Great movie and the Parker series is a fantastic set of books. Parker was one of a kind and Marvin, I think, was closest to the written character than Statham or Gibson.
Good article. I am a huge fan of the books and always enjoyed this reasonably faithful adaptation. Because I see it as the first in a series it never occurred to me that Walker died and this is a revenge fantasy dream. This is a fascinating idea and I will re-watch the movie with a eye on that perspective. Thanks. Also Tarantino is crazy: Lee who was always great gives one of his best performances here.
Thanks for reading my article! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how well the film works either way - as a straight-ahead action movie or as the imaginary revenge fantasy of a dying man. Let me know what you of the fantasy revenge theory after you've had a chance to watch the film again.
Westlake’s policy on selling the rights to the Parker novels was that he wanted to reserve use of the name Parker to a movie producer with a bona fide intention to do a series of Parker movies. Parker never has more than one name in the books, and he uses anonymity and pseudonyms as a self-defense mechanism. The strength of Point Blank is that you can believe the dream theory if you want to but the film portrays the character as Westlake wrote him just as well. Myself I find the idea trite, and I’m reminded of the way Orson Welles eventually disowned the Rosebud device in Citizen Kane as “dollar book Freud”. The question I would have to ask is that if it were a deathbed dream of revenge then why does the wife who betrayed die by her own hand and the friend who betrayed him die almost accidentally in the first half of the movie, and why does the revenge center on mobsters he didn’t even know about at the time he died? There’s nothing ambiguous about the ending, which is just about perfect. Clearly Walker has worked out in his mind how he’s going to escape and he’s not going to retrieve the money until it’s absolutely safe. One would assume he’d hide out in Alcatraz until he could infiltrate a tour group and take a boat back with them. The theme or conceit of the first two books is that the bureaucratic pretensions of the mob have made them soft and vulnerable to a hold-up man like Parker. He’s proved that enough to Fairfax that he just says to his hit man, “Leave it.” The risk isn’t worth it. Westlake himself thought the movie that captured the character as he wrote it was The Outfit with Robert Duvall, which is also getting a reissue.
The Parker novels valorize professionalism, and are amoral about anything but that ethic. He demands $92,000 because that was his cut. He doesn’t want to bring down the mob, he wants what’s owed him, which was illegitimately handed over to the mob. Imagine the presumed reader of a Parker novel as first issued, a working stiff looking for a crime thriller off the spinner rack to while away his leisure hours. A paperback novel, the kind the drugstore sells. The working stiff enjoys a vicarious life of crime, and he identifies with Parker as facing the same struggles as he does. He sees himself as the competent workman bedeviled by the small incompetences and betrayals of the other working stiffs he’s yoked to and the no good bums who pay his salary. He enjoys his avatar winning through or saving himself if no one else through his own wits, plus there’s a lot violence. What more can you ask for a quarter?
One interesting thing you could use Point Blank as a case study of is what makes a movie fast-moving? My span of attention is kaput and I’m an inveterate time remaining watcher, and every time I peeked at the time while watching Point Blank it seemed that half an hour had gone by. Seeing it in 4K on a 65-inch screen merely confirmed what I’ve always believe: You’re not truly seeing Point Blank unless you’re watching it on the biggest screen available, up close.
Thank you for reading my article and for your very interesting and perceptive comments! I wish I could see "Point Blank" on the big screen in a real theater. I'm sure it's a whole different experience compared to watching it at home on my 55" t.v.
Wow. Funny that Tarantino complains and compares Point Blank to an episode of Mannix. I thought that was Tarantino’s entire aesthetic… early,70’s cop shows, blaxploitation, and,otherwise re-interpretating from decades gone by, poorly imo. Great article, enjoyed reading it. I re-watched Point Blank about a month ago, damn good movie. I’m only dimly aware of the machinations of the plot, nothing makes any sense at all. But the style is so strong that it compels you to watch it to the bitter end, understanding be damned. Thanks for posting
Thank you very much for reading my article! I'm about 3/4ths the way through Tarantino's book on film criticism and there's no consistency in his opinions or viewpoints on classic movies. I really don't know what to think of many of his opinions. But, there's no question that "Point Blank" is a great film, and I'm glad you enjoyed the movie too.
Interesting trivia: the script by Alex Jacobs has been cited by many screenwriters as being responsible for their more modern screenwriting styles.
