- Overview
Charley Varrick robs a bank in a small town with his friends, but instead of obtaining a small amount of money, they discover they stole a very large amount of money belonging to the mob. Charley must now come up with a plan to not only evade the police but the mob as well.
- Release Date
19 September 1973
- DirectingDon Siegel
- Budget
$0.00
- Revenue
$0.00
- Stars
Videos
User Reviews
See moreJohn Chard
16 May 2024
You can never worry too much... ...when you got the fuzz and the mafia after you. Charley Varrick is a quality caper movie courtesy of director Don Siegel and backed up by a wonderful understated performance from Walter Matthau as Charley Varrick. Varrick along with his partners rob a small New Mexico bank, but instead of the usual decent haul they find that they have nabbed over $760.000, sadly for the boys it is mafia money that the bank was laundering. Varrick is a smart cookie and thinks it should be given back, but his young greedy partner insists that it's a chance of a lifetime and convinces Varrick that they should keep the cash. This not only brings the law after them but also sadistic hit-man for the mob, Molly, and he is cruelty personified. Can the boys flee the country in one piece? This is a delightful film that relies heavy on character development and strength of plot. Siegel gets fine performances from the supporting cast to back up the cunningly sedate lead turn from Matthau. As Siegel left Dirty Harry behind, where 1973 saw the sequel Magnum Force released (Ted Post directing), the director gives us a complete opposite to the machismo of Harry Callahan. Matthau’s Varrick is low-key and hang-dogged, but below that sleepy exterior beats the heart of a cunning devil and he’s the one with all the aces up his sleeves. Andy Robinson as Varrick's partner Harman Sullivan is all twitchy and on the edge, whilst Joe Don Baker as hit-man Molly is simply magnetic in his icy portrayal. Lalo Schifrin again scores for Siegel with great results, and the photography from Michael Butler is very rich indeed as the locales seep with that bleached dried look. This is great storytelling with suspense and no little action (the opening robbery and the finale involving a car and a plane joust are quality Siegel constructions), but most of all it's a film to remind you that cinema can be great without crash bang wallop every ten minutes. An excellent heist and escape movie. 8/10
More Like This
A History of Violence
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
See more
War of the Worlds
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young...
See more
Blade Runner
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who...
See more
Anatomy of a Murder
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped...
See more
Scarface
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami...
See more
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them. On their journey they...
See more
The Monster Beneath Us
In 1898 Yorkshire, a grieving woman and her son move back to the manor of her deceased ex-husband, but soon discover that they are not alone in the...
See more
And it Begins
In the wake of their father's death, Capomandameto ANGUS: SILAS and ALESSIO course through up keeping their father's legacy and the end of their...
See more
Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to...
See more
A Clockwork Orange
In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives...
See more
The Name of the Rose
14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under...
See more
Rebecca
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died...
See more
The Outsiders
When two poor Greasers, Johnny and Ponyboy, are assaulted by a vicious gang, the Socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to...
See more
Stand by Me
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way...
See more
The Godfather
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito...
See more
Some Like It Hot
Two musicians witness a mob hit and struggle to find a way out of the city before they are found by the gangsters. Their only opportunity is to...
See more
The Godfather Part II
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone...
See more
In China They Eat Dogs
Arvid is an ordinary bank clerk who lives a rather unassuming life with his dear girlfriend. But his life is turned completely upside down when he...
See more
Live and Let Die
James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr...
See more
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist the modern filmed version of Charles Dickens bestseller, a Roman Polanski adaptation. The classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets...
See more