The 1970s Crime Season!

Yeah, I'm still doing these, want to make something of it?

Not for the first time, Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker are on board and, thankfully, in a far better and more interesting film than The Killer Elite and Charley Varrick managed to be from earlier in this season.

This one sees Duvall released from prison and immediately in danger from a contract that has been placed on his head from a mob that ran the last bank he robbed. They already got to his brother, but can he get to crime lord Robert Ryan before he kicks the bucket as well? Baker comes along for the ride, along with an unpredictable Karen Black, as…

After seeing Jason Stratham's "Parker," I decided to catch Robert Duvall's take on the character in "The Outfit". Although named Macklin instead of Parker (for legal reasons), the author of the Parker novels, Donald Westlake, always thought Duvall's portrayal was the closest to capturing the essence the character.

John Boorman's "Point Blank" is the best Parker-inspired film, but "The Outfit" is the grittiest, most naturalistic adaptation from Westlake's series. It is loaded with familiar noir/crime character actors: Robert Ryan, Marie Windsor, Jane Greer, Elisha Cook, Jr. (Wilmer from "The Maltese Falcon"), and the phenomenal Timothy Carey. Then you've got '70's cinema stalwarts like Richard Jaeckel, chesty Sheree North, Joe Don Baker, and Karen Black.

Robert Duvall establishes himself as a…

John Flynn gets the job done with style to spare in yet another forgotten great of 70s crime cinema, not anywhere near as cool John Boorman's take on the Parker character but still gritty as all hell.

Robert Duvall is good as a stonefaced son of a bitch with his eyes on revenge. He's not a hero but he's a classic noir protagonist driven on by an existential urge to see things through to the end despite the almost certain odds that he won't come out the other end alive. Joe Don Baker as his sidekick, his unique line delivery alone makes him a worthwhile presence in any movie but he's here for a reason and he does real good.…

After seeing Jason Stratham's "Parker," I decided to catch Robert Duvall's take on the character in "The Outfit". Although named Macklin instead of Parker (for legal reasons), the author of the Parker novels, Donald Westlake, always thought Duvall's portrayal was the closest to capturing the essence the character.

John Boorman's "Point Blank" is the best Parker-inspired film, but "The Outfit" is the grittiest, most naturalistic adaptation from Westlake's series. It is loaded with familiar noir/crime character actors: Robert Ryan, Marie Windsor, Jane Greer, Elisha Cook, Jr. (Wilmer from "The Maltese Falcon"), and the phenomenal Timothy Carey. Then you've got '70's cinema stalwarts like Richard Jaeckel, chesty Sheree North, Joe Don Baker, and Karen Black.

Robert Duvall establishes himself as a…

above average 70s crime boiler. standout performances from Duvall and Baker. great direction & writing from John Flynn, tapping into the best elements of Richard Stark's organize crime world, and fulfilling the expectations of the genre, headlined in this time period by the likes of Don Siegel. but Flynn makes his mark, creating a great friendship in Duvall & Baker (something he'd do again with his leads in "Rolling Thunder"). they move through the story with surgical precision, knocking over mob collectors and cutting through henchmen like butter. great holdovers from the heyday of noir include Tim Carey, Elisha Cook and Robert Ryan, among other featured cameos. this feels like the legitimate offspring of those hard-boiled films of the 40s/50s. smart: the…

John Flynn gets the job done with style to spare in yet another forgotten great of 70s crime cinema, not anywhere near as cool John Boorman's take on the Parker character but still gritty as all hell.

Robert Duvall is good as a stonefaced son of a bitch with his eyes on revenge. He's not a hero but he's a classic noir protagonist driven on by an existential urge to see things through to the end despite the almost certain odds that he won't come out the other end alive. Joe Don Baker as his sidekick, his unique line delivery alone makes him a worthwhile presence in any movie but he's here for a reason and he does real good.…

The 1970s Crime Season!

Yeah, I'm still doing these, want to make something of it?

Not for the first time, Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker are on board and, thankfully, in a far better and more interesting film than The Killer Elite and Charley Varrick managed to be from earlier in this season.

This one sees Duvall released from prison and immediately in danger from a contract that has been placed on his head from a mob that ran the last bank he robbed. They already got to his brother, but can he get to crime lord Robert Ryan before he kicks the bucket as well? Baker comes along for the ride, along with an unpredictable Karen Black, as…

A stripped-down version of Donald E. Westlake's novel (under the pseudonym Richard Stark) preserves the storyline and the charisma Westlake imbued in his characters.

Robert Duvall plays the Walker character this time, Earl Macklin, in a performance that makes you wish this had spawned a series of adaptations. He plays the hardass criminal with a code of conduct that seems agreed-upon by others in his social layer of professional criminals. It's when those standards get violated that he goes into action, smooth, smart and violent.

The movie starts with Macklin's brother getting killed for a bank robber committed three years before; the bank was a front for The Outfit, an organized crime syndicate overseen by Robert Ryan. Aided by Joe…