Archive for M
Charles Bronson as The Mechanic – 1972 – Movie Review
Fifteen minutes into the movie and you haven’t heard anyone say anything.
Charles Bronson with a really bad haircut is Arthur Bishop, a hit man, also known as a mechanic. He fixes problems. Bishop works for an unnamed organization. He is extremely methodical in getting to know all about his mark making his hits look like accidents or natural causes. He is alone. In fact, one scene with his “girlfriend” only emphasizes how alone he is. And he lives in a really cool house. In his spare time Bishop practices fighting skills and studies a painting that looks like something from Hieronymus Bosch.
At the funeral of a friend he has just killed, he meets up with Steve McKenna (Jan-Michael Vincent), a guy with apparently no conscience whatsoever. Steve also happens to be the son of the man he killed. Bishop decides it would be good to train this kid so he could have back up, maybe a partner, and someone to pass the job onto. Vincent plays a narcissist very believably.
There is a discussion after watching a karate meet. In a karate meet there isn’t any contact because then someone would die, “and that’s against the law.” Bishop says that everyone is a killer; the mafia, the military, governments. You can get away with it depending on who’s playbook you are using. When Steve asks if the Japanese karate master is a killer, Bishop replies no, the rules are what’s important to him.
Unfortunately, Bishop didn’t realize he needed permission from his organization to bring someone in. This puts his own life in danger. He had thought he was more freelance than he was. Their playbook is the one he is playing by when he had thought he was using his own.
Bishop flips a switch and the wall opens to this corkboard where he hangs his info on his mark
While generally a slow movie, it is not boring. Well paced with some actions scenes – a motorcycle chase is especially fun – The Mechanic is not really an action movie, it’s not quite deep enough for a character study, so let’s call it a tension movie. Besides, super-cool Charles Bronson is a hit man, what’s not to like?
The Mechanic, directed by Michael Winner. Written by Lewis John Carlino. Starring Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent. 1972. 100 minutes.
Murder, My Sweet Movie Review (1944)
If you like private-eye-speak then you will love Murder, My Sweet. The look and feel is very different than The Big Sleep with the same private-eye, Philip Marlow, but no Humphrey Bogart or Howard Hawks. However, this 1944 film noir is very good. Dick Powell, known for his work in musicals plays a very believable Marlow. Based on the book Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. However, that title could be confused with a musical, and the studio didn’t want Dick Powell’s fans to get confused. Can you blame them? The fabulous Claire Trevor plays a gold-digger.
The movie opens with a blinded Marlow telling the police his story (he gets man-handled several times), then we drift into flashback which gives ample opportunity for noir-ese slang-filled voice-over. Many people don’t like voice-over, but in Murder, My Sweet it really adds to the film. Marlow is hired by a giant of a man with a small brain called Moose to find a gal he knew 8 years ago. As Marlow is out looking for the girl, he is hired for another case, just for one night, to protect a guy making a payment to get some stolen jewels back for a “lady friend.” That draws him into a murder case where he is a suspect and then he finds Moose working for the probable jewel thief. You knew that both cases would get mixed up didn’t you? So, after a few more deaths Marlow clears himself and tells the police the whole story. Murder, My Sweet is a pretty good mystery that is fairly complex with a number of characters involved.
Highly recommended for film noir fans.
Murder, My Sweet. Directed by Edward Dmytryk, written by John Paxton from the novel by Raymond Chandler, starring Dick Powell and Claire Trevor.
LP Cover Lover
RetroSpace