--- name: "Troy Kennedy Martin" canonical: "https://film.one/person/troy-kennedy-martin" fi1m_id: "troy-kennedy-martin" imdb_id: "nm0448392" tmdb_id: 58152 wikidata_id: "Q963136" roles: ["Writer"] born: "15 February 1932" died: "15 September 2009" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 78 average_as: "writer" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-07T04:29:10.315392+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Troy Kennedy Martin ## Identity Troy Kennedy Martin - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/troy-kennedy-martin - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** troy-kennedy-martin - **IMDb ID:** nm0448392 - **TMDB ID:** 58152 - **Wikidata ID:** Q963136 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Kennedy_Martin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q963136, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0448392/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/58152 Writer. Born 15 February 1932 in Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland, UK. Died 15 September 2009. ## Details - **Work:** Writer - **Born:** 15 February 1932, Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland, UK - **Died:** 15 September 2009 - **Active:** 1962–2023 - **Frequently works with:** [Allan Prior](https://film.one/person/allan-prior.md), [Bill Hays](https://film.one/person/bill-hays.md), [Douglas Camfield](https://film.one/person/douglas-camfield.md), Gareth Davies, John Elliot, Rudolph Cartier - **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as writer, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 84 (1), 1980s 88 (1), 2000s 70 (1), 2020s 70 (1) - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Crime 3, Drama 3, Action 1, Action & Adventure 1, History 1 - **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $215m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Kennedy_Martin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q963136, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0448392/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/58152 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*The Sweeney*](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) (84) - **Netflix:** [*Ferrari*](https://film.one/film/ferrari.md) (70) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Troy Kennedy Martin > Troy Kennedy Martin gave police dramas flawed officers and conspiracy thrillers people worth worrying about. We rate him most highly when the characters remain clear, even as the dangers grow strange; *Edge of Darkness* is the place to start. In *Edge of Darkness* (1985), Bob Peck makes the dangers of a nuclear thriller feel painfully personal. Kennedy Martin gives him more to do than explain the conspiracy, while Joe Don Baker brings welcome pleasure to the acting as Darius Jedburgh. We were grateful for Baker’s presence, because his enjoyment of the part stopped the seriousness becoming oppressive. Both performances benefit from writing that cares about people beyond their usefulness to the plot. Kennedy Martin had already helped change what a television policeman could be. As creator and writer of *Z-Cars* (1962), he brought flawed officers into a more realistic police drama. Feature films followed with *The Italian Job* (1969) and *Kelly’s Heroes* (1970). His taste for action and humour went with an interest in television that moved and relied less on dialogue, an ambition that makes the talkier stretches of his later work particularly disappointing. His credits on *The Sweeney* (1975) were as a writer; Ian Kennedy Martin, his brother, created the series. John Thaw and Dennis Waterman make its rule-breaking detectives forceful and funny, while the drab London locations keep their aggression uncomfortably close to ordinary life. It remains gripping television, with a caveat: its pleasure in the detectives too often excuses how they behave. The return to television brought *Reilly: Ace of Spies* (1983), then the six-part *Edge of Darkness*. Director Martin Campbell keeps the crime story gripping while giving Kennedy Martin’s stranger ideas room to unsettle us. The writing is less dependable when it leaves us struggling to understand why an unanswered question matters. Some passages demand more interpretative work than they repay, and the cast should not have to compensate for writing that could have been clearer. Michael Mann’s *Ferrari* (2023) has a different problem. Men explain manufacturers and balance sheets in wood-panelled offices, while Shailene Woodley’s Lina is left with little beyond patient hurt. The drivers barely get a distinguishing feature each, which is thin provision from a writer capable of giving thriller characters such life. The road sequences and Penélope Cruz make the film worth an evening, but the middle hour is weighed down by explanations. Start with *Edge of Darkness*, and do not assume every moment of confusion is your fault. ## Biography Troy Kennedy Martin (15 February 1932 – 15 September 2009) was a Scottish screenwriter for film and television. Born in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, he attended Trinity College Dublin. He created the BBC police series Z-Cars (1962–1978), writing the first episodes and returning for the final one, and contributed to series including The Sweeney and Reilly, Ace of Spies. His film screenplays include The Italian Job (1969), Kelly's Heroes (1970) and Red Heat (1988). He wrote the 1985 BBC serial Edge of Darkness, an award-winning anti-nuclear thriller. His screenplay for the biographical film Ferrari (2023), based on a book by Brock Yates, was completed before his death and later directed by Michael Mann. *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Ferrari* (2023), Fi1m 70, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/ferrari.md) - *The Italian Job* (2003), Fi1m 70, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-italian-job-2003.md) - *Edge of Darkness* (1985), Fi1m 88, Screenplay, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/edge-of-darkness.md) - *The Sweeney* (1975), Fi1m 84, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) ## Complete filmography (33) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Ferrari* (2023), Writer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/ferrari.md) - *Red Dust* (2004), Writer - *The Italian Job* (2003), Original Film Writer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-italian-job-2003.md) - *Bravo Two Zero* (1999), Screenplay - *Hostile Waters* (1997), Writer - *Red Heat* (1988), Screenplay - *Edge of Darkness* (1985), series, Screenplay, Creator — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/edge-of-darkness.md) - *The Old Men at the Zoo* (1983), series, Writer - *Reilly: Ace of Spies* (1983), series, Writer, Teleplay, Creator - *The Terminal Game* (1982), Thanks - *Fear of God* (1980), Writer - *Sweeney 2* (1978), Writer - *Second Verdict* (1976), series, Creator - *The Sweeney* (1975), series, Writer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md) - *Fall of Eagles* (1974), series, Writer - *Jack the Ripper* (1973), series, Creator - *The Jerusalem File* (1972), Writer - *Barlow* (1971), series, Creator - *If It Moves, File It* (1970), series, Writer - *Kelly's Heroes* (1970), Screenplay - *The Italian Job* (1969), Writer - *Softly, Softly* (1966), series, Creator - *The Midas Plague* (1965), Adaptation - *Out of the Unknown* (1965), series, Writer - *The Pistol* (1965), Adaptation - *The Man Without Papers* (1965), Writer - *Six* (1964), series, Writer - *Redcap* (1964), series, Writer - *The Wednesday Play* (1964), series, Writer - *Diary of a Young Man* (1964), series, Writer - *Z-Cars* (1962), series, Writer, Creator - *The Traitor* (1959), Adaptation - *ITV Play of the Week* (1955), series, Adaptation --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/troy-kennedy-martin