Film and Television

 I'm continuing my Holiday weekend film festival of crime movies I've alwasy meant to see, but have somehow missed. Last night, I finally got around to  THE OUTFIT, writer-director John Flynn's 1973 adaptation of the Richard Stark novel. Robert Duvall played Parker (renamed Macklin) and, while he doesn't match my vision of the character, I was surprised by how much I liked his take on the role (previously portrayed by Lee Marvin in POINT BLANK). I don't remember the book well enough to notice where the movie deviated from it, but Flynn certainly captured the stripped-down essence of Stark's prose very well. THE OUTFIT is essentially a revenge movie, with a few robberies thrown in, but I found it lean, mean, and deceptively well-crafted in its simplicity. Flynn's straight-forward directing style reminds me of Don Siegel's films…and, like Siegel, he has a great eye for casting, using familiar character actors in colorful supporting roles. I especially enjoyed Joe Don Baker as Cody, Macklin's affable but deadly partner in ripping off a bunch of The Outfit's gambling operations, and Karen Black brought surprising depth and emotion to what otherwise might have been a thankless role as Macklin's girlfriend (and I say this as a guy who has never liked Karen Black).  

 I finally saw Allen Baron's 1961 movie BLAST OF SILENCE, a brutal, cold piece of low-budget film noir that I've been hearing great things about for years. I'm pleased to report that it lives up to the hype…and is unlike any Christmas movie you've ever seen. The fantastic, gravel-voiced second-person narration (written by Waldo Salt under a pseudonym and performed by an uncredited Lionel Stander) and the startlingly bleak visuals more than make-up for the thin plot and weak acting. I recommend it.