John Milius and Walter Hill, among others, have stated that Jacobs' script for POINT BLANK, with its clipped stylistic using as few words as possible, improved the reading experience greatly and served to help the new generation sell the old Hollywood guard on their spec scripts. The style used no technical jargon, no camera directions, dialogue parentheticals, or editing instructions. It resulted in a fast, vertical read down the page. It had momentum. It pulled you through the story. Pixar adopted the style even moreso in scripts such as WALL-E.
If you compare many scripts from the 1970s to those from before PB, the difference is dramatic. Page counts drop by 30-50%. I collect digital copies of screenplays, and there's a stark change evident from 1967 onward in many writers' scripts. It may well be that POINT BLANK is responsible for ushering in the Movie Brats who took over Hollywood back then.
This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing this with me. After reading your comment, I can definitely see Jacobs’ influence on Walter Hill and John Milius’ screenplays. And, I think, even on the script for Refn’s “Drive.”
One of my favourites of that period. Marvin is brilliant. He's a tower of strength. He's an enigma. He's a ghost.
It may very well be the revenge fantasy of a dying man, yet, if you believe he survived, it plays as a film about a man who may as well be dead. He's so fixated on getting revenge that his life narrows into this nightmare where his one goal - the thing he so desperately wants and hungers for - can never truly be fulfilled.
Another point, it's not so much the money but wanting a reason. Why? Why him? The Organization doesn't even recognize him as a person. To them, he might as well not exist. They're certainly not going to give him what he truly desires.
Thanks for reading and thank you for your insightful comments. I agree that even if you believe Walker survived being shot he might as well be dead since he's only focused on getting his money (and revenge) and nothing else. It really is a great film. I can't imagine anyone but Lee Marvin playing the role; he makes the whole thing work.
Great article...it's funny, I love Westlake in general and Parker in particular - though this one is a better movie, but The Outfit is probably a better Parker movie (along with the director's cut of Payback)
Thanks for reading! I haven't seen "The Outfit." I noticed that Arrow has just released a new restored version of it on 4k/blu-ray, so I hope to get that soon.
I don’t see Walker’s(Parker’s) maniacal pursuit of the money as an odd or unanswered question. The saying is that “there is no honor among thieves”. That’s not quite right with Parker. He does have a code, and that is you don’t cross your partners during a job. It’s all about trust, and you must honor that code. I never viewed the movie as being Walker’s dying dream, mainly to have read all the series. It’s a nifty take on it. Lastly, I’d like to note the great job Mysterious Press did with the later books Westlake added to the series. The covers are subtly designed to be matchbox covers, and the titles interlocked: #17 was Comeback, #18 was Backfire, #19 was Firebreak, and so on. Westlake was the consummate pro and a sweet and funny guy.
Thanks for reading my article! Thank you for your comments on the film and for telling me about the Mysterious Press editions of the original books. I haven't read any of the books in the Parker series, but I'm very interested in doing so; now I know what editions I should look for - thanks again!
I can understand the stylistic influences of "Breathless" on "Easy Rider," but don't really see that in "The Graduate," which seems much more of a standard, linear drama.
Thank you for reading my article and thank you very much for becoming a paid subscriber to my newsletter. I really appreciate your support. To answer your question, the French New Wave filmmakers' influence on Mike Nichol's "The Graduate" can be seen in the style of the film, especially in the editing, which incorporated many of the techniques Truffaut and especially Godard used in their early films. These include jump-cuts and rapid-cut montages. Nichols' also used non-traditional camera angles, which were also part of the French New Wave filmmakers' techniques too. In addition, by making Dustin Hoffman's character an anti-hero and showing he and the other younger characters questioning and rebelling against middle-class norms, along with portraying the older characters in the film as being out of touch with the youth of the time, Nichols incorporated many of themes found in the early French New Wave films, especially in "The 400 Blows."
Ah … I see what you mean. That iconic shot of the young character played by DH standing in the background of the bedroom, seen through the crook of Mrs. Robinson’s bent knee, was certainly not standard Hollywood fare at the time.
I watched TG again a few months ago — my first viewing since seeing it during the films initial theatrical release, when I was in high school — and it held up really well.
Great post and movie. I love the enthusiasm. You’re right and Tarantino is wrong.
I’ve never bought that the whole thing is imaginary, like “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”; in OCB and other works like it, there are many examples of “dream logic,” in which the real world pokes through the dream. That argument also reminds me of the one in which people say Bruce Wayne is really dead at the end of The Dark Knight Rises.
