Prime Cut (1972)

A vicious Kansas City slaughterhouse owner and his hick family are having a bloody "beef" with the Chicago crime syndicate over profits from their joint illegal operations. Top enforcer Nick Devlin is sent to straighten things out.

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer:

Robert Dillon

Stars:

Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Sissy Spacek

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Marvin	...	Nick Devlin
Gene Hackman	...	Mary Ann
Angel Tompkins	...	Clarabelle
Gregory Walcott	...	Weenie
Sissy Spacek	...	Poppy
Janit Baldwin	...	Violet
William Morey	...	Shay
Clint Ellison	...	Delaney
Howard Platt	...	Shaughnessy
Les Lannom	...	O'Brien
Eddie Egan	...	Jake
Therese Reinsch	...	Jake's Girl
Bob Wilson	...	Reaper Driver
Gordon Signer	...	Brockman
Gladys Watson	...	Milk Lady

Storyline

A Chicago mob enforcer is sent to Kansas City to settle a debt with a cattle rancher who not only grinds his enemies into sausage, but sells women as sex slaves.

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Plot Keywords:

combine harvester | anti hero | shootout | organized crime | mob enforcer | 

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Taglines:

Any way they slice it, it's going to be murder.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 July 1972 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Kansas City Prime

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Center Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The submachine gun used by Nick Devlin in the last part of the film is the now rare Smith & Wesson model 76, a near copy of the Swedish M/45. It was produced in very small numbers in the late 1960s, and was eventually discontinued due to lack of interest in such a weapon by military and law enforcement agencies. In US service it was largely known as the "Swedish-K" or "K-Rifle. It was used by US special service4s (like Navy SEALS and CIA operatives) during the Vietnam war.

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Goofs

When Nick enters the cornfield there's a spot on the back of his jacket. Next scene the strap on the pouch is covering it.

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Quotes

Poppy: I never knew a man before; not even to talk to.
Nick Devlin: Well where did they keep you?
Poppy: In the orphanage with the other girls.
Nick Devlin: And where was that?
Poppy: It was in Missouri. It's the only home I really remember. It was in the country.
Nick Devlin: Then you have nobody?
Poppy: Just Violet.
Nick Devlin: Who?
Poppy: Violet, the other girl that was with me. She's my sister... well, not truly but we're closer than that. Violet and me we'd climb into each other's bed when it was really cold in the winter time and hug each other really close. Sometimes we'd...

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Crazy Credits

In all of the marketing media, Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman were both billed above the title. However, in the opening credits, only Marvin is.

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Connections

Referenced in Lovelace (2013)

User Reviews

Lee Marvin at his Best

So what if 'Dog Day', made a decade later, repeats the threshing machine chase. It only underscores the success of the original, in which the 'teeth' of the threshing machine seem almost human. Watching them grind up the limo makes you feel almost sorry for the car. There are other scenes and themes I doubt that you will ever see in another movie: the packing house expose of what that meat you eat really goes through as it goes from the moo-cow to the sausage, for one. At least we don't see the guy actually made into the sausage the brother keeps eating!!

Hackman plays his evil best as an all-American who 'gives the public what they want' from meat to dope to virgins raised in an orphanage quite unlike the one in 'Cider House Rules'. Sissy Spacek does a good job in her first onscreen role, but come on!!! No one could be so stupid as to be unaware that they are wearing a completely transparent gown!! A few other holes in the film exist, but it is certainly a unique experience.