Tue 20 Mar 2018
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE STONE KILLER (1973).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[5] Comments
THE STONE KILLER. Columbia Pictures, 1973. Charles Bronson, Martin Balsam, Jack Colvin, Paul Koslo, Norman Fell, David Sheiner, Stuart Margolin, Ralph Waite, John Ritter. Based on the novel A Complete State of Death, by John Gardner (1969). Director: Michael Winner.
There’s a hint, somewhere in the middle of The Stone Killer, that there might be a leak within either the LAPD or the NYPD. And there’s the suggestion, or at least I thought it was, that the film’s protagonist might have been hypnotized or even brainwashed. But neither of these cues is remotely followed up on. And you know what? It doesn’t really matter. Because for what it’s supposed to be, namely pure escapist entertainment and a gritty urban crime thriller, The Stone Killer works exceptionally well in delivering the goods.
Not only do we get to see Charles Bronson in action, but Martin Balsam is here as well, portraying a Sicilian mob boss by the name of Al Vescari. Apparently Vescari has waited over four decades to avenge the murder of his Sicilian mafia comrades in a St. Valentine’s Day massacre type situation from the 1930s. His diabolical plot: utilize ‘stone killers,’ non-Mafia members specifically hired for the job. So he assembles a team of American military veterans to do his dirty work.
But he’s got officer Lou Torrey (Bronson), previously a member of the New York Police Department but now in the LAPD, to contend with. Torrey doesn’t know exactly what’s in the works, but we spend most of the movie going along for the ride while he traverses the gritty side of LA and explores Southern Californian counter-cultural hot spots in the hopes of discovering what this “big hit†he learned about from a source is all about.
The Stone Killer may not be a particularly deep movie or one that has any particular aesthetic value worthy of serious reflection. But, in its own way, it’s a fun movie that is what it is and little more. What’s important to its success is that it never tries to be anything other than an action movie. Added bonus: both Norman Fell and John Ritter, who would soon be paired together in Three’s Company, portray fellow cops working alongside Torrey.
March 21st, 2018 at 7:13 am
Is it common the transfer of agents between different police forces in USA? I do not remember other movies that have this argument.
March 21st, 2018 at 8:44 am
That’s a good question. I don’t know. But my impression is different. It seems to me that it happens in the movies all the time, maybe more so than real life.
March 21st, 2018 at 11:04 am
Can be. From a distance, it seems to me that a transfer from the NYPD to LA police should be similar to the transfer of the KGB to the CIA (I know I exaggerate a bit).
March 21st, 2018 at 7:30 pm
The novel this is based on is British (John Gardner author of the later James Bond series), so one major plot element involves something that happens to British police in London and not American police. Policemen do move and take jobs in other cities, but they aren’t transferred, though they may be loaned out in some circumstances.
The LAPD might well hire a NYPD detective, and there are inter agency assignments especially within intelligence and organized crime, but no transfers. That’s an element borrowed from a British novel about a British detective being transferred from one London precinct to another.
March 22nd, 2018 at 10:59 am
Very good point, David. I had obviated the author of the novel.
I am currently doing research on a film genre that does not exist: the police on international missions. It does not exist because neither the critic nor the public has the notion of this subgenre of the police genre. However, there is a good amount of films that fit into it. THE STONE KILLER does not fit into this subgenre, but it’s pretty close, given the big difference between the two megalopolis. Maybe next month produce an entry on this in my blog.