Powerful

How sad is this?

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Demolitions expert in Belfast, once a member of the Irish Republican Army, sees his wife and child accidentally killed in a street riot between political protesters and soldiers; he reacts by traveling to England to carry out a plot against Parliament and Queen Elizabeth II, though Scotland Yard is one step behind. Dreary topical thriller, an odd release coming from American International Pictures, has some relevance to today's headlines, though that doesn't exactly make this endeavor an important or intriguing one. Rod Steiger and widowed friend Lee Remick (reunited from 1968's "No Way to Treat a Lady") are somewhat uneasily cast in their roles, though the film has good music scoring by John Scott and fine cinematography from Ernest Steward. Controversial in Great Britain due to the Queen's appearance via newsreel footage, the producers were forced to begin the film with an amusing disclaimer. ** from ****

Hennessy casts Rod Steiger as an IRA man who has renounced violence and then goes back to it when his wife and daughter are killed in one of the many outbreaks of street violence in Belfast. He's going to shake the foundations of the United Kingdom in one explosive blast and horrific thing is that he almost succeeds in doing it.The incident where Steiger's wife and daughter are killed and it's one of those horrific accidents with kids throwing rocks and bottles at troops and them just being in the wrong place at the wrong time when a rock hits a British soldier and he's stunned and he fires his automatic weapon on reflex. Still there's no convincing Steiger he's not due for some payback. But Steiger's got both the IRA and the British authorities looking for him. The IRA is afraid of bad international publicity if Steiger succeeds. This is the part of the film I'm not too keen on. Mind you this is the same IRA who in real life four years later didn't consider Lord Louis Mountbatten or his teen grandson off limits. Still with Steiger hunted by all it does make for some exciting cinema.What Steiger has in mind is to rig a vest with gelignite and sneak into the opening of Parliament while Queen Elizabeth is giving her opening address and blow the place up. Leading Scotland Yard's effort against him is Richard Johnson who's been a victim of IRA terrorism himself and has a real hate for the crowd. They are an evenly matched pair of adversaries.Now we all know that such a thing didn't happen, still the way news coverage of an opening is worked in with the story seamlessly makes for some very good cinema. Trevor Howard is on hand as the chief inspector at Scotland Yard and Lee Remick plays an IRA widow who shelters Steiger in London without knowing his purpose. If you don't blink you'll catch Patrick Stewart in an early film role.Hennessy is very exciting cinema and very relevant for the times we live in.

Maltin is an idiot for saying that the plot is unbelievable. It is in fact all too believable. Rod Steiger shows his versatility by playing an Irishman who impersonates an Englishman. Lee Remick is delectable as usual and English fans will applaud the inclusion of Eric Porter

If anyone liked "Day of the Jackal", then they will certainly like this movie. The plot is similar in that a political enemy is to be killed by an individual. In this case two groups are trying to stop the killing-the government of Great Britain and the IRA. The IRA is not trying to defend great Britain but trying to prevent the backlash that would have been certain if the Queen and her family along with the House of Lords and Parliment were blown up. Definitely worth seeing in any case because of Rod Steiger's performance..