THE BLACK PANTHER
Dir. Ian Merrick, 1977.
United Kingdom. 102 min.
In English.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 - 7:30PM
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 - MIDNIGHT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 - 10PM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 - 10PM

Not to be confused with MCU trash, Ian Merrick’s debut film THE BLACK PANTHER recounts the criminal escapades of Donald Neilson, an armed robber, kidnapper and murderer who terrorized the north of England in the 1970s.

The film caused an enormous controversy upon its release in late December 1977, just one year and a half after Neilson’s sentencing to life in prison. Its initial run in UK cinemas was canceled due to protest and mounting media pressure, though the film eventually found a home on VHS in both the US and UK in the 1980s.

Screenwriter Michael Armstrong, of MARK OF THE DEVIL fame, took a journalistic approach to adapting the case to the screen and resolved to depict on film only that which was totally verifiable. Pursuing absolute accuracy, he even based much of the main character’s dialogue on court transcripts and media interviews with Neilson himself.

The result is a shockingly realistic and minimalist docudrama and a haunting and disturbing piece of true-crime cinema. Directed with unflinching intensity by Ian Merrick, it is a sobering look not only at Neilson's method and psyche, but also at how police incompetence and press unscrupulousness contributed to Neilson's most infamous crime.