This one was a surprise!
It's a fully fledged 70s film, some of the scenes would never appear in a film these days, especially Joe Don Baker turning a woman on by slapping her over the face, totally unmotivated. Then again, he hits everyone and everything here.
It's really a two man movie, with Baker and Matthau carrying the other actors.
Keeps the suspence and action going up to a fantastic finale.

One oddity kept bugging me though; Matthau is a stud?!

#5 on the December Project

I took a break from movies this afternoon to watch a bit of football, which gave me sufficient time to think about the evenings entertainment. This had been on my watchlist for quite some time. I love me some Don Siegel and he made this right after Dirty Harry.

Its totally badass. Joe Don Baker punching and slapping his way through the 1970s like it owes him money. The stunts are terrific for the time and all the performances work for me. All round win. Best film of the December festival thus far.

One of the best forgotten gems out there that you've never seen and probably never heard of.

Hard boiled bank robbery & mob yarn. Some of the best filmmaking from the Don Siegel camp. One of the best crime movies of the 70s. On par with The Friends of Eddie Coyle. They don't make movies like this anymore. Walter Matthau is typically amazing, mixing his lighthearted charisma with dangerous seriousness.

Gritty crime thriller that could have only been made in the seventies. Great cast and characters as well as a clever script (albeit occasionally predictable for seasoned fans of the genre) make this one worth a watch.

Walter (playing it deadpan without laughs) is pretty terrific in this under appreciated 70's robbery-gone-awry flick. I think this is actually a much better film than Don Siegel's own Dirty Harry which came out two years before.

Tough, efficient little thriller but one which leaves a nasty taste in the mouth due to the thoroughly unlikeable cast of characters (protagonist included) and rampant misogyny throughout.

Humdrum crime yarn opens with exciting bank robbery sequence then takes forever to set up spectacular final chase between a car and a biplane. Matthau was unenthusiastic about the whole thing and it shows.

Ah, the seventies. When ten dollars cold get you a box of dynamite and blasting caps from your local hardware store and Walter Matthau was a leading man who shot love scenes with much younger women. Is this a crime comedy? It feels that way bail two cops and a bank security guard die and Charley's wife's body is disposed of with black powder and gasoline.

But this is a Don Seigel movie. That means its filled with character actors and the story is full of holes. But it has Joe Don Baker playing a sociopathic hitman. And any movie with Joe Don Baker is worth an immediate two stars. Tarantino must have liked it. He takes a line from it for Marcellus Wallace to say in Pulp Fiction. You know it, it's the one about pliers and blow torches.

Crazy movie.

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Hard boiled bank robbery & mob yarn. Some of the best filmmaking from the Don Siegel camp. One of the best crime movies of the 70s. On par with The Friends of Eddie Coyle. They don't make movies like this anymore. Walter Matthau is typically amazing, mixing his lighthearted charisma with dangerous seriousness.

Bank robber Walter Matthau inadvertently steals mafia money that's being laundered and is now on the run from hitman Joe Don Baker. If that doesn't sell the movie to you, I have no idea how you and I are the same species.

Gritty crime thriller that could have only been made in the seventies. Great cast and characters as well as a clever script (albeit occasionally predictable for seasoned fans of the genre) make this one worth a watch.

Pretty damn good flick, not surprising considering the cast.