While I’ve not read any of the Richard Stark (alias for Donald E. Westlake) novels about Parker, the anti-hero criminal thief with his own code, the character has served several film adaptations, the most acclaimed being Lee Marvin in Point Blank (less so, the recent and boring Statham/J-Lo caper movie, Parker). Another treatment of the character, and an underrated B-movie, The Outfit (1973) renames Parker as Macklin and casts post-Godfather Robert Duvall to play the part, effective in his terse, hard demeanour. Macklin’s brother is killed by the shadowy criminal organisation – called The Outfit – because they robbed a bank that was a front for the Oufit’s money unbeknownst to them. Out of prison and surviving one attempted hit, Duvall’s character decides compensation is due and proceeds to rob all the secret Outfit banks and operations he can… until they pay him off. Well-paced with effective violence and a supporting cast of recognisable character actors (including Robert Ryan, Timothy Carey, Richard Jaeckel), this was a great pulp crime thriller. There’s a fun, unique dynamic in the pairing of Duvall with ‘good ole boy’ Joe Don Baker (yes, from the original Walking Tall and bad movie favourite Mitchell) as his partner-in-crime alongside the idiosyncratic Karen Black as well, creating a make-shift team. Directed by John Flynn who would go on to make Rolling Thunder, Best Seller and Out For Justice. Recommended.
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