The Mechanic (1972)

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Lewis John Carlino (screenplay)
Lewis John Carlino (story)

Release Date:

14 December 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Clean. Fast. Professional.

Plot:

An aging hitman befriends a young man who wants to be a professional killer. Eventually it becomes clear that someone has betrayed them.

Plot Keywords:

Hitman | Elimination | Timebomb | Karate | Car Bomb

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Arthur Bishop
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Steve McKenna
Keenan Wynn	...	Harry McKenna ['Big Harry']
Jill Ireland	...	The Girl
Linda Ridgeway	...	Louise, Steve McKenna's Girlfriend
Frank DeKova	...	The Man
James Davidson	...	Intern
Lindsay Crosby	...	Policeman
Steve Cory	...	Messenger
Tak Kubota	...	Yamoto (as Takayuki Kubota)
Patrick O'Moore	...	Old Man
Martin Gordon	...	American Tourist
Celeste Yarnall	...	The Mark's Girl
Athena Lorde	...	Old Woman
Alison Rose	...	Young Girl

Also Known As:

Killer of Killers

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:15 (1988) (cut) | UK:15 (2004) (uncut) | UK:AA (1972) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | USA:PG (Certificate #23380)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Wax Museum - 6767 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions

Trivia:

Cliff Robertson was originally cast in the lead role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bishop pins up the papers that he gets in the special delivery, he puts the pin in the top middle of the paper. In the next shot, the papers are pinned in both the top left and right corners.

Quotes:

Arthur Bishop: It takes a special kind of person to do that.
Steve McKenna: I can dig it.
Arthur Bishop: You say you can "dig it". But, the fact is that you don't know what you're talking about.
Steve McKenna: You do?
Arthur Bishop: Do I?
Steve McKenna: Interesting. When he's cornered, he answers questions with questions.

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Mechanic (2010)

Charles Bronson Thriller with a wallop of an ending

Fascinating film about the life and lifestyle of a professional hit-man, a Mechanic, and how dangerous that lifestyle can be not just for the person that gets "Hit" but also for the "Hitman" himself. Arthur Bishop, Charles Bronson, is the top "Mechanic" in the business and we see in the beginning of the movie how he does his job.

Getting his orders through the mail Bishop sets up his victim by casing out his hotel room and then planting an explosive in his bookcase and rigging his gas-range to leak slowly so he wouldn't notice. Then wait hidden ,across the street facing his intended victim's room, until the time is right for him to get off a shot. Not at the victim but at the bookcase to make it look like the he died in a tragic accident instead of an assassins bullet.

You see this all happening in the first fifteen minutes of the movie without a single word of dialog but it's done so well that you know exactly what's happening on the screen. The "hit job" that Bishop had at the start of the movie turned out to be a flaming success.

One afternoon Bishop gets a call from a old friend "Big" Harry, Keenan Wynn. McKenna about some trouble he's having with the organization and if Bishop can help him out. Being that Bishop's father was one of the founders of the organization "Big" Harry feels he can get whatever trouble he has with it smooths out. Bishop tells "Big" Harry he'll see what he could do.

The next morning Bishop gets an envelope in the mail from the organization for his next hit and the person Bishop is contracted to knock off is non other then "Big" Harry. Going through the motions as usual Bishop plans his "Hit" on "Big" Harry with cold calculations and no emotions at all even though he knew "Big" Harry since he was a little boy.

Getting "Big" Harry to meet him in a secluded place by the beach Bishop takes a number of shot at him but not trying to kill him but to induce "Big" Harry to have a fatal heart attack which he does. This is doe by Bishop so that the police and maybe even his fellow mobsters wouldn't be suspicious of any foul play in "Big" Harry's death.

"Big" Harry's son Steve, Jan-Michael Vincent who Bishop met when he came to see "Big" Harry begins to take a very strong liking to him after his fathers death. It's as if Steve wanted Bishop to be his fathers replacement. Even though at the time when Bishop saw Steve with his father they weren't exactly that close and Steve seemed to have a dislike and resentment for his dad even at his funeral that Bishop attended.

It seems that Steve wants to become a "Mechanic" like Bishop and wants to learn the tools of the trade from him, who's the best in the business. Steve likes Bishop's pad in the country and fancy sports car and most of all the danger of his job that is very exciting for the young man who was bored with his life of unending parties. You start to wonder if thats really the reason Steve is so interested to be around Bishop? Does Steve want to get even with Bishop, who Steve seems to know, killed his father? And why does Bishop seem to be so agreeable with Steve in teaching him about the art of killing in secret? Or is Bishop not as naive as he seems to be and is setting Steve up for something?

Intelligent film about the dirty business of the assassination game with Charles Bronson and Jan- Michael Vincent very good as cold-blooded killers who show no emotion at what they do. Slow in the action department, for a Charles Bronson movie, at first but better acted and written then most of the movies that he made back then in the 1970's. With an ending that's one of the best and most surprising finals you'll ever see in any movie.