Synopsis
"We've got a bit of business," says London East End crime boss Vic Dakin. Extortion, protection -- those are Dakin's rackets. But he's heard of a new job, and it'll be a big payday if he pulls it off. Dakin and his crew plan to heist a factory payroll transported in an unarmored car. Weeks after Michael Caine's Get Carter came Villain, another cold-blooded tale of British crime. Richard Burton stars as Dakin, devoted to his ailing Ma, relentless in the fear he inflicts throughout his turf and engaged in a violent sexual relationship with a henchman (Ian McShane, decades before he was Deadwood's Al Swearengen). When the payroll heist goes bloodily awry, Dakin attempts to hide his involvement and regain the loot that was left with a gang member. But his tactics of fear and brutality may no longer be working. Because someone else has a bit of business in the East End: law officer Bob Matthews (Nigel Davenport) is closing in on Dakin.