Mitchell (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 US one-sheet poster for Mitchell |
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| Directed by | Andrew V. McLaglen |
| Produced by | Benjamin Melniker R. Ben Efraim |
| Written by | Ian Kennedy Martin |
| Starring | Joe Don Baker Linda Evans Martin Balsam John Saxon Merlin Olsen Morgan Paull Harold J. Stone Robert Phillips |
| Music by | Larry Brown Jerry Styner |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling Jr. |
| Editing by | Fred A. Chulack |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures Corporation |
| Release date(s) | September 10, 1975 (USA) |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Gross revenue | Unknown |
| IMDb profile | |
Mitchell is a 1975 film starring Joe Don Baker as an abrasive, alcoholic police detective. Very much an anti-hero, Mitchell often ignores the orders of his superiors in pursuit of his targets, and demonstrates disdain for by-the-book police work as well as normal social graces. The film also stars John Saxon and Martin Balsam as the criminals Mitchell pursues throughout the film. Linda Evans and Merlin Olsen appear in supporting roles as a prostitute and henchman, respectively.
Upon its original release, the film received poor critical reviews. In 1993, it was featured in the B movie-mocking TV comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.
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[edit] Plot
A trade union lawyer named Walter Deaney murders a burglar in his house in cold blood. Only an unorthodox plain-clothes detective named Mitchell believes that Deaney is guilty, but Chief Albert Pallin tells him that Deaney is wanted for "every federal law violation in the book" and is therefore "FBI property."
To keep Mitchell away from Deaney, Pallin orders him to stake out the home of James Arthur Cummings, a wealthy man with ties to the mob whose "big scene" is the import and export of stolen merchandise. Although initially Mitchell is unconcerned with Cummings and focuses primarily on Deaney, he gets drawn in after Cummings discovers that Salvatore Mistretta, cousin of his mafioso benefactor Tony Gallano, is bringing in a shipment of stolen heroin from Mexico without Cummings' consent
After unsuccessfully trying to buy Mitchell off with an offer of an illicit real estate deal and a prostitute named Greta, Deaney decides to work with Cummings to eliminate him. Deaney is killed shortly thereafter during an attempt on Mitchell's life.
With the drug shipment about to arrive, Cummings offers Mitchell a deal. Cummings refuses to let Mistretta use his port facilities to bring the shipment in, earning him the ire of Gallano who begins sending thugs to harass him. Cummings decides that the only ally he still has - aside from his faithful butler, Benton - is Mitchell, because he's no good to the police dead.
If Cummings is allowed to go free, Mitchell will be allowed to pose as a chauffeur and pick up the drug shipment, putting him in a position to both confiscate the drugs and arrest Mistretta. After agreeing to the deal, Cummings double-crosses Mitchell by alerting Mistretta to his real identity. He's also double-crossed Mistretta by replacing the heroin with chalk. Finally, Mistretta reveals his plan to double-cross Cummings by killing Mitchell and dumping his body on Cummings' boat.
Mistretta is killed in the subsequent gun battle, freeing Mitchell to go after Cummings on his boat. Mitchell is dropped there by helicopter, and kills Benton with a gaff hook. Cummings is killed after one final attempted double-cross fails, bringing the story to a close.
[edit] Alternate version
In 1980, a heavily edited version of the 1975 film was released for broadcast television, in which most of the violence and all of the nudity and profanity were removed. Several scenes in the film were shot twice for this purpose. This is rare in film given the easy and inexpensive alternative of simply dubbing over the original dialogue.
- Greta writes on the windshield of Mitchell's car with lipstick. In the theatrical release the word written on the windshield is "BASTARD" while in the TV version the word is "JERK."
- The sequence during the dinner scene with the phony argument between Cummings and Benton was also shot twice to substitute "goddamn awful butler" with "lousy butler".
