Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Parker Lewis Walter Matthau really sheds his Odd Couple image in Charley Varrick. No laugh track here and no opposite flatmate who is obsessive compulsive.One memorable scene is where hapless bank manager Harold Young (Woodrow Parfrey) is told in no uncertain terms that he's up the creek without paddle because he allowed mob money to be stolen from his branch. What an intense scene, and if there was a deleted scene I would have liked to have seen Harold go on the run to protect his life. Perhaps he could have flown to Hawaii or somewhere in the Yukon.

moonspinner55 "Charley Varrick", an adaptation of John Reese's book "The Looters", begins with a flurry of violent excitement: former stunt pilot Varrick, now using a crop dusting business as a front, robs a bank with his cronies in small New Mexico town. They only should have netted about two grand, but the quarter-million dollar haul they pick up raises a red flag. Varrick's first hunch turns out to be right, that the money was being held at the bank as a drop for the mafia, and "dirty" money can't be spent because it leaves a trail. Crime-drama directed by Don Siegel has a gritty panache that gives the picture character (it's better than your average bank robbery melee...and how could it not be with cagey Walter Matthau in the lead?). However, there's no trustworthy characters in the film--everyone is sleazy--including Varrick who, after a time, begins looking as crummy as the 'bad guys' who are after him. These are dirty deeds, all right, and the movie leaves unresolved sour feelings in its wake. Lalo Schifrin's instantly-dated score is overused by Siegel, carpeting the whole movie with perky noise. **1/2 from ****

PimpinAinttEasy Dear Don Seigel, did Clint refuse to act in this film? Don't get me wrong, Walter Mathau was very good. I'm simply asking because Clint acted in four of your films before this one.Anyway, it is to find films like Charley Varrick that I watch American movies. I loved it from the beginning itself. The small town milieu. The long and deserted highways. Clear blue skies. People who live in trailer parks. The whorehouses.I can imagine Tarantino being inspired by this film when he wrote Michael Madsen's character and the scenes in his trailer for Kill Bill 2.The score by Lalo Schifrin was intense. I loved the title sequence and the way the score was used to create tension.But what happened in the last 20 minutes? A dark and intense heist thriller suddenly turned into a big budget Hitchcock film. I did not see that coming at all.But even then, a very enjoyable heist film. It is almost like a thieves procedural.Best Regards, Pimpin.(8/10)

grainstorms This movie is a bloodbath and demolition derby that makes a Quentin Tarantino film look like THE SOUND OF MUSIC. People get shot, tortured,blown-up. There are perhaps only two good people in the entire movie. Walter Matthau is not one of them. He is as amoral as they come. And yet CHARLEY VARRICK, for all its grimness, and taut suspense, is a feel-good movie. It's actually delightful... It's all because of Walter Matthau. He was a master in showing intelligence. That rumbled face, odd posture and shambling walk masterfully conveyed the warning -- Beware: Brain At Work! Walter Matthau made thinking and planning very interesting, even sexy. And the good news is that he's even better here than in his other masterpiece of mixed-up morality, HOPSCOTCH. (Both films feature little old airplanes -- Hollywood's homage to NORTH BY NORTHWEST?)There are other ingredients to this action-packed movie that give it its special charm. Beautifully photographed and directed, extremely well-acted (look especially for a chilling performance by Joe Don Baker), engrossing plot, funny dialog, and above all, Walter Matthau.It's almost a half-century old, yet CHARLEY VARRICK is still as fresh as a budding daisy over a new grave. Make every effort to see CHARLEY VARRICK as soon as possible. Why postpone pleasure?