Your question about what he wants to do with the $93,000 is great. I’ve read every one of the Parker books and, for such a great thief, he is surprisingly Spartan. He’s the opposite of the guys in Goodfellas, who pull off the heist and then buy Cadillacs. He wants that $93,000 because it’s his, it’s owed to him, and that’s that.
I read somewhere that the reason Westlake wouldn’t let them use the name Parker was because he wanted to retain something of his own creation in case they messed it up.
There’s a very good book about PB in the BFI classics series by Eric Wilson. He also joined us on our episode of Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics when we covered this movie. I think you would dig it.
Loved this essay. Curious fact: in 1966 Lee Marvin and Anna Karina played the same character in different films. Jean-Luc Godard's "Made in USA" is also based on a Richard Stark novel. Tarantino thinks he's outgrown Godard as well!
Thanks for reading my article and for the information about "Made in U.S.A" too. Who could've guessed that Anna Karina and Lee Marvin both played the same character in the same year? I've seen "Made in U.S.A." a long time ago - I'll have to find a copy and watch it again now.
Nice article, complete. The Parker name had to be changed because Westlake was not going to turn over the rights to the studio. He created Parker and wanted to continue to control the character. The Outfit and Payback, no Parker, but if you have read the books, the protagonist is Parker. The Westlake estate allowed Parker to be used for Statham’s Parker after Westlake had passed.
I too, after multiple viewings believe Walker never makes it off Alcatraz. It’s a fever dream of the revenge he would take if he was able to live.
I like movie and I like how Boorman shot and edited it. Marvin does look sleepy or out of it at times, but this is all going on while he’s dying so, to me, it blurs line between fever dream and the reality of death, his death approaching.
I love Tarantino the writer and director, but his need to be the final word on every movie is not for me. He’s entitled to his opinion just as anyone else, but he’s not the final word and I dislike the fact that his ego allows him to believe that he is.
I have to agree with you. If anything I would have thought they would have allowed it for Payback. Again, though, unless there is no permission call the movie The Hunter.
Yes, I believe he was so getting the rights to use the name “Parker” was out of the question and so may have the rights to use “The Hunter”. Thank you.
Thanks for reading! Also, thank you for sharing all of this information about the rights to Parker's name and Westlake's ability to control the character. I didn't know any of this, and I think it's quite interesting. Finally, I agree with you about Tarantino. I've enjoyed reading his book and I like his writing style, but often I just scratch my head over his opinions about many of the great classic films he writes about. Sometimes I think he takes a contrarian point of view just to be controversial for the sake of being controversial.
I don’t doubt that. It’s very clear in any interview Tarantino does he has a very high opinion of what he’s saying and that it should just be accepted. I did enjoy his book. I have read several of Stark’s Parker novels, they’re so good, and I did some digging as to why the protagonist is never named Parker. You’re welcome. Keep it up.
Great movie and the Parker series is a fantastic set of books. Parker was one of a kind and Marvin, I think, was closest to the written character than Statham or Gibson.
Hi Neal,
Thanks for reading! I agree that Marvin was perfectly cast in this role.
Good article. I am a huge fan of the books and always enjoyed this reasonably faithful adaptation. Because I see it as the first in a series it never occurred to me that Walker died and this is a revenge fantasy dream. This is a fascinating idea and I will re-watch the movie with a eye on that perspective. Thanks. Also Tarantino is crazy: Lee who was always great gives one of his best performances here.
Hi Eli,
Thanks for reading my article! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how well the film works either way - as a straight-ahead action movie or as the imaginary revenge fantasy of a dying man. Let me know what you of the fantasy revenge theory after you've had a chance to watch the film again.
Westlake’s policy on selling the rights to the Parker novels was that he wanted to reserve use of the name Parker to a movie producer with a bona fide intention to do a series of Parker movies. Parker never has more than one name in the books, and he uses anonymity and pseudonyms as a self-defense mechanism. The strength of Point Blank is that you can believe the dream theory if you want to but the film portrays the character as Westlake wrote him just as well. Myself I find the idea trite, and I’m reminded of the way Orson Welles eventually disowned the Rosebud device in Citizen Kane as “dollar book Freud”. The question I would have to ask is that if it were a deathbed dream of revenge then why does the wife who betrayed die by her own hand and the friend who betrayed him die almost accidentally in the first half of the movie, and why does the revenge center on mobsters he didn’t even know about at the time he died? There’s nothing ambiguous about the ending, which is just about perfect. Clearly Walker has worked out in his mind how he’s going to escape and he’s not going to retrieve the money until it’s absolutely safe. One would assume he’d hide out in Alcatraz until he could infiltrate a tour group and take a boat back with them. The theme or conceit of the first two books is that the bureaucratic pretensions of the mob have made them soft and vulnerable to a hold-up man like Parker. He’s proved that enough to Fairfax that he just says to his hit man, “Leave it.” The risk isn’t worth it. Westlake himself thought the movie that captured the character as he wrote it was The Outfit with Robert Duvall, which is also getting a reissue.