[edit] Critical reception
Mitchell was generally trashed by critics upon its release. In the New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote:
"Mitchell, starring Joe Don Baker as a hard-nosed Los Angeles detective named Mitchell, has a lot of over-explicit violence, some gratuitous sex stuff and some rough language, yet it looks like a movie that couldn't wait to get to prime-time television. Perhaps it's a pilot film for a TV series, or maybe it's just a movie that's bad in a style we associate with some of the more mindless small-screen entertainments. Mitchell spends what seems to be the greater part of the film climbing in and out of automobiles, driving automobiles, chasing other automobiles, parking automobiles, and leaning against the body of automobiles that are temporarily at rest. Once he smashes a hoodlum's hand in the door of an automobile. The climax, for a giddy change of pace, features a police helicopter in pursuit of a high-speed cabin cruiser. Automobiles sink when driven onto water."[1]
Said the Time Out film guide:
"Baker's the big lumpy cop who won't take no and another assignment for an answer when he's told to lay off the gun-happy lawyer (Saxon) he suspects of cold-blooded murder, and to concentrate on the businessman with the coke connection (Balsam). He realises that in such a sparsely-populated cheapie they just have to be in collusion, as he punches and shoots his way to the final credits accompanied by vocal encouragement from one of those country singers with terminal cancer. Balsam and Saxon contribute no more than their required quota of urbane sneers before being bulldozed into oblivion by the golem hero of this irredeemably routine potboiler."[2]
The Internet Movie Database currently gives Mitchell a user ranking of 2.8 out of 10, while the MST3K cut holds a more favorable ranking of 8.7 out of 10.[3][4] As of May 18, 2007, Rotten Tomatoes has not found enough reviews to rank either version.[5][6]
[edit] Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode
On October 23, 1993, the edited-for-television release of Mitchell was featured as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.[7] The film was trimmed by several minutes to match MST3K's format, with the result that John Saxon's character, killed by Mitchell in a deleted scene, simply disappears from the action, leaving the circumstances of his death a mystery. Joel and the Bots even remark on this lapse: "Wasn't John Saxon in this movie?" Particularly mocked were Mitchell's alcoholism, slovenliness, and uncouth behavior.
This episode of MST3K was notable in that it was Joel Hodgson's final regular appearance in the series. During the course of the first host segment break Gypsy became convinced that the "mads" (Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV's Frank) were conspiring to kill his character Joel Robinson, and spent the remainder of the breaks seeking a way to get him off the Satellite of Love. With the help of the mads' assistant Mike Nelson (played by the series' head writer, Michael J. Nelson) Gypsy found an escape pod and was able to evacuate Joel after the film had finished. His place on the Satellite of Love was subsequently taken by Mike.[7]
According to Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide,[page # needed] actor Joe Don Baker was very angry at the MST3K treatment of Mitchell, and threatened physical violence on any of the cast or crew should he ever meet them in person. This did not stop them from later featuring (and happily mocking) another of Joe Don's films, Final Justice, and hurling even more vicious insults at Baker.[8] Kevin Murphy, who played MST3K's robot commentator Tom Servo, and was one of the show's head writers, later said Baker likely meant it in a joking manner.
[edit] Music
The film's theme song, "Mitchell," was performed by country music legend Hoyt Axton.
[edit] References in popular culture
In the computer game Wing Commander III, a cheat code enabling one-hit kill is "mitchell".[9] When you launch your fighter, you hear Joel and the Bots say "Mitchell!".
[edit] DVD releases
- The film has been released as a 'bargain bin' disc.
- The MST3K version of the film (along with the uncut version, included as a bonus feature)was released by Rhino Home Video.
[edit] References
- ^ Movie Review, Vincent Canby
- ^ Time Out Review: Mitchell
- ^ Mitchell (1975). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Mystery Science Theater 3000" - Mitchell (1993). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ Mitchell (1975). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Mitchell (1993). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ a b SEASON FIVE: 1993-1994. Satellite News. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ SEASON TEN: 1999. Satellite News. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger Cheats. IGN.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
[edit] External links
- Mitchell at the Internet Movie Database
- Mitchell at Allmovie
- Mitchell at Rotten Tomatoes
- A list of cultural references in the Mystery Science Theater cut.
