The Black Panther (1977 film)

The Black Panther is a 1977 British film in the crime and thriller genres directed by Ian Merrick, his first feature, starring Donald Sumpter, Debbie Farrington and Marjorie Yates. Based on the Donald Neilson case, an ex soldier turned armed robber kidnaps Lesley Whittle, a teenage heiress who died during the incident. The primary cause was because the police leaked the ransom pick up point to the press, which caused the bungling of the money exchange, that directly led to her death.

Subsequently the director was vilified on the Tonight program, the most popular news show in the UK with 14 million viewers, when Sue Lawley, the interviewer said: "Ive seen the film and I think its sick" when she hadn't. She couldn't have, as no screening print was given to her. See quote of John Paterson from the Guardian newspaper review below.

This was verified from primary sources, such as The Guardian, and screenwriter Michael Armstrong. Quote from John Patterson article in the Guardian: "Sue Lawley went after director Ian Merrick on the Tonight programme, accusing him of having made a "sick" movie, despite not having seen an inch of the film herself. (I remember watching that programme myself, and I've despised Lawley ever since.) See full article below.

Subsequently the film was banned and the EMI 300 screen cinema release cancelled, but in June 2012, John Patterson for The Guardian commented on its BFI, DVD and Blu-ray release that it "emerges as a meticulous, tactful, well made and highly responsible true crime movie".http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/jun/06/the-black-panther-donald-neilson

In 2012, the film was remastered, and resurrected into the British Film Institute Archives and Hall of Fame, as an important and remarkable British film to rave reviews. It also reached #10 on their sales list. François Guerif, France’s leading film critic called it a "a masterpiece" in 2015, when he reviewed the film for the Beaune Film Festival.

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Wikipedia