Love and Bullets (1979)

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Wendell Mayes (story), Wendell Mayes,

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Rod Steiger

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Charlie Congers
Jill Ireland	...	Jackie Pruit
Rod Steiger	...	Joe Bomposa
Henry Silva	...	Vittorio Farroni
Strother Martin	...	Louis Monk
Bradford Dillman	...	Brickman
Michael V. Gazzo	...	Lobo
Paul Koslo	...	Huntz
Val Avery	...	Caruso
Sam Chew Jr.	...	Cook (as Sam Chew)
Billy Gray	...	Officer Durant (as William Gray)
Jerome Thor	...	Senator
Joseph Roman	...	Coroner
Albert Salmi	...	Andy Minton
John Hallam	...	Cerutti

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

casket | train | witness | assassin | assassination | 

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Taglines:

From the writer of "Death Wish" [DVD tag line: Finland]

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1979 (UK)

Also Known As:

Love and Bullets, Charlie

Filming Locations:

Stalden, Kanton Wallis, Switzerland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC), Sir Lew Grade

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 93 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of this picture's main movie posters featured blonde Jill Ireland striding atop a large revolver, imagery typical of Maurice Binder's opening title sequences from the James Bond movies as well as the covers of some editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond books and other raunchy pulp novels. Not surprisingly, Charles Bronson plays an agent in this movie.

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Quotes

Jackie Pruit: What's that thing where you get scared of being cooped up in iddy-biddy dark places?
Charlie Congers: Claustrophobia?
Jackie Pruit: That's the fella! Well, I think I've got it!
Charlie Congers: Fasten your seat-belt.
Jackie Pruit: Why?
Charlie Congers: I have a cure for it!
[Congers drives their car off the speeding train straight onto the field, where it crashes badly]

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Connections

Referenced in The Exterminator (1980)

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Soundtracks

"Stand By Your Man"
Written by Billy Sherrill and Tammy Wynette
Performed by Tammy Wynette
Courtesy of Epic Records

User Reviews

The kind of role that Bronson excels at, but ultimately the film itself is a missed opportunity.

Charles Bronson is at his best when playing the silent tough guy, but in this British-backed chase thriller he is let down by workmanlike direction and a drearily routine script. Bronson's Phoenix cop, Charlie Congers, is certainly a silent and tough character - just the kind of role old Stone-Face usually excels at - but there are too many weaknesses in Love and Bullets to make it a particularly worthwhile film.

Phoenix police officer Charlie Congers (Bronson) is keen to gather evidence on Mob bigwig Joseph Bomposa (Rod Steiger). He learns that Bomposa's mistress Jackie Pruitt (Jill Ireland) is hiding out in Switzerland, so he jets off hoping to find her and persuade her to testify against him. Bomposa, realising that the game could be up, issues orders that Jackie must be silenced whatever the cost. Soon, Congers and Jackie are on the run in snowy Switzerland, with a whole bunch of hired killers hot on their heels.

Steiger is in over-acting mode here, but fortunately he doesn't have too many scenes so his opportunities to embarrass himself are kept to a minimum. The story is a simplistic chase narrative of a type seen many times before, and scripters Wendell Mayes and John Melson don't have many surprises up their sleeves to freshen this one up. Bronson fans like to see their man wasting bad guys and plunging head-first into action, but Love and Bullets pauses far too regularly for its own good and viewers looking for action will feel very short-changed. The film isn't a total loss - it has sporadic effective scenes, is always pleasing to the eye, and has one genuine moment of surprise near the end - but on the whole it is undoubtedly a lot less impressive than it could have been. Don't rush to add it to your wish list.