife and his relationship with his daughter (Jane Seymour) and stepson. Burnett also becomes involved in the shady world of industrial espionage and sabotage, via his associations with a leftist 'agitator' named Frank Larson (Frank Wylie) in 'Tower of Destruction', and throughout the series The Hanged Man depicts trade unionists as anarchists and agitators, whilst Burnett (who, in ‘Chariot of Earth’, we are told 'built a construction company up from nothing to eight million pounds') is shown to be a benevolent boss (in one episode, he memorably leaves one of his night watchmen a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label and a ten pound note). Sometimes the series becomes quite polemical in its denouncement of unionism: in 'Tower of Destruction', Burnett asserts that Larson and his associates 'can wreck the building programme [of power stations and create an energy crisis], all right, all over the world. It’s the biggest spanner ever thrown into the capitalist system [….] Every power station under construction for the next ten years is due for more strikes than this industry’s ever seen. That’s not prophecy: it’s fact’. Interestingly, this is the inverse of the kinds of issues thrown up by such scenarios as the T. Dan Smith scandal in Newcastle, which highlighted the corrupt relationships between local councils and the big building contractors of the kind that Burnett represents in the series. The series' representation of unionism and political agitators is arguably very much of its time, indexical of an era which demonstrated paranoia about the supposed spread of leftist thought amongst the working classes, thanks to the actions of such paramilitary organisations as the Italian Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades) and the German Rote Armee Faktion (Red Army Faction/The Baader-Meinhof Group). It arguably dates the series quite badly but makes it all the more interesting to watch, thanks to the dramatic potential introduced via these conflicts.  
Disc One: 'Wheel of Fortune' (51:06) 'Tower of Destruction' (47:36) 'Tower of Destruction' (51:08) 'Tower of Destruction' (50:55) Disc Two: 'Tower of Destruction' (51:30) ‘Chariot of Earth’ (50:31) ‘Chariot of Earth’ (53:06) 'Ring of Return' (52:46) 'Wheel of Fortune' After an attempt on his life by a New Zealand hitman named John Quentin, Lew Burnett decides to fake his death and track down the people who placed a contract on him. Along the way, Burnett enlists the help of Alan Crowe, an insurance adjuster and former mercenary who is apparently encouraged to aid Burnett due to growing 'sick of pimping between money, respectability and thieves'. 'Tower of Destruction' Burnett and Crowe become involved with Frank Larson, a committed trade unionist who Burnett describes as an 'Agitator [who] makes trouble for a living'. With the help of Larson, Burnett and Crowe track down a former employee of Burnett, a freelance pilot named Denver (Julian Glover) – who Burnett surmises may be the man who killed Burnett's wife. Denver currently works for Pilgrim (William Lucas), who holds a grudge against Burnett ('He made the money; I took the risk', Pilgrim asserts). 'Tower of Destruction' Burnett hunts down Peter Kroger (William Russell), a Swiss accountant who formerly managed Burnett's books and who is holding sixty thousand pounds of Burnett's money. Burnett wants the money back but discovers that the account the money was in ‘was cleared out four days before somebody tried to kill me’. Burnett accuses Kroger of being a thief and of having prior knowledge of the attempt on Burnett’s life, eventually revealing Kroger's highly unethical role of investing in a coup in a third world country. This leads to conflict between Crowe, a man of ethics, and Burnett; Crowe questions Burnett’s decision to ‘stash away’ his money with men like Kroger: ‘Money and blood. Indivisible’, Crowe asserts. ‘Chariot of Earth’ Burnett and Crowe are flying to Edinburgh to see Charlie Galbraith (Alan MacNaughton), a Scottish nationalist and a former associate of Burnett. Burnett was once ‘accidentally’ shot at during a hunting trip in Scotland; the culprit was Galbraith and his cronies. Burnett once had a relationship with Galbraith's wife, Louisa (Barbara Shelley), and Burnett believes that Galbraith may have been responsible for the attempt on his life. Burnett's expedition to Scotland exposes 'Tower of Destruction' In an unspecified Eastern Bloc country, Burnett and Crowe set a trap for Quentin. Quentin falls into the trap and shoots Burnett, wounding him. However, Quentin escapes. The voice on the telephone tells Quentin to set a similar trap for Crowe. However, Burnett is arrested, on an unspecified charge, and interrogated. He is expected to provide evidence that would