Point Blank (1967)

After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

Alexander Jacobs (screenplay), David Newhouse (screenplay),

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Marvin	...	Walker
Angie Dickinson	...	Chris
Keenan Wynn	...	Yost
Carroll O'Connor	...	Brewster
Lloyd Bochner	...	Frederick Carter
Michael Strong	...	Big John Stegman
John Vernon	...	Mal Reese
Sharon Acker	...	Lynne
James Sikking	...	Hired Gun
Sandra Warner	...	Waitress
Roberta Haynes	...	Mrs. Carter
Kathleen Freeman	...	Conventioneer
Victor Creatore	...	Carter's Man
Lawrence Hauben	...	Car Salesman
Susan Holloway	...	Girl Customer

Storyline

Based on the theme of the individual pitted against the large, impersonal organization. Here the central character is an old-fashioned loner of a gunman embroiled with a large-scale, corporate criminal operation behind a respectable-looking 'front'. Without delving into psychology or motivation, the film places emphasis on action and surface appearances, superbly capturing the glossy, depersonalized feel of a 1967 Los Angeles--a nightmare landscape of concrete, glass and coiling freeways.

---

Plot Keywords:

money | make amends | deal | set up | falling from a tower | 

---

Taglines:

There are two kinds of people in his up-tight world: his victims and his women. And sometimes you can't tell them apart.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

A quemarropa

Filming Locations:

Fort Point, Presidio, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie and Payback, with Mel Gibson, are both based on the book "Hunter" by Richard Stark.

---

Goofs

The wig worn by Lee Marvin's stunt double during the backstage fight at The Movie House is noticeably different than Marvin's hair.

---

Quotes

Brewster: You're a very bad man, Walker, a very destructive man! Why do you run around doing things like this?
Walker: I want my money. I want my $93,000.
Brewster: $93,000? You threaten a financial structure like this for $93,000? No, Walker, I don't believe you. What do you really want?
Walker: I - I really want my money.
Brewster: Well, I'm not going to give you any money and nobody else is. Don't you understand that?
Walker: Who runs things?
Brewster: Carter and I run things. I run things.
Walker: What about Fairfax? Will he pay me?
Brewster: Fairfax is a man who signs ...
[...]

---

Connections

Featured in Lionpower from MGM (1967)

---

Soundtracks

"Mighty Good Times"
by Stu Gardner
sung by The Stu Gardner Trio

User Reviews

Raw, Lyrical, and Bullets

Point Blank kind of came and went in theaters but I can't imagine anyone who saw it in 1967 left forgetting John Boorman's tough and beautiful film. A simple story told in a very stylish and, at times, surreal manner. Though the storyline is a variation on "revenge" themes, it is Boorman's images that open it up and find pay-dirt. Images of Lee Marvin emptying his pistol in slow motion, the sound of footsteps over a string of pictures that curdle the mind, and the seemingly limitless use of rawness perfectly realized in the action and performance by Marvin and,interestingly, Angie Dickinson. There is a wonderful conflict between the primal Marvin and the Corporate Crime world which he cannot understand. Marvin knows survival of the fittest- not the richest. It's hypnotic and aggressive. Boorman balances perfectly on the line between the two.