Charley Varrick (1973)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

John Reese (novel)
Howard Rodman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 September 1973 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

He stole from the Mob, now he's running for his life.

Plot:

Charley Varrick and his friends rob a small town bank. Expecting a small sum to divide amongst themselves...

Plot Keywords:

Crop Duster | Chase | Mafia | Cop Killer | Bank Robbery

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Charley Varrick
Joe Don Baker	...	Molly
Felicia Farr	...	Sybil Fort
Andrew Robinson	...	Harman Sullivan (as Andy Robinson)
Sheree North	...	Jewell Everett
Norman Fell	...	Mr. Garfinkle
Benson Fong	...	Honest John
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Harold Young
William Schallert	...	San Miguel Sheriff Bill Horton
Jacqueline Scott	...	Nadine
Marjorie Bennett	...	Mrs. Taft
Rudy Diaz	...	Deputy Sanchez
Colby Chester	...	Deputy Steele
Charlie Briggs	...	Highway deputy
Priscilla Garcia	...	Miss Ambar

Also Known As:

Kill Charley Varrick (Europe: English title)
The Last of the Independents (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | West Germany:16 (nf) (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | France:Unrated | UK:15 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Mustang, Nevada, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Charley's old mobile home was located near the home of well known Nevada artist Afton Frederick, who allowed the use of her home for some exterior shots. Her husband Cliff Frederick helped the crew with the night security of the old Varrick mobile home, because the roof of Varrick's home was fully removed for the ease of the camera and lighting work inside. The weather was extremely warm during the filming, which lasted seven weeks in the Dayton, Carson City, and Genoa, Nevada area.

Goofs:

Continuity: In an exterior shot, Molly is seen entering a Chinese restaurant from across the street. But in the reverse shot of him entering restaurant, there's suddenly a red panel behind him, blocking the view of whatever was across the street.

Quotes:

Maynard Boyle: It's our mafia friends who won't understand. They're gonna wonder why you led them straight to the vault with the money in it, instead of the empty vault in the rear. And frankly, Harold, why did you do that?
Harold Young: Do you know what would have happened if I'd taken those people to an empty vault?
Maynard Boyle: Number one, the money would have been saved, number two there'd be no question of an inside job.
Harold Young: Inside job?
Maynard Boyle: That's the way their diseased minds work. A bank gets it, bang, they look for a double-cross.
Harold Young: Why couldn't it be just a coincidence?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Are we really seeing what's going on or is Don Siegel throwing dust in our eyes?

This quick-moving thriller demonstrates that cinematic amorality has been around a long time. Made in 1973, it allows crop-duster and bank-robber, Charley Varrick, played by Walter Matthau, to get away with a heap of stolen money, the theft of which has led to the death of about half a dozen people, including his wife. The movie is directed, in his usual snappy but artful way, by Don Siegel, who taught Clint Eastwood everything Clint knows about direction, but not necessarily everything Don knew.

The movie also demonstrates that in the days when movies spent less time on technical wizardry, they could spend more on character development. For example, on "Molly" (Joe Don Baker), a courteous but sadistic heavy from the deep South, who can beat a man to death without losing his cool or creasing his sharp suit. Other noteworthy character studies are Andy Robinson as Charley's sweaty, weasly accomplice; Sheree North as a two-timing photographer; John Vernon as Maynard Boyle, a suave but crooked bank owner; and Marjorie Bennett as a nosey trailer park resident.

The plotline is supposed to be that Charley expects to get only a modest sum from the bank heist, and then has to get his thinking cap and skates on when he realises he's taken a pile of Mafia loot. But Siegel teases us, and it's never very clear just how much Charley knows and how far ahead he's thinking; perhaps there was an insider and Charley knew about the big money before the raid. Overall, can we believe what we're seeing, or is Siegel playing with us, like Bryan Singer in The Usual Suspects?

Which leads to the third thing demonstrated by this and other Siegel movies - that current hotshots like Quintin Tarantino owe him a debt.

(Incidentally, those IMDb commenters who are offended by Charley bedding Boyle's secretary (Felicia Farr) because she is too young for him should check Ms Farr's DOB. Also, she was married to Jack Lemmon, Matthau's friend and film-partner, so the bedroom scene is something of an in-joke.)