Mitchell *** (1975, Joe Don Baker, Martin Balsam, John Saxon, Linda Evans) – Classic Movie Review 10,052

Director Andrew McLaglen’s 1975 thriller Mitchell stars Joe Don Baker, who is well cast as Mitchell, a rough cop (‘brute force with a badge’) relentlessly pursuing a crime gang in Los Angeles in this tense, violent, basic action movie written by UK-born Ian Kennedy Martin.

He is told to lay off gun-happy lawyer Walter Deaney (John Saxon) and concentrate instead on drug-money businessman James Arthur Cummings (Martin Balsam), but he begins to suspect that the two are connected.

There are plenty of well-staged fisticuffs and gunshots here for crime fans, and big Baker in his prime is good value with plenty to do for a change. But a better developed atmosphere, a bigger budget and more of urbane Balsam, sneering Saxon and Dynasty’s Linda Evans (as Greta) would have raised the temperature on a film that is never lifted above the acceptably routine.

Also in the cast are Merlin Olsen, Morgan Paull, Harold J Strone, Robert Phillips, Buck Young, Todd Bass, Rayford Barnes, Jerry Hardin, Lilyan MacBride, Robin Narke, Sidney Clute, Duffy Hambleton, Carole Estes, Vicky Peters, John Ashby, Bill Sullivan, Jim B Smith, Charles Glover, Charles Tamburro, Gary B Combs, Stan Stone, Tom Lawrence, Alan Gibbs, Dick Ziter, Phil Altman, Bob Orrison, Gary McLarty and Paul Nuckles.

Mitchell is directed by Andrew McLaglen, runs 96 minutes, is made by Allied Artists Pictures, Essex Enterprises and Kingston, is released by Allied Artists Pictures (1975) (US) and EMI Film Distributors (1977) (UK), is written by Ian Kennedy Martin, is shot in Technicolor by Harry Stradling Jr, is produced by Benjamin Melniker (executive producer) and R Ben Efraim, is scored by Larry Brown and Jerry Styner, and designed by Fred Price.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,052

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