McVicar (film)

McVicar
Film poster
Directed by	Tom Clegg
Produced by	Roy Baird Bill Curbishley Roger Daltrey
Written by	John McVicar Tom Clegg
Starring	Roger Daltrey Adam Faith Cheryl Campbell
Music by	Roger Daltrey Various Artists
Edited by	Peter Boyle
Production company	The Who Films Polytel
Distributed by	Brent Walker PLC (UK) Crown International Pictures (USA) Universal Pictures (2004, DVD)
Release date	August 1980 (1980-08)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

McVicar is a British drama film released in 1980 by The Who Films, Ltd., starring Roger Daltrey of the Who in the title role of John McVicar.

John McVicar was a 1960s armed robber turned writer whom Scotland Yard publicly announced to be Public Enemy Number One and "wanted dead or alive". The film was directed by Tom Clegg, and was based on the non-fiction book McVicar by Himself, which John McVicar wrote to describe several months of his experiences in prison. Bill Curbishley and Roy Baird acted as producers, and the film received a nomination in 1981 for Best Picture at MystFest, the International Mystery Film Festival of Cattolica.

The film is set in two halves, the first in Durham prison and the second half whilst McVicar is on the run in London. The first half of the film focuses on relations between the prison officers and inmates and also McVicar's plotting and eventual prison escape.

Roger Daltrey, (the lead singer of the British rock group, the Who) and ‘60s pop star and actor Adam Faith play the two lead roles of John McVicar and Walter Probyn respectively. The supporting cast includes Billy Murray, Brian Hall, Steven Berkoff, Georgina Hale, and Cheryl Campbell as Sheila McVicar.

The latter half of the film is set in London after McVicar has escaped from Durham. Here he re-establishes relationships with his wife and young son and he eventually decides to try to escape from his life of crime by trying to fund a new life in Canada.