Charley Varrick (1973)

A former stunt pilot (Walter Matthau) and his accomplices, his wife (Jacqueline Scott) and two others (Andrew Robinson, Fred Scheiwiller), rob a small bank in a small New Mexico town. But what he hadn't planned on was that the money they robbed belonged to organized crime. With a hitman (Joe Don Baker) on his trail, time is running out. As directed by Don Siegel, this is a smart and gritty crime thriller with a strong performance by Matthau in the title role. Actions films, even the best of them, tend to be pretty mindless so it's a treat when a genre piece like this doesn't sacrifice intelligence for bang bang and car chases. I don't think it ranks with Siegel's best work but it's a good example of commercial Hollywood film making at its finest. Thankfully, since this was a 70s Universal film, it wasn't filmed on the back lot but in Nevada which gives the film an authentic look and feel. Unfortunately, Lalo Schifrin's thin score shouts 1970s! With Felicia Farr, Sheree North, John Vernon, Norman Fell, Marjorie Bennett and in his final film role, the veteran character actor Tom Tully.