Taps

About a group of American cadets who take over their military college by force when they learn it is to be sold as real estate, this proved to be a freak success in America. Written off from scratch by industry insiders, including 'Variety', with even Fox itself evidently holding out no hopes, it nevertheless became a top box-office grosser, offering an intriguing reflection of America's military anxieties at the time. Hutton is highly effective as the senior boy who is so inspired by his school's head (Scott doing a Patton replay) that he mounts a full-scale military operation to repel the police; ultimately, though, a fascinating first hour is drowned in the clichés of siege cinema.