Country: United States
Genre: Drama/Action
Director: Don Siegel
Year: 1973
Rating: 
TRASH CINEMA HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOVIE
Director Don Siegel was on a roll in the 70s. His last three pictures before Charley Varrick were Dirty Harry, Beguiled, and Two Mules For Sister Sara, all starring Clint Eastwood. For me, it’s a toss up whether Dirty Harry or Charley Varrick is the better picture.
The opening sequence sets the tone. It’s a robbery of a small town bank and it doesn’t turn out very well. There are casualties on both sides of the law. The violence and emotions are ugly and raw.
Charley Varrick (Walter Matthau) accepts what would seem like a disastrous outcome with relative equanimity, until he finds out that their haul is way too large for such a small bank, which can mean only one thing — it’s mob money.
Varrick’s one surviving colleague, Harman Sullivan (Andrew Robinson) doesn’t seem to realize the gravity of the situation.
Meanwhile, Molly, a mob fixer, is on the on the trail of the bank robbers. Joe Don Baker plays him as an unstoppable force, toying sadistically with his victims like mice.
What the heck is Charley Varrick going to do? He can’t just disappear with the money. The mob will never stop tracking him. Watching the wheels turn as Charley plans how to outmaneuver Molly and the mob makes for an entertaining movie.
Walter Matthau makes for a fascinating anti-hero. He’s not a very nice guy, he doesn’t have the leading man looks we’re accustomed to seeing, but you have to admire his smarts and grace under pressure.
On the other hand, Harman is a complete tool. He makes grossly insensitive comments about his departed colleagues moments after they expire, is ready to kill at the drop of a hat, and isn’t too bright in the bargain. It’s another wonderful performance by Andy Robinson, who so memorably played the psychotic sniper in Dirty Harry.
The whole thing comes down to a showdown at a vehicle junkyard involving a doublecross, a car, and a small biplane. If the ending of Charley Varrick doesn’t surprise and delight you, you’re smarter than me.
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