The Outfit (1973)

Earl Macklin robs a bank owned by the mob, serves his prison time and is released, only to start a private war against the crime outfit that owned the bank.

Director:

John Flynn

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel) (as Richard Stark), John Flynn

Stars:

Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Duvall	...	Earl Macklin
Karen Black	...	Bett Harrow
Joe Don Baker	...	Jack Cody
Robert Ryan	...	Mailer
Timothy Carey	...	Jake Menner
Richard Jaeckel	...	Kimmie Cherney
Sheree North	...	Buck's Wife
Felice Orlandi	...	Frank Orlandi
Marie Windsor	...	Madge Coyle
Jane Greer	...	Alma Macklin
Henry Jones	...	Doctor
Joanna Cassidy	...	Rita Mailer
Tom Reese	...	Hit Man
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Carl (as Elisha Cook)
Bill McKinney	...	Buck Cherney

Storyline

When the small criminal Macklin is released from prison, he learns that his brother was shot by two mob killers. He didn't know that the bank he robbed was owned by the syndicate. When he's almost offed by a killer too, he pays the mobster Jake Menner a visit and demands reparation. His friend Cody helps him to gratify his thirst for revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

torture | fire alarm | laugh | throwing a cleaver | released from prison | 

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Taglines:

Nobody plays rougher than The Outfit...

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1974 (Japan)

Also Known As:

A Quadrilha

Filming Locations:

The Rock Store - 30354 Mulholland Highway, Cornell, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aurora Enterprises,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The amount of money that Earl Macklin (Robert Duvall) demanded in compensation from "The Outfit" was two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

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Goofs

At 38 minutes, there is bird mess over the windscreen of the car seen from inside the car when there is the pick up of the gun salesman . When the camera films from in front of the car at 38.51s, the bird muck mysteriously disappears.

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Quotes

Buck's Wife: [alone with Jack Cody, who's sitting on the porch of the 'hideout', while she's dressed in nothing but a see-through bathrobe] Wanna come on inside 'n have a drink?
Jack Cody: No, thank you.
Buck's Wife: You sure? We got time...
Jack Cody: No, thank you MA'AM.
Buck's Wife: ...You got a problem?
Jack Cody: [smirking] Lady, after a while... a fella learns things... Some women are trouble.
Buck's Wife: ...Suit yourself.
[Goes into the house. Pissed]
Jack Cody: ...I'll always do...

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Connections

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

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Soundtracks

I Concentrate On You
(uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Performed by Anita O'Day

User Reviews

Excessive Restraint

Compact and minimalist in its execution, all the style here is in the dilapidated decor that permeates the proceedings. It has the look of things fallen and past their prime, inhabited by trapped melancholic Men and Women that also have seen better days. This is a showcase of 1970's grit and the then trend of unfettered realism.

There is no aggrandizement or formulated Film stuff here. What you see is exactly what it is and what you get. John Flynn, a very underrated Director is on hand to deliver a pantheon of Noir icons and sensibilities. The Movie is deliciously drab.

The bits of Action come fast and furious and there are virtually no set ups. It is a rapid-fire display of excessive restraint, but it all works as inglorious Genre bending to fit the new aesthetic. There is a post-censorship edge in the bursts of violence, but the Dialog is straight out of Film-Noir that was straight out of the Paperbacks and Pulps.

This one also belongs in the stable of the Hard-Boiled Richard Stark novels featuring his Parker Character. Only Jim Thompson seems to have a bigger Cult following among the post War Crime Novelists.