Charley Varrick (1973)

Director: Don Siegel

Starring: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, John Vernon

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: When he runs out of dumb luck he always has genius to fall back on!

Plot: Charley Varrick and his friends rob a small town bank. Expecting a small sum to divide amongst themselves, they are surprised to discover a very large amount of money. Quickly figuring out that the money belongs to the mob, they must now come up with a plan to throw the mob off their trail.

My Rating: 8/10

Would I watch it again? Oh, yeah.

Seeing Matthau as a bad guy, albeit a bad guy that you're rootin' for, is awesome. He plays it cool and smart. He's always one step in front of the law, the mob and the hit man. Hell, he even gets the ladies just like James Bond does. Nice.

I just don't see anything wrong with this movie. It's a great, fun ride. There's plenty of suspense and action. Lots of dark humor and lots of great actors chewing it up and spitting it out. I've never seen Matthau turn in anything short of a marvelous performance in anything. It's just icing on the cake in this picture having him as the bad guy. Then there's John "Double Secret Probation" Vernon. He's always fun and there's a piece of dialogue that stands out. When he's explaining to the bank manager about the consequences of the bank heist and what the mob will do he says, "You know what kind of people they [the mafia] are. They'll strip you naked and go to work on you with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch." Sound familiar? Quentin Tarantino used part of that line in PULP FICTION. Classic.

"I just don't know which girl I want..."

And finally Joe Don Baker is hysterical as the tough-as-nails mob-hired assassin. He just doesn't fuck around. There's one scene in particular where he pops this woman, whom he JUST met, in the chops, after a couple of beats she knows the score, smiles and he closes the door to her bedroom and bangs her. WTF?

"Here, Baker is about to go apeshit on a crippled old man - that's just cool."

It's got a great ending that will leave you very satisfied. I'd be surprised if you've heard of this much less actually seen it. It's out on DVD but it's full frame. I got my copy from Turner Classic Movies a couple of years back in widescreen format. Seek it out. You'll be glad you did. It's worth the search.