The Innocent Bystanders - Espionage, Great Britain, 1972

[Harvey Chartrand]

Welles pulled out of Peter Collinson's The Innocent Bystanders (1972), which I hear is an excellent espionage drama. Great cast — Stanley Baker, Geraldine Chaplin, Donald Pleasence, Vladek Sheybal, Dana Andrews, Ferdy Mayne and Aharon Ipalé. Script by James Mitchell, who wrote the screenplay for the very suspenseful spy thriller Callan (1974), starring Edward Woodward. Has anyone seen The Innocent Bystanders? It never shows up on TV in Canada. Nor is it available on video. Methinks Welles should have stuck with The Innocent Bystanders and turned down Necromancy (1972), probably his all-time worst film.