This is the first review a in a series of Roger Moore’s films. The next one coming soon will be The Wild Geese

Director Michael Winner
Screenplay Leslie Bricusse, Maurice Gran, Lawrence Marks.
Producer Michael Winner

Main cast

Roger Moore as Sir John Baverstock / Gerald Bradley Scott ,
Michael Caine as Daniel Hicklar / Gerald Bradley Scott ,
Sally Kirkland as Willie
Deborah Moore as Flo Fleming

Read what you had to say about Bullseye the film here

This is your opportunity to let Sir Roger, and the rest of the world know just what you think about Bullseye. To do this just click the link below and leave your comments on Sir Roger's official forum which will be transferred shortly to this review page. Please go back there will be in new Sir Roger Moore Film review each month. here

The picture was supplied by Michael Winner specifically for Rog.com, along with some more pictures published online very soon of the film Bullseye. Thank you Mr Winner.

Bullseye is a good comedy caper you could possibly say in the vein of a Carry On film to some degree possibly not to everybody's taste in humour. Taken as such it is an extremely funny film, which in my opinion is only slightly spoilt by being too silly to believe in some places. All the same with two very capable leading actors in Roger Moore and Michael Caine it is well worth watching. Both these gentlemen have an extremely sharp sense of humour working well together.

Sir John Baverstock (Roger) and Daniel Hicklar ( Michael).

Roger gives his best comedy performance duet since The Persuaders (which is still my personal favourite). Roger and Michael play two pairs of characters in the film. Firstly Roger Moore and Michael Caine are initially introduced as a nuclear physicist pairing, Danielle Hicklar (a brash American) and Sir John Baverstock (a smooth talking Englishman), who have just cracked a formula to create inexpensive nuclear fusion energy. Then a little later the actors play two small-time Cockney conmen, Sydney Lipton ( Michael) who has just been released from prison and Gerald Bradley Scott , ( Roger) a smooth operating thief stealing luggage and valuables in hotel car swap ruses all around the world. The two pairs of characters have an uncanny physical likeness to each other. Gerald only has to dye his hair white to look like Baverstock but Sydney needs more work to look like Hicklar. He has to undergo a nose reduction operation and wear a pair of blue contact lenses.

Gerald BradleyScott with white hair(Roger) Daniel Hicklar with the large nose ( Michael), and Willie (Sally Kirkland)

There ensues the comedy with basically the two conmen attempting to portray the two scientists and to steal their formula which could be sold for a vast fortune to the government of another country. There are some excellent comedy routines with Roger obviously enjoying one scene in particular dressing up as an old blind piano tuner from Salzburg who was undercover and being observed he pretends to be trying to feel his way around the flat, whilst in reality he is looking for a key to a safety deposit box.

Roger expressed his delight in this character in his monthly questions and answers on his official forum Here to read.

Old blind piano tuner from Salzburg ( Roger)

Another hilarious scene is a chase scene with Michael and Roger haring around on a motorcycle in a beautiful Scottish village setting. Also in an earlier scene the two conmen have attempted to emulate the body mannerisms of the scientists so Gerald decides to try and test out his character and takes a bet with Sydney that he will be able to go to Baverstock's club and not be detected as a fraud. It turned out not to be a club but a high class brothel and he enjoys telling Sydney on his return. Sydney then without hesitation goes to Hicklar’s club and requests a double session. Unfortunately it is a fitness club and so the very exhausted Sydney staggers home and collapses much to the disgust of Willie and Gerald who believe he's been to a house of disrepute !

Gerald ( Roger) getting ready for his work out !

Throughout the film Michael Caine narrates as the character Sydney and towards the end of the film John Cleese makes a brief appearance on the beach as someone who looks like John Cleese! He cheats the boys out of their money by promising to make a film of their story -a wonderful table turning final.

There are many famous locations used in London such as Wormwood Scrubs prison, Parliament Square, Thomas Good and Son department store in South Audley Street which was doubling as Lacey’s (a few doors down from Eon productions office at the time). Also many locations in beautiful Scotland showing many famous castles, stately homes and gorgeous small villages.

Another key character in into the film is Willie who is actress Sally Kirkland who in the 60s shared a flat with the two Cockney conmen.

Deborah Moore as Flo

Deborah Moore, who is in real life Roger's daughter, plays the character is Flo, who is helping the two conmen towards the end of the film. She turns out to be Willie’s daughter in the film who was conceived at the time when the two conmen shared a flat with Willie in the 60s. The running joke there after is who is real-life father of Flo between the two conmen? It is suggested, because she displays great skill at throwing darts and so does the character Sydney (Michael Caine) she’s more than likely his daughter but in one of the closing scenes Gerald (Roger) raising an eyebrow to the camera and says “I thought she was my daughter!”

So overall Bullseye offers very amusing scenes, action, running jokes, in jokes. There is the full story description of the storyline of Bullseye in Gareth Owen and Oliver Bayan's book, Roger Moore and His Films and Career. Here for details of the book on Amazon.

This book contains Sir Roger Moore's biography and then in the second section of the book Gareth's full listing and description of story line and production details on all of Sir Roger's films and television programmes. Gareth Owen says Bullseye was written by British TV veterans Gran and Marks and Leslie Bricusse, and no doubt due to Michael Winner's collaboration on the story development. Also John Du Prez’s music, which was never released as a soundtrack album is jaunty, light and absolutelybrilliant. It is clearly a case of a gang of friends getting together for 10 weeks of sheer unadulterated fun and what is more they got paid do it. Interestingly the company behind the film 21st-century films was owned by Menaham Golan who also bankrolled The Naked Face.

John Cleese

As with that film, and despite the star pairing of Moore and Caine, Bullseye! received a very small theatrical release and campaign (through a distribution company especially formed for this one film) before its transfer to video, where it performed particularly well. Whilst its humour is not necessarily to all tastes the film is widely regarded as one of Roger's most successful takes on .the genre and- it was very nearly his best too.

If you have watched Bullseye this is your opportunity to read comments on the film on the official Sir Roger Moore forum Here .

If you would like to leave your own comments on the film you simply have to join the forum which only takes a few moments on the homepage. Here

Michael and Roger with director and producer Michael Winner

This is one of my all-time favourite autobiographies because it is highly entertaining and interesting and wonderfully humorous. Michael Winner has worked with some of the all-time famous and powerful actors and actresses global.
Being a top movie director he gets to know these people quite intimately because he works with them on a day to day basis over periods of time during filmmaking and they often became his personal friends, in many cases for life. So you actually get his personal opinion of the true character of the likes of Charles Bronson, Marlon Brando, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Oliver Reed are many more.
There are some hilarious behind the scenes moments during filmmaking this book is an absolute must on entertainment and interest value.

Amazon.co.uk

Film and book review by Alan Davidson

This is your opportunity to let Sir Roger, and the rest of the world know just what you think about Bullseye. To do this just click the link below and leave your comments on Sir Roger's official forum which will be transferred shortly to this review page. Please go back there will be in new Sir Roger Moore Film review each month. here