Arthur Bishop is a veteran hit man who, owing to his penchant for making his targets' deaths seem like accidents, thinks himself an artist. It's made him very rich, but as he hits middle age, he's so depressed and lonely that he takes on one of his victim's sons, Steve McKenna, as his apprentice. Arthur puts him through a rigorous training period and brings him on several hits. As Steven improves, Arthur worries that he'll discover who killed his father.
Charles Bronson
Arthur Bishop
Jan-Michael Vincent
Steve McKenna
Keenan Wynn
Harry McKenna
Jill Ireland
The Girl
Linda Ridgeway
Louise, Steve McKenna's Girlfriend
Frank De Kova
The Man
James Davidson
Intern
Lindsay Crosby
Policeman
Steve Cory
Messenger
Tak Kubota
Yamoto
Patrick O'Moore
Old Man
Martin Gordon
American Tourist
Celeste Yarnall
The Mark's Girl
Athena Lorde
Old Woman
Alison Rose
Young Girl
Howard Morton
Car Polish Man
Enzo Fiermonte
The Mark
Gerald Peters
Butler
Steve Vinovich
Party Guest
Robert Jaffe
Party Guest
Kevin O'Neal
Party Guest
Kenneth Wolger
1st Hippie
Trina Mitchum
3rd Hippie
Amando De Vincenzo
Priest
Director
Michael Winner
Screenplay, Story
Lewis John Carlino
December 5, 2024
7
"Bishop" (Charles Bronson) is the epitome of the hit man. Highly paid, he meticulously plans his projects so as to leave no trace of anything to suggest the deaths are not natural or accidents. When he is ordered to carry out a job on his handler "Harry" (Keenan Wynn), he doesn't flinch but he does take the man's son "Steve" (Jan-Michael Vincent) under his wing afterwards. It's clear that the younger man wants to emulate "Bishop" and so he takes him in training and onto a couple of jobs. These jobs don't go as smoothly as he'd expected, though, and pretty swiftly "Bishop" begins to wonder if he's being set up. If his employers can turn on "Harry" then could they turn on him, too - no more loose ends? Bronson is on his best form here as the grumpy but highly effective killer and as the plot develops, his less-is-more style of delivery, aided by a sensible paucity of dialogue, helps to build quite a sense of peril. Vincent isn't quite in that class, but he's adequate enough as the enthusiastic apostle in a story that maybe isn't the hardest to solve, but one that does play out well with a fine twist at the end. It's got some elements of "007" to it - fast cars, speed boats and even Jill Ireland, and shows why the star had the box office status he did have at the start of the 1970s.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00