Mitchell (1975)

A sleazy, incompetent detective tries to simultaneously take down heroin dealers and a socialite who murdered a burglar.

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writer:

Ian Kennedy Martin

Stars:

Joe Don Baker, Martin Balsam, John Saxon

Bottom 100 #85 | See the Bottom 100 movies as voted by our users.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Don Baker	...	Mitchell
Martin Balsam	...	James Arthur Cummings
John Saxon	...	Walter Deaney
Linda Evans	...	Greta
Merlin Olsen	...	Benton
Morgan Paull	...	Salvatore Mistretta
Harold J. Stone	...	Tony Gallano
Robert Phillips	...	Chief Albert Pallin
Buck Young	...	Det. Aldridge
Rayford Barnes	...	Det. Tyzack
Todd Bass	...	Child
Jerry Hardin	...	Desk Sergeant
Lillian McBride	...	Rich Lady (as Lilyan MacBride)
Rob Narke	...	Customs Officer (as Robin Narke)
Sidney Clute	...	Rudy Moran

Storyline

Joe Don Baker is Mitchell- a hard-nosed, soft-bellied cop with an affinity for porn and Schlitz. His latest assignment has him engaging in no-speed car chases, yelling at children, shooting innocents and sloppily carousing Linda Evans.

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Plot Keywords:

burglar | police station | arrest | 1970s | blood | 

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Taglines:

...a tough, single-minded cop hot in pursuit....

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Genres:

Crime | Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Byens staeste purk

Filming Locations:

Calabasas, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Artists Pictures, Essex Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In front of Cummings's house, Mitchell honks in a pattern, twice. This pattern is "Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck", the first line of Texas A&M's Aggie War Hymn.

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Goofs

Mitchell fires three shots from a double-barreled shotgun without reloading.

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Quotes

Greta: He lays me then busts me.
Mitchell: Well, she asked me to.
Desk Sergeant: What, lay her or bust her?
Mitchell: Both!

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Connections

References Key Largo (1948)

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Soundtracks

"Mitchell"
Written by Larry Brown, Jerry Styner & Steve Hoffman
Performed by Hoyt Axton

User Reviews

sort of the anti-thesis of James Bond

Mitchell, himself, is virtually an opposite to the concept of James Bond. Mitchell is not too bright, not too swift, not very healthy, emotionally unstable and extremely unlikable. About the only thing he and Bond have in common is drinking, with Mitchell guzzling beer after beer in this movie. The plot has something to do with drug dealers and features an indifferent Martin Balsam, a retarded Merlin Olson and John Saxon who seems to have an important role but then disappears completely after a brief radio announcement in Mitchell's car. Linda Evans gets the unpleasant task of trying to make a prostitute falling in love with a cop played by Joe Don Baker plausable. She pretty much sleepwalks (or drugs herself) through the role. This movie runs on the anti-hero hero concept, as Mitchell seems pretty uncomfortable with police work. He drinks and stumbles his way through the process anyway. Even the music plays to his ineptness. Some of the action scenes are laughable while others are ok. The big problems are the confusing plot and the Mitchell character which leaves one scratching his head as to why they made that kind of a character a "hero" in the first place. Very slow moving plot as well, with lots of mindless dialogue that seems to play out as a big joke on Mitchell that he just doesn't get and is trying to figure out. A very depressing and head shaking movie.

2.8/10