The Parker novels valorize professionalism, and are amoral about anything but that ethic. He demands $92,000 because that was his cut. He doesn’t want to bring down the mob, he wants what’s owed him, which was illegitimately handed over to the mob. Imagine the presumed reader of a Parker novel as first issued, a working stiff looking for a crime thriller off the spinner rack to while away his leisure hours. A paperback novel, the kind the drugstore sells. The working stiff enjoys a vicarious life of crime, and he identifies with Parker as facing the same struggles as he does. He sees himself as the competent workman bedeviled by the small incompetences and betrayals of the other working stiffs he’s yoked to and the no good bums who pay his salary. He enjoys his avatar winning through or saving himself if no one else through his own wits, plus there’s a lot violence. What more can you ask for a quarter?
One interesting thing you could use Point Blank as a case study of is what makes a movie fast-moving? My span of attention is kaput and I’m an inveterate time remaining watcher, and every time I peeked at the time while watching Point Blank it seemed that half an hour had gone by. Seeing it in 4K on a 65-inch screen merely confirmed what I’ve always believe: You’re not truly seeing Point Blank unless you’re watching it on the biggest screen available, up close.
Hi Robert,
Thank you for reading my article and for your very interesting and perceptive comments! I wish I could see "Point Blank" on the big screen in a real theater. I'm sure it's a whole different experience compared to watching it at home on my 55" t.v.
I need to watch this end-to-end again. I love the telephone call scene with Brewster, tho'. I've watched it over and over!
Hi Salusa,
Thanks for reading my article! I think Carroll O'Connor is great in the movie. I can't imagine anyone else playing that role.
Wow. Funny that Tarantino complains and compares Point Blank to an episode of Mannix. I thought that was Tarantino’s entire aesthetic… early,70’s cop shows, blaxploitation, and,otherwise re-interpretating from decades gone by, poorly imo. Great article, enjoyed reading it. I re-watched Point Blank about a month ago, damn good movie. I’m only dimly aware of the machinations of the plot, nothing makes any sense at all. But the style is so strong that it compels you to watch it to the bitter end, understanding be damned. Thanks for posting
Hi David,
Thank you very much for reading my article! I'm about 3/4ths the way through Tarantino's book on film criticism and there's no consistency in his opinions or viewpoints on classic movies. I really don't know what to think of many of his opinions. But, there's no question that "Point Blank" is a great film, and I'm glad you enjoyed the movie too.
Nice article!
Interesting trivia: the script by Alex Jacobs has been cited by many screenwriters as being responsible for their more modern screenwriting styles.
John Milius and Walter Hill, among others, have stated that Jacobs' script for POINT BLANK, with its clipped stylistic using as few words as possible, improved the reading experience greatly and served to help the new generation sell the old Hollywood guard on their spec scripts. The style used no technical jargon, no camera directions, dialogue parentheticals, or editing instructions. It resulted in a fast, vertical read down the page. It had momentum. It pulled you through the story. Pixar adopted the style even moreso in scripts such as WALL-E.
If you compare many scripts from the 1970s to those from before PB, the difference is dramatic. Page counts drop by 30-50%. I collect digital copies of screenplays, and there's a stark change evident from 1967 onward in many writers' scripts. It may well be that POINT BLANK is responsible for ushering in the Movie Brats who took over Hollywood back then.
This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing this with me. After reading your comment, I can definitely see Jacobs’ influence on Walter Hill and John Milius’ screenplays. And, I think, even on the script for Refn’s “Drive.”
One of my favourites of that period. Marvin is brilliant. He's a tower of strength. He's an enigma. He's a ghost.
It may very well be the revenge fantasy of a dying man, yet, if you believe he survived, it plays as a film about a man who may as well be dead. He's so fixated on getting revenge that his life narrows into this nightmare where his one goal - the thing he so desperately wants and hungers for - can never truly be fulfilled.
