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

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1972 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Killer of Killers

Filming Locations:

Amalfi, Campania, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$86,000, 31 December 1972

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chartoff-Winkler Productions,Carlino Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bishop's painting that features significantly is "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch. The original is in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

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Goofs

As Bishop browses through the secret dossier on himself that he finds in Steve's desk, one of the papers shows his (Bishop's) age to be 44. But it is very obvious that Bishop is considerably older; in fact, Charles Bronson was 50 or 51 when this movie was made.

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Quotes

Arthur Bishop: [When Arthur is explaining to Steve about the rules in the martial art scene] They won't hit each other or one of them would dead and that's against the law.

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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

Featured in Mach 2 (2000)

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Soundtracks

String Quartet Op.18 No.6 (2nd Movement)
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

The best Bronson film ever and also one of the 70's best

They sure don't make them like this anymore: smart, realistic, tough and fascinating. Charles Bronson is in top form here, he plays a hit man with creative and untraceable way methods of killing, he is like a "death doctor" and when he "fix something, it never works again". But things aren't so good for him lately, he suffers from anxiety and collapses in one memorable scene. He then decides to take under his wing the young Steve Mackenna (Jan Michael Vincent in one of his better roles) and teach his the skills of the trade. Director Michael Winner put together a piece of classic cinema with everything seems to work perfectly. The cinematography is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, especially the final scenes located in Italy. It's a shame that this film is almost unknown to the young generation and is way underrated here. The twisted ending certainly lifts up the already high level of the film. Highly recommended 10/10.