Prime Cut (1972)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer:

Robert Dillon (written by)

Release Date:

15 September 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Plot:

A Chicago mob enforcer is sent to Kansas City to settle a debt with a cattle rancher who not only grinds his enemies into sausage...

Plot Keywords:

Business | Murder | Farm | Kansas City | Corruption

Cast

Lee Marvin	...	Nick Devlin
Gene Hackman	...	Mary Ann
Angel Tompkins	...	Clarabelle
Gregory Walcott	...	Weenie
Sissy Spacek	...	Poppy
Janit Baldwin	...	Violet
William Morey	...	Shay
Clint Ellison	...	Delaney
Howard Platt	...	Shaughnessy
Les Lannom	...	O'Brien
Eddie Egan	...	Jake
Therese Reinsch	...	Jake's Girl
Bob Wilson	...	Reaper Driver
Gordon Signer	...	Brockman
Gladys Watson	...	Milk Lady

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (2009) | Finland:K-18 | Norway:16 (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Cinema Center Films

Trivia:

Sissy Spacek's feature film debut.

Movie Connections:

References Bunny O'Hare (1971)

Barons of beef

Two legendary Hollywood hard men, Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman, go head-to-head in this interesting thriller from director Michael Ritchie. Hackmann can act, Marvin just plays his stock character, but it's actually the latter to exudes more charisma, although the script is on his side: this is very much a Lee Marvin vehicle, structured not unlike 'Point Blank'. But that film had a distinctive, alienating air and ultimately showed clearly that its hero was no different, no better, to those he was pursuing. In 'Prime Cut', however, the villains of piece are (more typically, and more disappointingly) shown to be so depraved that Marvin is justified in sub-machining them down. Moreover, the sub-plot that explains this, their involvement in the trafficking of women to the sex trade, is presented in such a way as to seem sexist in itself. In other ways too the film appears dated: the editing is stuck somewhere between naturalistic and slick (not quite feeling like either), and the undeniably effective soundtrack is also horrid. What's more interesting is the setting: the story takes place in rural Missouri, but this is not America the beautiful. Instead, its the land of agribusiness and as such portrayed with an element of truth: although Ritchie does appear caught between emphasising its differences from the city, and its similarities.

'Point Blank' was a film ahead of its time in terms of style and tone. 'Prime Cut' is more like a typical thriller from the early 1970s. But either way, they don't make men like Marvin any more.