The Killer Elite (1975)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Marc Norman (screenplay) and
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 December 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Action

Tagline:

MEN WANTED. Private company with C.I.A. contract seeks men willing to risk life. Perfect physical condition. Experience with weaponry, incendiaries, Karate/Judo. No loyalties. No dependents. Long career doubtful.

Plot:

Mike Locken is one of the principle members of a group of freelance spies. A significant portion of their work is for the C.I.A...

Plot Keywords:

Slow Motion | Shot In The Knee | Assassination | Katana Sword | Secret Organization

Cast

James Caan	...	Mike Locken
Robert Duvall	...	George Hansen
Arthur Hill	...	Cap Collis
Bo Hopkins	...	Jerome Miller
Mako	...	Yuen Chung
Burt Young	...	Mac
Gig Young	...	Lawrence Weyburn
Tom Clancy	...	O'Leary
Tiana Alexandra	...	Tommie (as Tiana)
Walter Kelley	...	Walter
Kate Heflin	...	Amy
Sondra Blake	...	Josephine
Carole Mallory	...	Rita
James Wing Woo	...	Tao Yi
George Cheung	...	Bruce (as George Kee Cheung)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | France:U | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-18 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:16 (1976) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bethlehem Steel Pier, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Exeter Associates

Trivia:

Most of the film's action sequences were filmed in San Francisco's Chinatown on Waverly Street, the actual site of what became known as the "Tong Wars"--vicious battles between rival groups of Chinese--that took place in Chinatown shortly after World War I.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The opening disclaimer mentions an interview with character Lawrence Weyburn that took place on September 31, 1975. There are only 30 days in September.

Quotes:

Vorodny: You all look alike, you young mercenaries. No matter what country.
George Hansen: Well we're all idealists. Y'think we do it for the money?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

Lesser Peckinpah offering

I'm a huge fan of Sam Peckinpah's movies and I'm trying to write a comment about them all. However, this is one of the few that I'm less enthusiastic about, simply because it is not up to the high standard usually associated with the director (perhaps the studio tampering is partly to blame for that).

It's a spy flick about a not-very-nice unit of the CIA which tackles all the dirty, gritty jobs that nobody else wants. James Caan and Robert Duvall are in the organisation and are great friends, until Duvall accepts a bribe and tries to blow Caan's head off during an assignment. The rest of the movie follows Caan as he rehabilitates from the injury and sets about gaining his revenge.

The theme of honesty among savages made The Wild Bunch compelling, but here it is used to lesser effect. Peckinpah himself was a disgraced figure in Hollywood with his drug and drink problems at the time that this movie was made, and you often feel that he made it purely to keep working during such a difficult period. There's certainly a shortage of passion and belief in the material.

The best thing about the film is Duvall, but he disappears early and doesn't come back into it until near the end (and then only briefly). It also contains some good martial arts moments, although strictly speaking it is not a martial arts film. Other than that, it is definitely a low point in the Sam Peckinpah canon, and can only be recommended to those who are keen to watch all the director's movies rather than just the best ones.