Charley Varrick (1973)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  A nice piece of pulp and a great Mathau performance - slightly diluted by TV actors and the untold number of TV shows that copped Siegel's style. All the 70's cliches are here in abundance including an ever present hi-hat score and gratuitous lens flaring.

• Reid V

  
  The early 1970s were a golden age for gritty American crime films. There must have been something in the water. For films such as The French Connection, The Getaway, & The Friends of Eddie Coyle all to have come out in one 3 year period seems nothing short of miraculous. Sure you… More
  The early 1970s were a golden age for gritty American crime films. There must have been something in the water. For films such as The French Connection, The Getaway, & The Friends of Eddie Coyle all to have come out in one 3 year period seems nothing short of miraculous. Sure you can point to the waning idealism of the 1960s, coupled with the country being dragged through the mud of the Watergate scandal, as being a good source of inspiration for these films, but how they were all superbly crafted by these different filmmakers is pretty fascinating. Yet, whether the stars were perfectly aligned or not, you can add Don Siegel's "Charley Varrick" to the canon of great crime films from this period. Right from the brilliantly staged opening heist, director Don Siegel takes you on quite a ride. The film is smartly paced. Siegel builds the tension while showing the minute details of this way of life. He knows when to hold back and when to quickly unleash. Varrick is such an interesting character. He doesn't seem to love the thrill of the crime. In fact, he only seems to have stumbled into it because his previous career path of stunt piloting disintegrated. He is smart, rational, but in way over his head. Speaking of Watergate, there must have been something cathartic about watching a reasonably good American take a piece of the pie from a crime syndicate that in my opinion, eerily resembles the American government. Efficiently run, but unfortunately by unscrupulous men. Even if we know his fate is likely sealed from the start, one can imagine that the American people must have been especially thrilled to see their money fall into the right hands for a change. In Don Siegel's America there seems to be no honest living. The world is run on luck, both good and bad. Siegel must have had some good luck working in his favor because Varrick is a smart thriller that offers an interesting look into the early 1970s American mindset.

• Pierluigi P

  
  An intelligent, discreet and very entertaining thriller by the master of pulp and badass-ness Don Siegel. Great performances by Joe Don Baker as the hitman Molly, and Walter Matthau as the crop-duster/bank robber Charley Varrick.

• Tim S

  
  Fantastic thriller, and one of the finest and smartest plots ever committed to film.

• Chris G

  
  Don Siegel's follow up to the legendary Dirty Harry finds the title character Charley Varrick (Walter Matthau) down on his luck to the point that he hatches a plan to rob a small town bank. Charley and his gang (featuring Harry alum Andrew "Scorpio" Robinson) pull off… More
  Don Siegel's follow up to the legendary Dirty Harry finds the title character Charley Varrick (Walter Matthau) down on his luck to the point that he hatches a plan to rob a small town bank. Charley and his gang (featuring Harry alum Andrew "Scorpio" Robinson) pull off the robbery, though with some hitches. But there's a problem- the bank served as a Mafia money laundering operation and, of course, the mob is after Charley in the form of a sadistic hit man (Joe Don Baker) and the head of the bank (John "The Mayor" Vernon). One of the things about Siegel's films is that he loves to support the anti-hero. Dirty Harry, The Shootist, Escape From Alcatraz each contain a character that isn't the hero in the white hat, yet we sure as hell cheer for them. Charley is no different. He's a robber, a manipulator, and he's willing to sacrifice people to achieve his goals. We still cheer for the guy until the bitter end. Matthau is perfect as Charley, a sharp guy dumped into a situation beyond anything he could have imagined. He downplays the character in a cool and calm manner, even though there's a hint of being scared to death of what's out to get him. The remaining cast is also great, particularly Robinson as a dumb kid that's stereotyped in being the guns blazing proponent, never fully trusting Charley or anyone else for that matter. Joe Don Baker relishes his role as the cowboy hit man that slaps women around, then beds them as he rolls like a tornado toward his goal. And John Vernon is John Vernon, the greatest authority figure in 1970's cinema. Even though some of the plot devices get silly (and dull what would have been a perfect film) Charley Varrick is a thriller that doesn't feel like a thriller; a action piece that doesn't feel like an action piece. It's there to be consumed with no definable genre other than cops and robbers and goons and hoods. This is one of those great 1970's films that have been buried to posterity.