implicate one of the ministers of that country, Milcjek (Ray Smith), who is one of the political ‘old guard’. With the help of some hired guns, Crowe arranges ‘a sort of reverse kidnapping’ to free Burnett. ‘Chariot of Earth’ Burnett hunts a man named Hans Dieter, ‘a contract hooligan […] He cracks heads for money’. Eight years prior, Burnett had a run-in with Dieter in which Burnett crippled Dieter’s hand. Burnett plans to use Dieter to get to an American mobster named Milton Webber, and to this end Burnett allows himself to be captured by Dieter. However, Crowe begins to worry that Dieter will kill Burnett. ‘Chariot of Earth’ Burnett and Crowe are visiting a British military base, with the aim of asking Captain Jane Ashley to decipher a document, a research report on Burnett's company, that has fallen into Burnett's possession and which should point Burnett in the direction of the man who hired Quentin to kill him. Captain Ashley is a female officer, a former flame of Crowe's and a qualified accountant who was frozen out of the trade because she is a woman. Burnett discovers that Burnett Construction has been put up for sale since news of his death, and that although the company is prosperous nobody seems to want to buy it. However, Ashley's decision to help Burnett and Crowe puts her in mortal danger. 'Ring of Return' Burnett and Crowe are working undercover as labourers for Burnett Construction. Meanwhile, both men are being hunted by the police. Burnett discovers that a man named Maguire is buying Burnett's company for half its value but must negotiate with Burnett's daughter Laura (Jane Seymour), a 'chip off the old block' who owns a significant share of the company. Burnett persuades Crowe to masquerade as a contract killer who is willing to kill Burnett for money, and each step brings Burnett and Crowe closer to those responsible for the contract on Burnett's life.
Video
Shot on a mixture of video and 16mm film, The Hanged Man has an admittedly cheap aesthetic (lots of medium shots) which occasionally explodes into sequences of well-shot and effective action. The studio-bound video footage displays plenty of flared highlights, with skin tones often appearing 'burnt out' on the screen; the film footage fares better but sometimes lacks detail. The episodes are well preserved, with little damage present throughout. The break bumpers are intact, and there is no evidence to suggest that the episodes are in any way cut. 
Audio
The series is presented with a two-channel mono track. Some of the dialogue is mixed low and difficult to hear. Volume levels are generally low on most of the episodes. However, there is no distortion or hiss on the audio track, and simply bringing up the volume levels on your home cinema setup should make the soundtrack easy to hear with no interference or disturbance on the audio track. Sadly there are no subtitles.
Extras
There are no extras.
Overall
An almost forgotten series, The Hanged Man is a delight. The series is pacy and filled with enough action to keep the narrative rolling along. Blakely's performance as the hard-headed, aggressive Burnett is engaging, but Michael Williams arguably steals the show as Alan Crowe, the master of the quiet, hard-nosed threat. (In 'Tower of Destruction', Crowe icily tells another character, ‘This is a .22 target pistol, and nobody carries one unless he can use it. I can put slugs in both of your feet, and you will need a walking stick to get round these hills for the rest of your life’.) Williams depicts Crowe as a man of strong ethics who is more than willing to display absolute contempt for some of the less scrupulous characters he encounters: in relation to the Swiss accountant Peter Kroger's co-option of his clients' money to finance a coup in a third world country, Crowe bitterly asserts to another character that ‘I was on loan once as an Arab advisor, with two platoons of British soldiers. Our job was to guard a garage full of Cadillacs, and a cellar full of money being gnawed by rats because the potentate didn’t trust banks. There weren’t any hospitals, and the streets were full of children with their eyes crawling with flies. But that was when I was an officer, and a gentleman’. The series is dominated by paranoia: in Burnett's world, danger comes from all angles, and everyone is a potential suspect in the attempt on his life. (At one point, Burnett tells Crowe that ‘There’s none of us innocent, Crowe: it’s a state that doesn’t exist’.) An exciting, fairly gritty, action-packed and sadly largely forgotten series, The Hanged Man is a vital and engaging series that for fans of fast-paced 1970s television is well worth investigating. For more information, please visit the homepage of Network DVD.
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