Charley Varrick

A man, his wife, and their friend, stage a bloody bank robbery, unaware they are stealing money from the Mob. Although not well-known, this film (from noted director Don Siegel) was one of the countless inspirations for Quentin Tarantino, who used a bit of the dialogue in his own "Pulp Fiction". Indeed, the film covers crime in the exciting, entertaining way that Siegel excelled at. Seeing Andrew Robinson (shortly after "Dirty Harry", years before "Hellraiser") is a special treat, as he never seemed to appear in a huge number of films, and rarely in starring roles. Here he is on the same level as Walter Matthau, and this may be among his finest work.

"Charley Varrick" plays like a Richard Stark novel, a classic heist/getaway flick. My eyes were glued to to the screen just watching Walter Matthau work. And he's perfectly at home playing the street-savvy bank robber. Guy's got that disheveled grumpy look to him, and he makes for a sly bad guy. And then John Vernon shows up with his sinister timber, followed soon after by Stetsoned hit-man Joe Don Baker. Seems an odd casting choice, but this is a Don Siegel movie. Things just get better from then on. The junkyard showdown proved to be a nail-biter of an ending, but we always knew Matthau would somehow have the last laugh. It's slickly produced and engaging from start to finish. But with Siegel at the helm, Lalo Schifrin dong the music, and Matthau's assured criminal professionalism, it was bound to be good. 7/10

Charley Varrick (Walter Matthau), his wife Nadine, and accomplices Al Dutcher and Harman Sullivan (Andrew Robinson) rob a small bank in the rural town of Tres Cruces, New Mexico. The cops notice and start asking questions. Nadine shoots two cops killing one. Dutcher is killed. Nadine is wounded. The biggest problem is that they got away with too much money, over $765k in mob money. Nadine dies from the wound. Charley tells Harman to lay low but the young punk is restless. The mob sends hit-man Molly (Joe Don Baker). This is a good bunch of characters in a good thriller. The characters are smartly written. There are some great stunts although the action could be better filmed. There are great car crashes and one memorable plane stunt. It's a very solid smart thriller with Matthau going beyond his comedic roots.