Print Out - rare 1979 drama starring George Baker & Peter Davison

Civil engineering contractor Robert Ballard (George Baker) has used bribes and slush money to buy business for his company. One day he is approached by a young man who shows him a roll of computer print-out paper. On it are the names and addresses of the clients he has bought. The intention is obvious: blackmail. But Ballard is not so easily intimidated. He realises that the computer engineer, Bernard Fermor (David Dixon), is nothing more than the messenger boy. Through an underworld contact, Ballard hires two heavies to tail Fermor and find out who is behind the blackmail attempt. The answer brings him closer to home than he would like. Chief Superintendent Hewlett has his own ideas about the uses to which this evidence can be put. Murder, violence and corruption in high places are the themes of this tautly written thriller which moves to a dramatic and inevitable climax.
Peter Davison appears in an early dramatic role, as Ballard's son-in-law Edwin Styles.
Co-starring
Peter Davison (Doctor Who)
David Dixon (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
John Ringham
Joseph Brady (Z Cars)
Bill Waddington (Percy Sugden - Coronation Street)
Bill Tarmey - (Jack Duckworth - Coronation Street)
Derek Martin (Charlie Slater - Eastenders)
Broadcast 26th May 1979

[@alanhargreaves-thevoiceofr2361]

Great upload ...real British days of 70s . . .cheers !

[@FiveyTristan]

Wow, thank you so much for uploading this rare gem. Love Peter Davison ❤️

[@jamiecartwright5469]

Love the cars and everything else about 1979, even that snowy winter which I can just about remember, even though I was very young. 👍

[@ianmax69]

Mike Morgan's Clarinet/Electronic keyboard score was just so pacey and mood setting...

[@roddyteague6246]

@@ianmax69 Do you mean Mike Moran? He did a lot of theme tunes at this time & had lost The 1978 Eurovision Song Contest (with Lynsey De Paul) after some slippery voting.....

[@boilerroombob]

Proper actors.... proper directors.....great writing ....sadly creativity in writing now a thing of the past.

[@5gx673]

I agree. That racquetball scene though 🙄

[@ianmax69]

Great backing track too...

[@E-Kat]

8:30 that dinner part should have been redone till it's better. That lady's not very good at her profession.

[@FunnyBunny-pd5xx]

It maybe be missing from The BBC and ITV but not missing from films/ series available on certain streaming services.

[@iant9461]

And great soundtrack.

[@moggridge1]

I met George Baker several times - only when out and about. He seemed like a very nice gentleman.

[@HookBeak_66]

I met George in the village where he lived, I was his wine waiter at Dial House. Met him later in the pub opposite, at 70 he's just finished a walk for charity. He nursed his wife, & ended up in the same nursing home. He was almost chosen as James Bond. I felt privileged to make his acquaintance.

[@johndrake2729]

Outstanding, man, loved it! Got a who's who here with Baker, Davison, Dixon, Martin, and others all playing their parts to perfection. I wonder why I have never heard of this film. Doesn't matter, I'm impressed. Worth watching again and again. And the music was fantastic to something that represented the late 70's well. Great companion piece to The Professionals, in my opinion.

[@TT-xy2dz]

A bloody good play, and what a lot of well-known faces!

[@dubliners0999]

So interesting. Thanks so much for uploading! So rare that I couldn't even find it on IMDB.

[@newsbender]

It is on there.

[@angelacooper2661]

Doctor Who and Inspector Reg Wexford. I had never heard of this programme!

[@SunburntHands]

And Ford Prefect!

[@ianmax69]

And who has pinched The Chief Supers Terry's Chocolate Orange ? 😆

[@johndrake2729]

Me, neither!

[@tycotrains]

I spent my first winter in Germany in 1979 while in the US Army. Hard to believe it's been 45 years

[@user-vj6op6zi2n]

George Baker another actor who was very good at regional accents.

[@tylerhamilton-nz8qs]

6 ft 4 ( in shoes) George Baker came close to playing James Bond. Roger Moore had the best look but was like a string bean next to bigger framed Baker!

[@EdVanMeyer]

Derek Martin is a great actor, was in Law and Order 1978, super performance

[@harry2.01]

King and Castle, another great series.

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Also in eastenders and eldorado later on too.

[@patsyhowse1919]

Brilliant upload, thank you' I'm obsessed with 70s and 80s stuff as u find it comforting (I'm an 80s kid). Will go through tour other vids too' I'll waste half a day watching your vids hahaha

[@ulsdon7]

Nice to see Bill Waddington in another role other Percy Sugden in Coronation Street.

[@ianmax69]

And Bill Tarmey before he sellotaped his specs together !!

[@roddyteague6246]

Enjoyed this Regional Telly knocked out some absolute corkers back in the day. Also intetesting to see that people were having clutchers in The Death Chamber all those years ago......

[@bowernerkristiansen82]

I really felt like I was back in the 1970s while watching this TV drama. From the sway in the trousers to the men's long hair. Not to mention the excellent background music. You can't avoid George Baker either, who plays the hardboiled businessman with charisma and style maneuvering in a minefield of intrigue and questionable affairs. A really good experience.

[@HookBeak_66]

Eloquently written.

[@davelawday6609]

That was brilliant thank you ❤

[@newsbender]

This was really good, thanks for uploading.

[@mariusstrydom316]

Great watch!

[@user-pd9yb6hd8i]

Excellent drama!

[@karensealy9782]

Thankyou 🎉

[@harrysynnott2379]

Love it. Subbed and belled. Cheers, Harry.

[@bertspeggly4428]

Dempsey made me laugh - he looked like one of Harry Enfield's "Scousers"!

