Marvellous Marvin
The Killers
Lee Marvin Vs Ronald Reagan. Deemed too violent for TV when it was made, Don Siegel’s thriller may seem tame by today’s standards but the performances have stood the test of time. Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager are a great double act as two hitmen looking to score some stolen loot, Angie Dickinson hits all the right notes as a duplicitous femme fatale but the surprise is Ronald Reagan. I’ve never been a fan of Reagan but he’s outstanding here, his portrayal of a double-dealing crook is so convincing it’s little wonder he had a successful career in politics. Siegel was hampered a little by John Cassavetes, who plays the doomed race car driver, because the actor couldn’t drive, even the go-cart race with Angie Dickinson is all rear projection for Cassavetes shots, while Dickinson seems to be having a ball. Siegel transcends his limited budget and delivers a minor classic.
Cat Ballou
Lee Marvin Vs Lee Marvin. This was a favourite of mine as a kid but it’s not stood the test of time too well. The songs from Nat ‘King’ Cole and Stubby Kaye are still fun, Jane Fonda looks great in her pre-serious actress period and Marvin is good value for money in twin roles, essentially playing two aspects of his personality, the tough guy and the drunk. The laughs however are few and far between.
Point Blank
Lee Marvin Vs The Organisation. John Boorman elevates the revenge thriller to an art form with Point Blank. You won’t find any meditations on the deeper motivations of the characters here, Marvin’s Walker is as single minded as Arnie in The Terminator, but you do get style in abundance. The performances are also excellent, with Marvin an obvious standout, but Keenan Wynn, in a role far different from the usual loudmouth parts I associate him with, adding a sinister touch as the man who aims Walker and his targets, while John Vernon would play variations on his part here for the rest of his career, but I don’t think he ever bettered it. It may not be deep but it’s undeniably cool and its influence continues to this day.
Hell in the Pacific
Lee Marvin Vs Toshirô Mifune. It not have the epic scope of Saving Private Ryan or A Bridge Too Far but you’ll be hard pushed to find a film that better exemplifies the futility and stupidity of war. Marvin and Mifune give powerful performances as their characters, a pair of pilots stranded on a Pacific island, fight their own mini war, and even if they speak different languages you still know what’s going through both their heads. The film has lost none of its power, its message is about war in general, not just the one the story is set in, and thus is as relevant now as it was when it was made.
Pocket Money
Lee Marvin Vs The Cutting Room Floor. This would seem like a sure fire winner – Lee Marvin and Paul Newman in a film directed by Stuart Rosenberg (the man who helmed of Cool Han Luke) from a Terrence Malick script – but appearances can be deceiving. Pocket Money is actually pretty dull, with the story meandering along for a hundred minutes or so without anything of importance happening to anyone. Paul Newman is good as the not too bright horse trader but the character fails to hold the attention, while Marvin’s far more interesting Leonard, a man with big ideas and little motivation, is relegated to virtually a supporting role, with (at least according to Marvin) much of his work ending up on the cutting room floor. László Kovács cinematography is probably the best thing about the film, but it’s not nearly enough.
Prime Cut
Lee Marvin Vs Gene Hackman. Hackman’s the man sending mob guys back to their bosses via a meat grinder and Marvin is the enforcer sent to put him straight in Michael Richie’s action thriller. Marvin wins the acting honours but that’s down to Hackman’s character being a little underdeveloped in the script department. Sissy Spacek, in her first film appearance, makes a lasting impression as the innocent orphan drugged into a life of prostitution by evil Hackman. Gregory Walcott’s ‘Weenie’ tops Gene for villainy, turning men in sausages with undeniable relish. A touch over the top and with a nice line in black humour, this is a lean, mean ninety minutes of celluloid.
Emperor of the North
Lee Marvin Vs Ernest Borgnine. Marvin is A No1, the hobo who can ride any train, Borgnine is Shack the guard on the Number 19, and no one gets a free ride on Shack’s train. It’s a cat and mouse game as Marvin, and Keith Carradine (as a young hobo who thinks he knows it all) try to catch a ride and evade the sadistic Shack. Marvin is perfect as the worldly wise A No1, Carradine irritates, but that’s the nature of the character, with his pay off coming at the films climax, but Borgnine steals the film as the vicious, sneering personification of evil that is Shack. It’s a cracking good film that culminates with Marvin and Borgnine going mano-a-mano onboard the speeding train in one on cinemas most memorable showdowns.
The Big Red One
Lee Marvin Vs Nazis. Having Marvin play the same character in the opening sequence set at the end of the First World War as he does in the bulk of the movie which is set in WWII stretches credibility a bit, but this restored version of Sam Fuller’s semi-autobiographical movie is one of the best war films of the ‘80s. Marvin, a real life veteran of the war, gives one of the best performances of his career as the haunted Sergeant. Some of the supporting players could be stronger with Robert Carradine, to my mind always the weakest link in the Carradine brood, seeming ill suited to his role and he just doesn’t have the voice to carry the films narration. Despite its weak points this is still a powerful and affecting movie, with images that stay with you long after the film is over.
Death Hunt
Lee Marvin Vs Charles Bronson. Both Marvin and Bronson ended their careers making dumb action movies, Marvin with Delta Force and a belated and unnecessary Dirty Dozen sequel, Bronson with Family of Cops and its sequels. Death Hunt is no classic but it’s certainly more worthy of their talents. Marvin’s the washed up Mountie who’s more interested in getting drunk than getting his man and Bronson the ex-army man looking to find peace in the snow covered mountains but instead finds himself in conflict with the locals. Both parts fit the actors to a T and they get support from familiar ‘80s faces like Andrew Stevens and Carl Weathers. Angie Dickinson makes another appearance in a Marvin movie (she’s also in The Killers and Point Blank) although it’s a pretty pointless cameo. Still this is a film that’s dominated by its stars and the aptly named Peter Hunt (director of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) keeps the focus on them. A good, well made action movie.
Gorky Park
Lee Marvin Vs William Hurt. Another Bond movie director is behind this Russian set thriller. Michael Apted, the man who directed The World Is Not Enough, brings Martin Cruz Smith’s novel to the screen. William Hurt is the concerned cop looking into three mysterious murders and Lee Marvin the American bigwig and prime suspect. Hurt’s good but he’s never been the most charismatic leading man and the film cries out for someone with a little more star power. Marvin does some good work but doesn’t get much screen time. There’s solid support as well from Brian Dennehy and Ian Bannen. Playwright Dennis Potter seems an odd choice for script writer and the film suffers from a lack of action and pace. It’s also a little strange that all the Russian characters speak with English accents, most played by Englishman but even Hurt adopts one for the film. It’s obviously an intentional, stylistic choice but it’s an odd one and one I personally found a little distracting.
