christopher-underwood
I had high hopes for this, on the basis of various claims as to its quirky black humour, but began to tire of it pretty early on. Its just not funny enough and often ends up just seeming silly. A big problem for me was the very low key performance from Richard Harris and the fact that with his weir hairdo and glasses looked like Woody Allen. That in itself needn't have been a problem but Harris just didn't seem to be able to indicate for us whether something was meant to be serious, poignant or just a joke. bothering me all the time was the fact that Woody allen, on the other hand, would have been very able to do this. There are some decent sequences but despite the lovely pop art credits, this seemed to go downhill very quickly. I note that Harris married his co- star afterwards, maybe his attention had been elsewhere all the time.
Woodyanders
Shrewd ace hit-man Harry Crown (Richard Harris in fine cool form) gets hired by top mobster Uncle Frank Kelly (the excellent Edmond O'Brien) to bump off his ruthless rival Big Eddie (a deliciously broad portrayal by Bradford Dillman). However, Big Eddie retaliates by unleashing his brutish enforcer Marvin "Claw" Zuckerman (neatly essayed with menacing relish by Chuck Connors) on Harry. Director John Frankenheimer, working from a quirky and imaginative script by Robert Dillon, relates the zany story at a snappy pace, expertly mines an amusing line in dark, yet campy and playful deadpan humor, stages the exciting car chases and shoot outs with his customary skill and flair, maintains a cheerfully twisted screwball sensibility throughout, and delivers lots of striking oddball visuals that include giant alligators in the city sewers and corpses in cement shoes littering the bottom of the sea. Moreover, the cast attack the kooky material with lip-smacking zest: Harris, O'Brien, Dillman, and Connors have a field day with their colorful parts, with sturdy support from the gorgeous Ann Turkel as Harry's loyal and sultry school teacher girlfriend Buffy, David Hall as nice and eager novice button man Tony, Katherine Baumann as the sweet and adorable Baby, and Janice Heiden as Uncle Frank's luscious two-timing moll Clara. Ralph Woolsey's sharp cinematography gives the picture a funky stylized pop art look. Henry Mancini's groovy swinging score hits the right-on jaunty spot. A very enjoyable and interesting one-of-a-kind oddity.
tejanaZ
I suspect that Frankenheimer (who directed some of my all time favorite films) was aiming for a Bond spoof but this one blows up in OUR face ... there's no excuse for it. The movie looks great, the cast is top notch (that is, most of the male cast), the women are gorgeous in a 1970's woman-child kinda way ( ... and riotously BAA-AAD actresses). Coulda been a fun night out if you were bombed on Maui Wowee but I suspect cannabis would've been useless. This is just a Beautiful Mistake. Nothing to recommend it -- unless ---- you're needing costume and hairstyle references for the hipsters ca. 1974. A bomb ... well, more like, 99 and 44/100% DUD.
Nazi_Fighter_David
Basically, the film is the age-old theme of a struggle for power between two rival gangs, one led by Uncle Frank (Edmond O'Brien) and the other by Big Eddie (Bradford Dillman). Uncle Frank hires professional killer Harry Crown (Richard Harris), while Big Eddie sends for Marvin "Claw" Zuckerman (Chuck Connors).People get shot, dynamited, beaten up and blown sky-high
There's a whole bordello full of beautiful gir1s called "Dolly's Incorporated" and plenty of fighting between Harris and Connors
The mixture as before? Well, yes, except that Frankenheimer has tended to film this as a satire on gangsters
The gangster film has changed, because gangsters themselves have changed
Al Capone is long dead
The Godfather, Scarface, The Last Don, The Untouchables have taken his place
Edward G. Robinson has gone and Cagney too
But the gangster film will continue. "Get this, pal it'll kill you." It sure will
AD