[@liamphillips7315]

Have to agree with all the other comments about how well-written and acted this is. Is this the equivalent of the American 'ABC Movie of the Week' and such? Was there a regular flow of made-for-TV movies like this? And thanks for the upload 👍

[@Spectrescup]

Until the mid-90's both the BBC and ITV would regularly produce programmes in this vein, until the relative expensive compared to reality TV or cooking shows made them a rarity. They weren't considered, or described, as 'TV movies' but rather 'plays'. Check out the long-running BBC series Play for Today, the majority of which on youtube have ironically been uploaded by an American.

[@liamphillips7315]

@@Spectrescup Wow! Thank you for pointing the way to this treasure trove of programs! Very much appreciated 👍

[@YumchaGirl]

@@SpectrescupI love Play for Today. Kisses at Fifty is my favourite so far.

[@5gx673]

This was fun

[@monnie1027]

Great movie

[@susannah-cq8he]

Good

[@maccoll3644]

Great entertainment and excellent plot! Thank you.

[@Logan_Woods-zd2zi]

oh...a comedy

[@marybradley7791]

I enjoyed that drama. Jim Davidson was in a BBC 2 drama called Anna of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennet. I would really like to see it again but i cannot find a copy on dvd or on the internet, maybe you can.

[@martinholmes-ue9ko]

PETER DAVISON

[@lewisgreen1633]

Peter Davison was excellent as Chalkie - he nailed that character..

[@MrTang-qo9wm]

Who was the soprano saxophone? Sounds a very American guy.

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

George baker had been in the prisoner and of course later in the wexford series on itv then.

[@elizabethmoriarty1661]

Don’t forget I Claudius!

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

@@elizabethmoriarty1661 indeed so too.

[@bradz007]

Bobby knutt red tracksuit grandad from benidorm 😂

[@angelacooper2661]

Stanley in Summer Wine. He also starred in How We Used To Live!

[@user-vj6op6zi2n]

​@@angelacooper2661Yeah him and Dennis Blanche.

[@E-Kat]

It was made on zero budget, I think. Definitely it looks like it. 😊

[@nkt1]

It appears to have been made with care though. For example, the windows in George Baker’s office match the exterior shot.

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

John Ringham (Everything)

[@robertshows5100]

Davison is just sexy

[@amarokingtelly]

Agreed...he was on his 20s here.

[@ria1636]

@@amarokingtelly In his 20's and played a despicable character.

[@paddymchale4074]

Does anyone know why none of it’s existence or the actors credited are on IMDb or Wikipedia

[@GalootWrangler]

Found the show on imdb as a 1979 episode of ITV Playhouse, “Print Out,” which in turn provides links to the actors. Wikipedia has entries on a number of the actors - don’t know why they didn’t turn up for you.

[@paddymchale4074]

Cheers mate thought I was going mad by the way check out a similar rarity Father’s Day

[@karinvantubbergh3418]

Don't like the ending.

[@robertboyle2573]

Me too.

[@adamhughes4442]

Few actors here who went onto Coronation Street and Eastenders. Percy Sugden and little Mo's father. And Gay man from The Full Monty.

[@iant9461]

You mean Steve Huison, the redheaded one that played Eddie Windass in Coronation Street?

[@adamhughes4442]

@@iant9461 Yes. Bill Tarmy spotted too , he played Terry Duckworth in Coronation Street.

[@iant9461]

Terry Duckworth was placed by Nigel Pivaro. William Tarmey who played Jack Duckworth seems to be listed but I didn’t see him at all. Back then he was a background actor and had yet to make his break. As for Steve Huison, couldn’t see him either. He became active in 1986. Perhaps I’m not spotting them? If you could let me know the exact time they appear on the screen.

[@adamhughes4442]

@@iant9461 I know. Mistake.

[@gedtoon6451]

what is an asf spanner?

[@coopdivi]

ASF = American Standard Fine, forerunner of BSF, and one of numerous spanner size standards e.g. AF, BSW, BSF, SAE, Metric, UNC, BA, UNF, etc.

[@johncrichton4341]

Is this ...like a... knock-off / spinoff from The Sweeney?

[@johncrichton4341]

Because @20:31 there is Jack Regans driver.

[@darryllharden9141]

Incidentally John Ringham and George Baker were in a way reunited in this drama years after the First episode of Some Mothers Do Ave Em.

[@angelacooper2661]

​@@darryllharden9141Wasn't John Ringham originally in Dad's Army?

[@darryllharden9141]

@@angelacooper2661 Yes!. he was in 5 episodes according to IMDB listings. And also as series regular Norman Warrender,Penny's Dad in 'Just Good Friends' and Mr.Blocker The Headmaster in 'Woof!.'

[@suzysandor3131]

Hard to follow, what is he being blackmailed about?

[@nkt1]

He bribed individuals, no doubt politicians and the like, to award building contracts to his firm. His son-in-law gained access to this information and attempted to blackmail him via a third party.

[@linzisouthernwood482]

I couldnt follow it either

[@dilly1863]

Stupid shallow script with good actors trying to make it interesting!

[@ianmax69]

That could have easily been a 3 hour long 3 parter that with DI Mungo uncovering what's really going on... Typical freemason corruption at the top... But alas Granada TV budgets where a bit tight that year...

[@PM2022]

Another low-resolution British upload....

[@iant9461]

Your point being?

[@PM2022]

@@iant9461 You would learn it if you were addicted to British KZbin uploads.

[@fordprefect.betelguese]

It's David Dixon.... aka Ford prefect... haha.. one of my heros.