The Domino Principle [The Domino Killings] * (1977, Gene Hackman, Richard Widmark, Candice Bergen, Mickey Rooney, Edward Albert, Eli Wallach) – Classic Movie Review 9,141

Stanley Kramer’s 1977 neo-noir assassination thriller film The Domino Principle [The Domino Killings] stars Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen,  Mickey Rooney and Richard Widmark.

Producer/ director Stanley Kramer’s 1977 neo-noir assassination thriller film The Domino Principle [The Domino Killings] stars Richard Widmark as mystery man Marvin Tagge, who approaches wrongly convicted murderer Roy Tucker (Gene Hackman), who is serving time in San Quentin prison for killing his wife’s first husband.

Tagge offers to help Tucker escape and start a new life in exchange for working for a mysterious organisation for a few weeks. After escaping with cellmate Oscar Spiventa (Mickey Rooney), Tucker realises that he is supposed to assassinate a national political leader. When he refuses, the organisation retaliates by kidnapping his wife.

It is a good set-up but, unfortunately, this sluggish, murkily complicated conspiracy movie is aimlessly directed by the well-meaning maker of Sixties liberal entertainments Kramer. The excellent Hackman and the first-rate cast try their best with a confused script by Adam Kennedy from his novel The Domino Principle, with muddled plotting. But there is not much they can do with the clichéd, cardboard characters, weak dialogue, and script holes.

Candice Bergen is totally wasted in the stereotyped role of Hackman’s loyal wife Ellie, and their reunion scenes are particularly unconvincing. It gets a needed boost through some violent action thrills and its tough, busy climax. But mostly, like dominoes, it falls pretty flat.

It also stars Mickey Rooney, Edward Albert, Eli Wallach, Ken Swofford, Neva Patterson, Jay Novello, Claire Brennan, Joseph V Perry and Jim Gavin.

Its jail scenes were filmed at San Quentin State Penitentiary after the production secured a special agreement to film there. The prisoners were paid to be extras. Filming took place in April and May 1976. A guard was stabbed by an inmate on the first day of filming in San Quentin.

Cinematographer Fred Koenekamp was injured during filming when a truck went around a bend and its door flew open and hit him. He was replaced by veteran Ernest Laszlo.

Kramer recalled he wouldn’t be surprised if Hackman, Bergen and Widmark ‘would prefer to remain as anonymous as the conspirators in the film. If I’m right, it’s a feeling I share.’

Hackman recalled: ‘We had a lot of problems on that film; I had arguments with Stanley Kramer. The film we were making just wasn’t worth the difficulties I was giving him. The truth is I was in trouble on that film and I got scared. I’m told a lot of people didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand it either.’

Bergen said at the time: ‘Thanks to Gene it turned out to be the best part I’ve ever done.’

The Domino Principle [The Domino Killings] is directed by Stanley Kramer, runs 100 minutes, is made by Associated General Films and Incorporated Television Company, is released by AVCO Embassy Pictures (1977) (US), is written by Adam Kennedy, based on Adam Kennedy’s novel The Domino Principle, is shot by Fred Koenekamp and Ernest Laszlo, and is scored by Billy Goldenberg.

In the UK the title was changed to The Domino Killings in a double bill with the 1979 Charles Bronson vehicle Love and Bullets.

Lew Grade of Incorporated Television Company, who helped to finance the film, claimed it broke even, despite its short run in cinemas.

The domino principle is that you have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.

The cast

The cast are Gene Hackman as Roy Tucker, Candice Bergen as Ellie Tucker, Richard Widmark as Marvin Tagge, Mickey Rooney as Oscar Spiventa, Edward Albert as Ross Pine, Eli Wallach as General Tom Reser, Ken Swofford as Warden Ditcher, Neva Patterson as Helen Gaddis, Jay Novello as Captain Ruiz, Joseph V Perry as Bowkemp, Ted Gehring as Arnold Schnaible, Majel Barrett as Mrs Schnaible, Claire Brennan, and Jim Gavin.

Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930)

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9,141

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