Mr. Majestyk (1974)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writer:

Elmore Leonard (written by)

Release Date:

17 July 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

He didn't want to be hero... until the day they pushed him too far.

Plot:

A melon farmer battles organized crime and a hit man who wants to kill him.

Plot Keywords:

Watermelon | Organized Crime | Farm Worker | Migrant Worker | Hitman

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Vince Majestyk
Al Lettieri	...	Frank Renda
Linda Cristal	...	Nancy Chavez
Lee Purcell	...	Wiley
Paul Koslo	...	Bobby Kopas
Taylor Lacher	...	Gene Lundy
Frank Maxwell	...	Det. Lt. McAllen
Alejandro Rey	...	Larry Mendoza
Jordan Rhodes	...	Deputy Harold Richie
Bert Santos	...	Julio Tomas

Also Known As:

Mister Majestyk (International: English title) (poster title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2004) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1974) | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1974) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:PG | UK:15 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Buckskin Joe Frontier Town & Railway - 1193 Fremont County Road 3A, Canon City, Colorado, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

The Ford truck was not modified to do the stunts - it was pretty much box stock. Ford used clips from the film in TV commercials to demonstrate how tough their trucks are built.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just prior to the big chase in which the Ford truck does all of the big jumps, Majestyk pulls the truck into the driveway and parks in front of the house. He then unhooks the trailer and leaves it behind the truck. When he runs out of the house and jumps into the back of the truck as the woman drives it away, the truck is facing the other direction and the trailer is not in sight.

Quotes:

Bobby Kopas: It ain't sunk into that thick brain of yours yet. See, everything goes a lot easier and a lot less trouble when you're doing business with me. You understand what I'm talking about?
Vince Majestyk: You make sounds like you're a mean little ass-kicker... only I ain't convinced. You keep talking and I'm gonna take your head off.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

"You make sounds like your a mean little a** kicker..."

This is great stuff, if not perfect. Charles Bronson gives a great performance here as the wronged man out for justice, which is a standard Elmore Leonard set-piece. (See "Valdez is Coming" and "Hombre".) But I never get tired of these situations as he writes them, because the stories are all unique, thrilling, well told, and (if you stretch a little) believable. Majestyk is a simple guy who just wants to get his melon crop in, but he steps on some toes, winds up in the drunk tank, and then accidentally foils a ham handed attempt to break a big time criminal out of the same jail. Well, he's too much for any of them when the crap hits the fan, and of course he can't be bought off. He just wants to get his melons in, remember? One thing leads to another, the criminals come to get him, and you can fill in the blanks from there. But it isn't all cut and paste; there is some really good story telling here and bravura performances by the man who plays the main criminal. (His hame escapes me, but he was also the bad guy in "The Getaway".) When things get hot and heavy, he looks at Majestyk with grudging admiration and says "You know something? You move, melon picker. You don't say much...but you move!" True fact, and so does this movie, which is also the home of one of the two or three best car chases on film, along with "Bullitt", although this time it isn't a Mustang, but a good old Ford F-150. What could be more perfect? Also a nice job by the man who plays the worthless little weasel wannabe crook...you just want to slap him. Neither side likes him worth a flip. Great fun.