Prime Cut (1972)

Director: Michael Ritchie

Starring: Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Sissy Spacek, Angel Tompkins, Gregory Walcott

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Together they're murder in "Prime Cut"

Plot: A Chicago mob enforcer is sent to Kansas City to settle a debt with a cattle rancher who not only grinds his enemies into sausage, but sells women as sex slaves.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? It's Lee FUCKING Marvin in full-on baddass mode. I have to.

You can look at this movie in two ways. 1) This is a standard by-the-numbers action/crime picture, or 2) This is a standard by-the-numbers action/crime picture WITH GENE HACKMAN AS THE BADASS VILLAIN AND LEE MARVIN AS THE MACHO BADASS THAT'S GOING TO KILL HIM!!! I choose the latter.


Lee Marvin's the man and he proves it time and time again. Now he's got to prove it against Gene Hackman. It's a pissing contest and you know who's going to win. PRIME CUT features a fine performance by Sissy Spacek in her birthday suit, I mean debut role.


The opening credits are fantastic and don't do shit to prepare you for the bloodbath Lee Marvin creates.

Marvin's first scene with Hackman is killer. Seeing these two greats going toe to toe is something to marvel.
























The acting across the board is great and it's got just enough of a budget that you get the star power but with a gritty look that suggests the film makers had to be more creative than usual to get the job done. Fortunately, the costume department had to make cutbacks in underwear.


Having just watched THE ISLAND (1980) directed by this director, Michael Ritchie, I'm going to have to start checking out more of this guy's 1970s output. Between these two pictures alone, I'm hooked. He's the same guy who directed THE BAD NEWS BEARS (1976) and that's one I haven't seen in over thirty years. I'd say it's about time I watched it again.