Sharky’s Machine **** (1981, Burt Reynolds, Rachel Ward, Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva) – Classic Movie Review 7550

Burt Reynolds died of cardiac arrest on 6 September 2018.

Burt Reynolds directs himself as star of the tense, exciting, ultra-tough 1981 cop thriller Sharky’s Machine as Tom Sharky an Atlanta vice cop who heads a new squad (his ‘machine’) hunting a mob boss called Victor (Vittorio Gassman). Meanwhile Sharky romances one of the hood Victor’s employees, call-girl Dominoe (Rachel Ward).

Reynolds is always a welcome presence, and so are Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Bernie Casey and Henry Silva as Billy Score, and the movie delivers plenty of punch on the action front.

The somewhat hand-me-down plot, with the screenplay by Gerald Di Pego based on William Diehl’s novel, has elements from Bullitt, Dirty Harry and Laura, so it seems a shade too predictable. But the snazzy jazz score by Al Capps makes a refreshing change when everything else is so familiar. There are a bunch of good tough guys in the cast and Ward adds cool femme fatale glamour. And, all in all, this is an essential Burt Reynolds movie and a great cop thriller.

Also in the cast are Richard Libertini, John Fiedler, Darryl Hickman, Hari Rhodes, Joseph Mascolo, Carol Locatell, and James O’Connell.

Burt Reynolds died of cardiac arrest on 6 September 2018, in Jupiter, Florida, aged 82.

Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022).

Silva was gold. The prolific American character actor Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022) was usually typecast as criminals or gangsters. His notable films include The Jayhawkers! (1959), Ocean’s Eleven (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Johnny Cool (1963), Sharky’s Machine (1981), and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).

Henry Silva recalled: ‘Funny thing, in America they see me as a bad guy; in Europe they see me as a hero.’

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7550

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com