• Stella D

  
  an intelligent 70's heist film by don siegel with walter matthau in the eastwood role. sounds odd but it works really well. charley varrick is a cropduster and sometime bank robber whose gang mistakenly robs a small town bank full of mob money, bringing down the heat in the… More
  an intelligent 70's heist film by don siegel with walter matthau in the eastwood role. sounds odd but it works really well. charley varrick is a cropduster and sometime bank robber whose gang mistakenly robs a small town bank full of mob money, bringing down the heat in the form of a really vicious hitman played by joe don baker. full of twists and turns and odd touches in a nice new mexico setting; this film is alot of fun. also qt robbed a line here for pulp fiction...something about a pair of pliers and a blow torch ;)

• Ken S

  
  Walter Matthau is amazing in this crop dusting heist film

• Stephen E

  
  From a technical standpoint, "Charley Varrick" is pretty laughable. There are moments where the editing is so bad that you just have to wonder what was going on in the editing room. As well, the cinematography, shot composition, and lighting seem to have been given minor… More
  From a technical standpoint, "Charley Varrick" is pretty laughable. There are moments where the editing is so bad that you just have to wonder what was going on in the editing room. As well, the cinematography, shot composition, and lighting seem to have been given minor attention from director Don Siegel. Of course, being as "Charley Varrick" is one of those low-budget relics from the 1970s, one can't be so critical about the technicalities. There are elements about the film that are quite enjoyable, such as Walter Matthau's deadpan-like performance and Joe Don Baker's turn as an eccentric assassin. The script is riddled with holes and implausibilities, but all in all, it's a fun, if forgettable, action flick.

• Henrik S

  
  A slick and pretty cool 70s heist / coup thriller featuring the always great Walter Matthau. I would not be surprised at all if this film is high on Tarantino's list of favourite films. It is pretty pulp, quirky and just downright fashionable. Yet, there are a few flaws in the… More
  A slick and pretty cool 70s heist / coup thriller featuring the always great Walter Matthau. I would not be surprised at all if this film is high on Tarantino's list of favourite films. It is pretty pulp, quirky and just downright fashionable. Yet, there are a few flaws in the film. The cast, apart from the lead is very weak and it lacks any interesting antagonist or sidekick characters and therefore, Matthau has to carry much of this himself, with his dead-pan humour and leftfield approach to acting, but that does cut it I think. A lot of the film's appeal for me, comes from the 70s style of filmmaking, the colours, the clothes, the locations, the nudity etc. Then again, I am not sure whether this is a sign of the film maker's merit or just the era and genre that I like in general. The films ends with so many twists, it could be a documentary on knot-making but throughout the film, despite hints of something deeper going on, there are not a lot of surprises and interesting things going on. All in all, a solid b-movie for lovers of classic pulp and the 1970s, but as a film, it is kind of one-dimensional but a great outing for the amazing and loveable Walter Matthau.

• Patrick D

  
  Seeing Mathau in a serious role is actually kind of funny in itself. But once you get used to it, this is actually a pretty clever ("Really? 'clever'?" Yah, I don't know why I'm using that word, maybe it's just that clever people are in it) flick.… More
  Seeing Mathau in a serious role is actually kind of funny in itself. But once you get used to it, this is actually a pretty clever ("Really? 'clever'?" Yah, I don't know why I'm using that word, maybe it's just that clever people are in it) flick. Although, Joe Don Baker and his character are worth the watch regardless of the rest of the film, just to see this dude, who sort of acts like a creation of the Coens.

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