Originally published at: Like a Steve McQueen movie: "Charley Varrick" - Boing Boing
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that is…pretty good. yeah, nailed it in fact.
(edited for clarification)
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It’s a legitimately fun movie. Yes, Matthau is weirdly cast, but everything else clicks. And it’s not like he turns in a bad performance- he just is an odd choice for the role, is all.
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As usual, you just decide to go along with Matthau in the role no matter how miscast he seems. He always delivers.
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There is no denying the Matthau!
Good flick.
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Old age and treachery…
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There are probably bad Walter Matthau movies out there, but none spring to mind just now. This one is great. There’s a DJ on my local college radio station (KALK 90.7 Berkeley) by the name of Charley Varrick!
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Thanks for pointing this one out. I’ve been more vigilant about building out my physical media library, due to the vagaries of streaming.
For those that are interested, Amazon has the blu-ray:
https://www.amazon.com/Charley-Varrick-Special-Blu-ray-Matthau/dp/B07X5FPP7N/ref=asc_df_B07X5FPP7N/
(As well as a purchase link for VHS!)
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“Andy Robinson”?
adding this to my queue today.
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Love the movie. Recommend it to any fan of thrillers of that era.
Joe Don Baker has never been more menacing than as the pursuing hitman Molly.
There was a comic book version called “Last of the Independents”
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This is one of my favorite films of the '70’s. Very smart caper film. Matthau was terrific when cast against type.
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Pirates (1986) comes to mind; when it was released it was a a flop. Perhaps time has been kind to it.
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It is definitely something I always wanted to revisit (11 year old me thought it was bad) but it is a Polanski film.
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God I saw this on tv as a kid in his early teens sometime in the 70’s. Only thing I remember was Matthau doing his thing, very matter of fact performance. The line about how the guy was going to get worked over with a pair of pliers & a blowtorch was presented just that way. Probably not good for a 13 or 14 year old to be watching
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He was also the main bad guy in Dirty Harry.
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A great movie, I recommend highly.
Would have been better if they had titled it “Last of the Independents”.
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No, the main bad guy in Dirty Harry was played by Clint Eastwood. 
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JDB: “Last of the independents? Has a nice note of…finality.”
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I remember seeing “Charley Varrick” during it’s initial run at movie theater in Norwalk CT that ran a lot of exploitation movies (e.g. “The Klansman” and “Poor White Trash II”). This one was definitely above par, one of the best Matthau helmed movies in the '70s. What drew me and my friends to this movie? It was directed by the legendary Don Siegel. Great flick!
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I’m a sucker for any movie with an old biplane as a plot device – from North by Northwest to Independence Day to Capricorn One to Tora! Tora! Tora! – and pretty much any 1970s or 1980s TV show where they needed a dramatic flying scene.
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