The Mechanic (1972)

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

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

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

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Arthur Bishop
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Steve McKenna
Keenan Wynn	...	Harry McKenna
Jill Ireland	...	The Girl
Linda Ridgeway	...	Louise, Steve McKenna's Girlfriend
Frank DeKova	...	The Man (as Frank De Kova)
James Davidson	...	Intern
Lindsay Crosby	...	Policeman (as Lindsay H. Crosby)
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

Storyline

A professional hit man is planning to retire, always a difficult move for one in such a profession. A young apprentice appears to be eager to learn all the skills of the trade - but is that all he wants?

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | funeral | professional hit | villain played by lead actor | main character dies | 

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Taglines:

Clean. Fast. Professional.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This picture is notable for a motorcycle stunt where a motorbike rider, at the end of a long chase, rides his bike off a 200 foot cliff. Husqvarna motorcycles were specially adapted to film the chase hitting speeds of nearly 110 miles per hour while filming on location at Indian Dunes, Newhall, California.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie, when Steve takes the taxi to Arthur's house, you can see Steve's car and there is clearly no note attached to the rear view mirror. When Steve leaves Arthur's house and goes to his car there is a note on the rear view mirror. This should have been visible from the taxi.

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Quotes

Arthur Bishop: Murder is only killing without a license.

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Alternate Versions

The 1988 UK Warner video release was cut by 7 secs by the BBFC to remove closeup shots of a lock picking. The cuts were restored in the 2004 MGM DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in Endeavour: Cartouche (2018)

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Soundtracks

Grosse Fugue Op.133
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

Bronson doing what he does best

The early seventies was a great period for Bronson. Having already reached fifty and a string of classics under his belt as a support player in the sixties, the seventies was his decade. His ice cool tough guy image and immaculate physique made up for his rugged leading man looks and put him more in line ahead of the Redfords and the Newman's for gritty urban thrillers. In Basic terms Bronson could play a ruthless good guy, he had played his fair share of Indians and Mexican Bandits, but never was he better cast than when he portrayed Arthur Bishop, professional hitman for the Mob, The Mechanic.

With great locations, exciting outbursts of action and a surprise twist, this is seventies action entertainment at it's best and it was the period where Director Michael Winner's collaboration with Bronson proved to be his best work to date. They went on to make another great urban crime thriller THE STONE KILLER and then DEATH WISH, Bronson's most famous movie.

It's a shame that both Bronson and Winner's films and reputations went down hill in the eighties but perhaps age went against the seventies icon, as for Winner he returned to Britain and went back to making dire comedies.

But the seventies saw Bronson in many roles that would categorise him as typecast but perhaps he knew his limitations and knew he was never gonna be a romantic lead. Although his late wife, Jill Ireland may have disagreed, she appeared alongside him several times over the space of twenties years, check out a movie entitled FROM NOON TIL THREE, a romantic western that people didn't want to see.

Audiences want to see Bronson as tough, cool, calculated and deadly that's why THE MECHANIC is the perfect vehicle for the screen legend.

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1972 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Killer of Killers

Filming Locations:

Amalfi, Campania, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Carlino Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1