The Mechanic (1972 film)

The Mechanic
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Winner
Produced by	Robert Chartoff Irwin Winkler
Written by	Lewis John Carlino
Starring	Charles Bronson Jan-Michael Vincent
Music by	Jerry Fielding
Cinematography	Richard H. Kline Robert Paynter
Edited by	Freddie Wilson Arnold Crust, Jr.
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	November 17, 1972 (1972-11-17)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million

The Mechanic is a 1972 American action thriller film directed by Michael Winner, produced by Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, and written by Lewis John Carlino. The film follows Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson), a top assassin who takes under his wing Steve McKenna, the ruthless and ambitious son of Harry McKenna, head of the secret organization for which Bishop works.

The film stars Charles Bronson, Keenan Wynn, Jill Ireland, and Jan-Michael Vincent as the film's villain. It is noted for its opening, which features no dialogue for the first 16 minutes, as the hit man (Bronson) prepares to kill his current target.

The Mechanic was theatrically released in the United States and worldwide on November 17, 1972. Upon its release, the film received generally mixed reviews from critics but it was praised for its action scenes, acting and writing although the direction and the storytelling was criticized.

A remake of the same name was released on 2011, starring Jason Statham as Bishop and Ben Foster as McKenna.

Plot

Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson) is a "mechanic" — a top hit man (assassin). He works exclusively for a secret international organization, which has very strict rules. Bishop is very sophisticated, as he regularly listens to classical music, has an art collection, and is a connoisseur of fine wines. However, he is forced to live alone - he cannot show emotions or trust people. Bishop is under constant emotional pressure, so much so that he is prescribed medication for depression, and one day he is temporarily hospitalized when he loses consciousness as a result of the stress. Bishop pays a call girl (Jill Ireland) to have a simulated romantic social and sexual relationship, including her writing fake love letters to him.

When Bishop is assigned one of the organization's heads, "Big Harry" McKenna (Keenan Wynn), he shoots at Big Harry, while making him think that the shots are being fired by a hidden sniper. Harry, who Bishop knows has a weak heart, runs up a steep incline, which triggers a heart attack. Bishop then finishes Harry off by smothering him.

At Big Harry's funeral, Bishop again runs into Harry's narcissistic, ruthless and ambitious son Steve (Jan-Michael Vincent). Steve is intrigued by Bishop and seeks to find out more about him. Bishop is also intrigued, as he realizes that Steve has a personality suited for being a hit man, and plays along. As part of his training, Bishop teaches Steve that "every person has a weakness, and that once this weakness is found, the target is easy to kill." However, Bishop failed to get his superiors' prior consent for the arrangement. Following a messy assassination conducted by Bishop and Steve, the organization warns Bishop that his irresponsible choice to involve Steve has been interpreted as selfish behavior.

The organization then gives Bishop an urgent mission, this time in Italy. Once again, Bishop involves Steve in the new plan, but just before they leave Bishop happens to find among Steve's belongings a file containing a lot of information about Bishop. This file is very similar to the files Bishop prepared for his targets. Nevertheless, Bishop allows Steve to go with him to Italy.

In Italy, Bishop and Steve approach a boat where their intended victim is supposed to be, but it becomes apparent that this was a trap and they are the real targets. Bishop and Steve are ambushed, but they manage to kill all their would-be assassins.

His apprenticeship apparently complete, Steve shares a celebratory bottle of wine with Bishop, having coated the latter's glass with brucine, a colorless and deadly alkaloid. When Bishop realizes that he has been poisoned, he asks Steve if it was because Bishop had killed Steve's father. Steve responds that he had not realized his father was murdered. Steve taunts Bishop, saying "you told me that everyone has a jelly spot — yours was that you couldn't cut it alone." Steve goes on to reveal that he was not acting on orders to kill Bishop.

