Point Blank-1967

Director John Boorman

Starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson

Scott’s Review #263

Reviewed August 8, 2015

Grade: B+

Directed by John Boorman, (later made famous for the masterpiece Deliverance in 1972), and based on the novel The Hunter, by Donald E. Westlake, Point Blank (1967) is a tense crime drama starring Lee Marvin as a man seeking revenge on those who have wronged him.

A criminal himself and involved in the mob world of deals and drugs, he is double-crossed by his partner, who takes off with his wife.

A relatively obscure film, Point Blank features obvious influences from the classics it preceded (The Getaway, 1972; Chinatown, 1974; The French Connection, 1971; and Dirty Harry, 1971) and contains some dynamic camera work and art direction.

In its day, it must have been quite a groundbreaking film.

The film begins muddled a confusing, catching the viewer off guard. We know nothing about any of the characters, who are suddenly introduced via flashbacks, interlaced with present and future scenes, so that chaos and tension fill the story immediately.

We know that someone has stabbed someone in the back, but we do not understand why or who the players are.

The film is set partly on deserted Alcatraz Island (the meeting point for a money drop, which we later learn), then moves to Los Angeles. Early on, we realize that Marvin’s character (Walker) has been tricked, shot, and left for dead by his partner Mal (John Vernon), who takes off with Walker’s share of cash…and his troubled wife Lynne.

Hell-bent on seeking revenge (and his money) on Mal and his wife (Lynne), he attempts to track the duo down using any means necessary, leading to the introduction of pivotal and mysterious characters such as Lynne’s sister Chris (played by Angie Dickinson), and Crime Organization leaders Carter and Brewster (played by Lloyd Bochner and Carroll O’Connor, respectively).

With little blood or overt violence, the film instead uses tense action scenes and a great style, and is told in a non-linear way.

One favorite scene involves Walker taking a new car for a test drive and interrogating the salesman for information. As he terrorizes the salesman, he repeatedly slams the vehicle into a pole using the car’s reverse and drive gears, increasing in intensity with each attempt by the salesman to avoid answering Walker’s questions.

Two other scenes that stand out and deserve mention are as follows: when a naked villain is nonchalantly tossed from a penthouse apartment to his death on the street, and subsequently becomes wedged under a passing car, the scene is as startling as it is well shot, especially considering the year was 1967.

In another scene, Lynne is at the beauty salon having her makeup and hair done by a stylist. Her face is captured in the mirror, and the camera shows a dozen or so images of the mirror layered on top of one another.

This looks great, inventive, and is a good example of some superlative camera shots that occur throughout the film.

A few interesting tidbits that I pondered following the film. Was the elevator scene containing Angie Dickinson (almost meaningless to Point Blank) the inspiration for the famous elevator scene from the 1980s Dressed to Kill?

Only Dressed to Kill’s director, Brian De Palma, would know the answer to that question.

How interesting to see Carroll O’Connor (later universally famous for portraying TV’s “Archie Bunker”) as a crime lord. Even though Point Blank was made before All in the Family premiered, it was tough to find him believable in this role.

Finally, I loved the scenes set high atop Los Angeles, in a gorgeous high-rise apartment- the sophisticated living room furniture arrangement and colors are great visual treats.

Taut, intense, and engaging, though admittedly a plot not always made crystal clear nor easy to follow, the film came along at a time when edgier, more experimental films were beginning to be released, which makes Point Blank (1967) a groundbreaking and influential film that undoubtedly helped bring about other crime dramas to follow.