The film of the week this time is CHARLEY VARRICK.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069865/

Walter Matthau has a great acting face. That might sound vague, but he has one of those faces I instantly recognize. He wasn't handsome but he had a a disgruntled charm that worked wonders in comedies. Charley Varrick is a departure for him where he plays a man who robs a small town bank with several other men. What they think is a small amount of money they can divide amongst themselves turns out to be mob money. This is easily Matthau's best performance. Charley Varrick has a cult reputation among people like Quentin Tarantino and several others. It was directed by Don Siegal who most would know for making Dirty Harry, but he made a few other good films too.

Joe Don Baker plays a ruthless hitman who is hunting Charey Varrick and his crew. He is chilling in this role. It's the performance that tends to get forgotten since he is one of those actors who you have probably seen many times without knowing his name. We are never really sure exactly how much Varrick knows or whether he is one step ahead of everyone or not. He is the hero of the story yet he does some pretty twisted things to get his way. Pretty much everyone in this film is morally corrupt in their own distinct way. This is definitely one of the best crime films of the 70's.