Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Don Siegel directed many styles of films in his early Hollywood career, which included the science fiction paranoia classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). But as a producer, he became well known in the 1970s for his gritty action films, often starring Clint Eastwood.

The script was written with Eastwood in mind for Matthau's role. Eastwood and director/producer Don Siegel had already made several successful films together, including Dirty Harry (1971) and their best collaboration, Two Mules for Sister Sara (1969). Eastwood took a pass on the project, and laconic, middle-aged everyman Matthau became his unlikely replacement. A mild in-joke reference to Eastwood was also added to the script.

One reason why Eastwood rejected Charley Varrick is that the protagonist is a criminal, whose actions harm innocents yet go unpunished. Eastwood first became a screen legend as "the man with no name" in Leone's expansive westerns, who supposedly was nearly as bad as the villains that opposed him. But if the plots for those films are studied closely, it can be argued that he is a vigilante out to punish the villains, and liberate innocents. No such claim can be given to Varrick, who leaves a trail of bodies of men both good and bad. Yet rather than being depicted in a despicable manner, e.g. The Talented Mr. Ripley, the audience is expected to applaud Varrick for his resourcefulness.

As Charley Varrick, Matthau is deceivingly ordinary, but has surprising skill at surmising and re-arranging outcomes. The labyrinthian strategy that wraps the film up is executed all too neatly, but one has to respect the work that went into devising it. Matthau is well-cast for this important character aspect, but is lacking as a credible love interest.

Nonetheless, Siegel gives him an outrageous seduction scene, and with Jack Lemmon's wife Felicia Farr at that. (Longtime co-stars Lemmon and Matthau were already tied together cinematically, with The Fortune Cookie, The Odd Couple and Kotch preceding). Why Farr would eagerly want to sleep with a violent fugitive who had just broken into her home and held her at gunpoint, especially when he looks like her crank uncle, isn't explainable except as a parody of the genre.

Walter Matthau's young son Charles has a bit role, as does director Siegel (he's the losing ping-pong player). The film's many memorable characters include a courtly, relentless hitman (Joe Don Baker), a comic-relief elderly snoop and gossip (Marjorie Bennett), and Varrick's double-crossed partner (Andrew Robinson, who had played the deranged killer in Dirty Harry).

Matthau would briefly continue in action film roles, on the other side of the law, in The Laughing Policeman (1973) and The Taking of Pelham, One Two Three (1974).

Despite belonging to a popular genre and receiving frequent television showings, Charlie Varrick is unavailable on DVD and has long been a deleted title on VHS. But for fans of crime dramas with a healthy dose of black humor, it is worth searching for in your weekly television listings. (66/100)

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Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older