Love and Bullets (1979)

Arizona cop is sent to Switzerland to bring in the girlfriend of a dangerous mobster so she can testify against him. The mobster sends someone too - assassins.

Directors:

Stuart Rosenberg, John Huston (uncredited)

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

Phoenix cop Charlie Congers develops a personal hatred for mob boss Joe Bomposa. Congers sees the devastating effects of Bomposa's drug trade on the community. He thinks it's his duty to personally go after Bomposa who's protected by an army of lawyers, money and political power. Often charged but never indicted for any offense, Bomposa continues his illegal activities. But out of the blue an opportunity presents itself when Bomposa's girlfriend, ditsy blonde Jackie Pruit, is called to testify before a Senate investigation committee. Despite Miss' Pruit unwillingness to co-operate with the Senate investigators, Joe Bomposa grows worried that she might talk to the cops, after all. His mobster friends and his lawyer advise him to send her away in Switzerland, on a vacation, far from the Senate investigators. However, when they get information that FBI agents are after her, they decide to contract a hit-man to have her killed in Switzerland. Not having a mandate to operate on Swiss soil,...

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Plot Keywords:

assassin | switzerland | police shootout | wig | matterhorn | 

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Taglines:

He was chosen by his Government to expose organised crime . . . Now he must run from them both!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

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

This was not the first movie ever made with the 'Love and Bullets' title. Two silent comedy shorts made in the nineteen-tens preceded it [See: Love and Bullets (1914) and Love and Bullets (1916)].

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Quotes

Vittorio Farroni: Something on your mind?
Huntz: Yeah... Big man.
[Richie Huntz walks away]

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Connections

Referenced in Rémy Julienne: 50 ans de cascades (2013)

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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

Should Have Been Much Better

Love and Bullets (1979)

** (out of 4)

Charlie Congers (Charles Bronson), an Arizona cop, is sent to Switzerland by the government to try and track down the girlfriend (Jill Ireland) of an infamous gangster (Rod Steiger). The cops only goal is to bring her back but soon the gangster puts a hit out on her life.

LOVE AND BULLETS is a pretty flat, boring and lifeless picture, which is somewhat shocking when you consider that it was meant to be a major blockbuster. All sorts of money was spent on the production but very little excitement actually made it to the screen, which is too bad for Bronson fans as the actor turns in a decent performance and the setting is certainly great enough to where something more should have came from it.

There are all sorts of problems with this movie but we'll start with the fact that it just has an overall cheap and tired look. There are quite a few action scenes throughout the running time but they're just downright boring for the most part and I'd argue that there's no energy to be found in any of them. What's worse is the fact that there's clearly meant to be some suspense as the cop and woman barely get away from the hit men but that never happens. The lack of suspense is a major letdown.

Of course, it doesn't help that you really don't like the annoying woman. Ireland is given the task of playing an idiot with a Southern accent and I think it's fair to say that this is probably the worst performance she ever gave. The accent is just all wrong and comes off more annoying than anything else. Steiger really isn't any better as he's rather hammy and the sometimes stuttering has zero effect. Henry Silva and Strother Martin are always fun to see. As for Bronson, I thought he was good here in that typical Bronson kind of performance.

LOVE AND BULLETS isn't the disaster some people make it out to be but there's no question that it falls well short of the actor's best movies.