The Killer Elite
Encyclopedia
The Killer Elite is a 1975 American action thriller film starring James Caan and Robert Duvall
and directed by Sam Peckinpah
.
The screenplay was written by Marc Norman
and Stirling Silliphant
adapted from the Robert Syd Hopkins novel, Monkey in the Middle. The novel was written under Hopkins' pseudonym
of Robert Rostand. The film represents the last collaboration between Peckinpah and soundtrack composer Jerry Fielding
, who apparently felt the creative partnership had run its course.
Hansen, having been bought out by an unknown rival group, assassinates Vorodny. In an attempt to show mercy for his old friend, Locken he then critically wounds Locken in the knee and elbow and tells Locken that he's just been retired.
Crippled for life and his career apparently at an end, Locken undergoes a long period of rehabilitation when he is subsequently approached with another assignment from his Com-Teg contact man, Cap Collis. It requires him to protect an Asian client, Yuen Chung. It also gives him the opportunity to seek revenge against Hansen, who is part of the team out to assassinate the client.
Locken, having become well versed in the martial arts using his cane during his rehabilitation, recruits a couple of former ComTeg associates, Mac (Burt Young), a wheelman and a former friend of Locken's and Miller (Bo Hopkins), a weapons expert, to help him. However, the deal turns out to be an elaborate set-up, part of an internal power struggle between rival Com-Teg directors, the aforementioned Cap Collis and his superior, Lawrence Weybourne (Gig Young).
In a subsequent assassination attempt on Chung, Hansen gets the drop on Locken, but is shot and killed by Miller. Locken rebukes Miller for killing Hansen as he felt cheated of his revenge. He later forgives him. A final showdown between the Asian rivals takes place aboard an naval vessel on the Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay, California with Locken and Mac involved in the fray and confronting Collis one last time.
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
and directed by Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
.
The screenplay was written by Marc Norman
Marc Norman
Marc Norman is an American screenwriter.He won, with Tom Stoppard the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, in the 71st Academy Awards of 1998, for his script of Shakespeare in Love; he also shared in the Best Picture Oscar for the film as co-producer...
and Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Dale Silliphant was an American screenwriter and producer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, moved to Glendale, California as a child, graduated from Hoover High School, and was educated at the University of Southern California...
adapted from the Robert Syd Hopkins novel, Monkey in the Middle. The novel was written under Hopkins' pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Robert Rostand. The film represents the last collaboration between Peckinpah and soundtrack composer Jerry Fielding
Jerry Fielding
Jerry Fielding was an American radio, record, film and television composer, conductor, and musical director.-Childhood and education:...
, who apparently felt the creative partnership had run its course.
Plot summary
Mike Locken (James Caan) and George Hansen (Robert Duvall) are best friends and private contractors for a private intelligence agency, Communications Integrity or ComTeg, which handles covert assignments for the CIA. At the beginning of the film, Locken and Hansen are helping an East European defector, Vorodny (Helmut Dantine) escape. After delivering the defector to other ComTeg operatives, Locken and Hansen throw a wild party to relax. The next day, they go to a ComTeg safehouse to relieve other agents who have been guarding Vorodny, the defector they previously helped escape.Hansen, having been bought out by an unknown rival group, assassinates Vorodny. In an attempt to show mercy for his old friend, Locken he then critically wounds Locken in the knee and elbow and tells Locken that he's just been retired.
Crippled for life and his career apparently at an end, Locken undergoes a long period of rehabilitation when he is subsequently approached with another assignment from his Com-Teg contact man, Cap Collis. It requires him to protect an Asian client, Yuen Chung. It also gives him the opportunity to seek revenge against Hansen, who is part of the team out to assassinate the client.
Locken, having become well versed in the martial arts using his cane during his rehabilitation, recruits a couple of former ComTeg associates, Mac (Burt Young), a wheelman and a former friend of Locken's and Miller (Bo Hopkins), a weapons expert, to help him. However, the deal turns out to be an elaborate set-up, part of an internal power struggle between rival Com-Teg directors, the aforementioned Cap Collis and his superior, Lawrence Weybourne (Gig Young).
In a subsequent assassination attempt on Chung, Hansen gets the drop on Locken, but is shot and killed by Miller. Locken rebukes Miller for killing Hansen as he felt cheated of his revenge. He later forgives him. A final showdown between the Asian rivals takes place aboard an naval vessel on the Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay, California with Locken and Mac involved in the fray and confronting Collis one last time.
Cast
- James Caan as Mike Locken
- Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
as George Hansen - Arthur HillArthur Hill (actor)Arthur Edward Spence Hill was a Canadian actor best known for appearances in British and American theater, movies and television...
as Cap Collis - Gig YoungGig YoungGig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
as Weybourne - Mako as Yuen Chung
- Burt YoungBurt YoungBurt Young is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.-Personal life:...
as Mac - Bo HopkinsBo HopkinsBo Hopkins is an American actor.-Career:Hopkins has appeared in more than one hundred film and television roles in a career of more than forty years, including The Bridge at Remagen, The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, American Graffiti, White Lightning, Radioland Murders, The Killer Elite, Midnight...
as Jerome Miller - Takayuki KubotaTakayuki Kubotais a Japanese master of karate. He founded the Gosoku-ryu style of karate, and is the founder and president of the International Karate Association. Kubota holds the title of Sōke for his development of the Gosoku-ryū style of karate...
as Negato Toku - Victor Sen YungVictor Sen YungVictor Sen Yung was an American character actor. He was given billing under a variety of names, including Sen Yung, Sen Young, Victor Sen Young, and Victor Young.- Career :...
as Wei Chi - Kate Heflin as Amy
- Tiana Alexandra as Tommie
- Helmut DantineHelmut DantineHelmut Dantine was a film actor remembered for playing many Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. The Vienna-born actor appeared uncredited in Casablanca early in his career .Dantine's father was the head of the Austrian railway system...
as Vorodny