Steve returns to Bishop's home to pick up the Ford Mustang he had left there. He finds a note affixed to the rear-view mirror, which reads: "Steve, if you read this it means I didn't make it back. It also means you've broken a filament controlling a 13-second delay trigger. End of game. Bang! You're dead." As Steve frantically reaches for the door handle, the car explodes.

Cast

• Charles Bronson as Arthur Bishop
• Jan-Michael Vincent as Steve McKenna
• Keenan Wynn as "Big" Harry McKenna
• Jill Ireland as The Girl
• Linda Ridgeway as Louise
• Frank de Kova as The Man
• James Davidson as Intern
• Lindsey Crosby as Policeman
• Steve Vinovich as Party Guest
• Takayuki Kubota as Yamoto

Production

Monte Hellman was originally scheduled to direct The Mechanic. He and screenwriter Lewis John Carlino adapted Carlino's then-unpublished novel and worked on the script for several weeks before producers switched studios and hired Michael Winner to direct.^[1]

In Carlino's original script, the relationship between Arthur Bishop and Steve McKenna was explicitly gay. Producers had difficulty securing financing and several actors, including George C. Scott, flatly refused to consider the script until the homosexuality was removed. Carlino described The Mechanic as "one of the great disappointments of my life", continuing:

"I wanted a commentary on the use of human relationships and sexual manipulation in the lives of two hired killers. It was supposed to be a chess game between the older assassin and his young apprentice. The younger man sees that he can use his sexuality to find the Achilles heel that he needs to win. There was a fascinating edge to it, though, because toward the end the younger man began to fall in love, and this fought with his desire to beat the master and take his place as number one ... The picture was supposed to be a real investigation into this situation, and it turned into a pseudo James Bond film."^[2]

The film's martial arts scenes were shot in one day at the dojo of Takayuki Kubota who also appears in the film. The shooting required 65 camera setups. The scenes were cut short in the final edit, because, according to associate producer Henry Gellis, their inclusion made the film seem like an installment in the James Bond series.^[3]

The score and source music, by Jerry Fielding, were recorded at CTS (Cine-Tele Sound) Studios in London, England, between August 7 and 11, 1972. The orchestrations were by Lennie Niehaus And Greg McRitchie. The Recording Engineer was Dick Lewzey.

The source music consists of pieces composed by Ludwig van Beethoven — String Quartet, Opus 18, No 6 and Grosse Fuge: Opus 133 — as well as Eduardo di Capua's famous Neapolitan song ’O sole mio.

The novel was published on November 1, 1972, pre-empting the movie's release.^[4]

Reception

Vincent Canby of The New York Times described The Mechanic as a "solemn, rather spurious action melodrama". Noting the "father son rivalry" between Arthur and Steve and picking up on the "latent homosexual bond" between the two, Canby concluded that the film was "non-stop, mostly irrelevant physical spectacle" and pondered what a different director might have done with the same material.^[5] Roger Ebert praised Bronson's performance, noting that he appears to be truly listening to Vincent rather than simply waiting for him to stop for Bronson's next line. While finding the plot twists "neat", Ebert found that director Winner failed to squarely address the relationship between the leads in favor of too many boring action sequences.^[6] Judith Crist dismissed the film as "a banal expedition into slaughter and sadism and stupid dialogue". Any hint of authenticity, she wrote, was obliterated by Winner's "bang-bang-bang approach".^[7]

Screen Archives Entertainment has released The Mechanic for the first time on Blu-ray on June 10, 2014.

Remake

On May 7, 2009, it was announced that director Simon West would be helming a remake with Jason Statham taking the lead role.^[8] The remake opened in the United States on January 28, 2011, making $11,500,000 on its opening weekend. A sequel was released in August 2016.

See also

• List of American films of 1972

Notes

• La-La Land Records Album, LLLCD1191, released 2012.

References

• Russo, Vito (1987). The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies (rev. ed). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-096132-5.
• Stevens, Brad (2003). Monte Hellman: His Life and Films. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1434-0.

External links

• The Mechanic (1972) on IMDb
• The Mechanic at Rotten Tomatoes