Charley Varrick ***** (1973, Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Jacqueline Scott, Felicia Farr, Andy Robinson, John Vernon, Sheree North, Norman Fell) – Classic Movie Review 2581

Producer-director Don Siegel’s gritty 1973 neo-noir crime thriller Charley Varrick is a total humdinger. It is flown to glory with the nimblest of serious work from Walter Matthau as Charley Varrick, a former stunt pilot turned independent crop duster who decides to supplement his trailer park income by dabbling in small-time bank robbery. That is, until he accidentally lifts a Mafia fortune.

Varrick, his wife longtime and Nadine (Jacqueline Scott) and their impetuous young friend Harman Sullivan (Andy Robinson) rob a small bank in the backwater New Mexican town of Tres Cruces, expecting to net a small haul. But they are shocked to find that they have lifted a fortune, which they soon work out belongs to the Mob. The TV news reports $2,000 was stolen but the money totals $765,118. So Varrick urgently and desperately needs a plan to throw both the cops and the Mob off their trail.

Charley Varrick spins an edge-of-the-seat tale, realised with the most tense, atmospheric and tautest of direction – Siegel is on fire – and by a superb roster of Seventies character actors, playing fragrantly seedy film noir-style personnel.

Matthau just slips perfectly into character and his highly engaging, credible turn proves once again that it is a pity that Matthau did not do more thrillers, though of course it would have been a great loss to comedy. It is also great to have Matthau on the wrong side of the law for once too, playing character with few redeeming features. We can however admire Varrick’s resourcefulness, humour and one-upmanship. In this neo-noir world, we are entirely on his side, desperately for him to get away.

Also, an inspired Joe Don Baker gives one of his finest portraits of villainy as the sadistic Mafia hoodlum-for-hire, hit man Molly, who won’t stop until his has found both Varrick and the money. And Andy Robinson (from Dirty Harry) enjoys plenty of screen time as the unreliable liability Harman Sullivan.

John Vernon is splendidly oily as the villainous Maynard Boyle, the president of the bank who dispatches Molly to recover the money. Sheree North is good value as the photographer/ forger Jewell Everett, while also notable portraits come from Felicia Farr as the amorous secretary Sybil Fort, Norman Fell as lawman Garfinkle, Woodrow Parfrey as the Tres Cruces bank manager Harold Young, William Schallert as dim town Sheriff Horton, Jacqueline Scott as loyal Nadine, and Benson Fong as Mafia man Honest John, while Marjorie Bennett adds a spirit of fun as the trailer park elderly snoop Mrs Taft.

With a crackling screenplay by Howard Rodman and Dean Reisner, based on the 1968 novel The Looters by John H Reese, Charley Varrick is tough-toned, white-knuckle stuff delivered with artisan-tooled precision. Nevertheless, it surprisingly has a PG certificate in the US, though the Brits gave it an X, later cert 15. There is violence during the opening bank robbery, and a man is badly beaten later on, but only mild swearing.

Lalo Schifrin contributes a memorable score that adds enormously to the film’s effect, and Michael C Butler’s Technicolor images are eye-catchingly thrilling.

Donald Siegel has a credited director cameo as Murphy. It is the last film for veterans Bob Steele (Bank Guard) and Tom Tully, memorable as dodgy robber accomplice Tom. Farr is the wife of Matthau’s good friend and regular co-star Jack Lemmon.

Also in the cast are Woodrow Parfrey, William Schallert, Benson Fong, Marjorie Bennett, Rudy Diaz, Colby Chester, Scott Hale, Hope Summers, Charlie Briggs, Priscilla Garcia, Charles Matthau, Monica Lewis, Jim Nolan, Albert Popwell, Kathleen O’Malley, Christina Hart, Craig R Baxley, Al Dunlap, Virginia Wing and Joe Conforte.

Charley Varrick is set in New Mexico but is filmed primarily in two Nevada small towns, Dayton and Genoa. The weather was hot during the filming, which lasted seven weeks. You can see Matthau sweating. Siegel really makes hay while the sun shines, relishing the quirky local atmosphere. That matches the quirky dialogue, characters and situations in the screenplay. It is fair to say the writers Howard Rodman and Dean Reisner are on fire too. The film takes its noir thriller plot very seriously, but it is underpinned with wry, cynical humour.

Matthau did not do them too often, but he fitted very nicely indeed into tough thrillers like this, The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974) and The Laughing Policeman (1973). Going through a rich and satisfying period, Matthau appears in the first of four consecutive films that were not comedies.

Unfortunately, however, Matthau was reported to have disliked the film. Siegel claimed that Matthau hurt the film’s box-office by publicly stating that he neither liked the film nor understand it. Matthau wrote to Siegel: ‘I have seen it three times, and am of slightly better than average intelligence (IQ 120) but I still don’t quite understand what’s going on. Is there a device we can use to explain to people what they’re seeing?’

Despite all the great work, it was a box office disappointment. It opened quietly in London on 20 September 1973.

Siegel wanted Varrick’s company’s motto Last of the Independents to be the title of the film. It does have title problems. The title is the weakest thing about the movie, and Last of the Independents wouldn’t have worked.

Clint Eastwood turned down playing Varrick, unable to find redeeming features in the character. When Molly introduces himself at Jewell’s photo studio, she replies: ‘Yeah, I didn’t figure you for Clint Eastwood.’

The cast are Walter Matthau as Charley Varrick, Andy Robinson as Harman Sullivan, Joe Don Baker as Molly, John Vernon as Maynard Boyle, Sheree North as Jewell Everett, Felicia Farr as Sybil Fort, Norman Fell as Garfinkle, Woodrow Parfrey as Harold Young, William Schallert as Sheriff Horton, Jacqueline Scott as Nadine, Benson Fong as Honest John, Marjorie Bennett as Mrs Taft, Tom Tully as Tom, Kathleen O’Malley as Jessie, Albert Popwell as Randolph Percy, Bob Steele as Bank Guard, Don Siegel as Murphy, Joe Conforte as himself, and James Nolan as Clerk.

RIP William Schallert, who died on 8 May 2016 the age of 93.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2581

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