The Mechanic (1972 film)

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) for an ongoing girlfriend experience to have a simulated romantic (social & sexual) relationship, including her writing him fake love letters.

When Bishop is assigned one of the organizations 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 Harrys funeral, Bishop meets Harrys 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." But 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 Steves 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 latters 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 Steves father. Steve responds that he had not realized his father was murdered. Steve taunts Bishop, saying "you told me that everyone has a jelly spotyours was that you couldnt cut it alone." Steve goes on to reveal that he was not acting on orders to kill Bishop.

Steve returns to Bishops 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 youre reading this it means I didnt make it back. It also means youve broken a filament controlling a 13-second delay trigger. End of game. Bang! Youre dead." As Steve frantically reaches for the door handle, the car explodes.

Cast

Production

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 He and screenwriter Lewis John Carlino adapted Carlinos then-unpublished novel and worked on the script for several weeks before producers switched studios and hired Michael Winner to direct.

In Carlinos 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.

The films 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.

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. Roger Ebert praised Bronsons performance, noting that he appears to be truly listening to Vincent rather than simply waiting for him to stop for Bronsons 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. 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 Winners "bang-bang-bang approach".

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. The remake opened in the United States on January 28, 2011, making $11,500,000 on its opening weekend.