Another point, it's not so much the money but wanting a reason. Why? Why him? The Organization doesn't even recognize him as a person. To them, he might as well not exist. They're certainly not going to give him what he truly desires.
Hi Dom,
Thanks for reading and thank you for your insightful comments. I agree that even if you believe Walker survived being shot he might as well be dead since he's only focused on getting his money (and revenge) and nothing else. It really is a great film. I can't imagine anyone but Lee Marvin playing the role; he makes the whole thing work.
Great article...it's funny, I love Westlake in general and Parker in particular - though this one is a better movie, but The Outfit is probably a better Parker movie (along with the director's cut of Payback)
Hi Howard,
Thanks for reading! I haven't seen "The Outfit." I noticed that Arrow has just released a new restored version of it on 4k/blu-ray, so I hope to get that soon.
Yes I plan on getting that version also!
I don’t see Walker’s(Parker’s) maniacal pursuit of the money as an odd or unanswered question. The saying is that “there is no honor among thieves”. That’s not quite right with Parker. He does have a code, and that is you don’t cross your partners during a job. It’s all about trust, and you must honor that code. I never viewed the movie as being Walker’s dying dream, mainly to have read all the series. It’s a nifty take on it. Lastly, I’d like to note the great job Mysterious Press did with the later books Westlake added to the series. The covers are subtly designed to be matchbox covers, and the titles interlocked: #17 was Comeback, #18 was Backfire, #19 was Firebreak, and so on. Westlake was the consummate pro and a sweet and funny guy.
Hi JB,
Thanks for reading my article! Thank you for your comments on the film and for telling me about the Mysterious Press editions of the original books. I haven't read any of the books in the Parker series, but I'm very interested in doing so; now I know what editions I should look for - thanks again!
I can understand the stylistic influences of "Breathless" on "Easy Rider," but don't really see that in "The Graduate," which seems much more of a standard, linear drama.
Can you explain what you see as the connections?
Hi Michael,
Thank you for reading my article and thank you very much for becoming a paid subscriber to my newsletter. I really appreciate your support. To answer your question, the French New Wave filmmakers' influence on Mike Nichol's "The Graduate" can be seen in the style of the film, especially in the editing, which incorporated many of the techniques Truffaut and especially Godard used in their early films. These include jump-cuts and rapid-cut montages. Nichols' also used non-traditional camera angles, which were also part of the French New Wave filmmakers' techniques too. In addition, by making Dustin Hoffman's character an anti-hero and showing he and the other younger characters questioning and rebelling against middle-class norms, along with portraying the older characters in the film as being out of touch with the youth of the time, Nichols incorporated many of themes found in the early French New Wave films, especially in "The 400 Blows."
Ah … I see what you mean. That iconic shot of the young character played by DH standing in the background of the bedroom, seen through the crook of Mrs. Robinson’s bent knee, was certainly not standard Hollywood fare at the time.
I watched TG again a few months ago — my first viewing since seeing it during the films initial theatrical release, when I was in high school — and it held up really well.
Thanks!
A bit of a lost Boorman movie that I was fond of was The Emerald Forest.
Glad you mentioned The Limey. I do love that movie.
Hi John,
Thanks for reading my post! I'm a big fan of "The Emerald Forest" too.
Great post and movie. I love the enthusiasm. You’re right and Tarantino is wrong.
I’ve never bought that the whole thing is imaginary, like “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”; in OCB and other works like it, there are many examples of “dream logic,” in which the real world pokes through the dream. That argument also reminds me of the one in which people say Bruce Wayne is really dead at the end of The Dark Knight Rises.
Your question about what he wants to do with the $93,000 is great. I’ve read every one of the Parker books and, for such a great thief, he is surprisingly Spartan. He’s the opposite of the guys in Goodfellas, who pull off the heist and then buy Cadillacs. He wants that $93,000 because it’s his, it’s owed to him, and that’s that.
I read somewhere that the reason Westlake wouldn’t let them use the name Parker was because he wanted to retain something of his own creation in case they messed it up.
There’s a very good book about PB in the BFI classics series by Eric Wilson. He also joined us on our episode of Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics when we covered this movie. I think you would dig it.
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for reading my post and for your insightful comments. I'll definitely check out your podcast episode about "Point Blank."
I tried watching Boorman’s Excalibur and no just Hard NO.
Hi Michael,
Why is that? I love "Excalibur!" It's the only King Arthur movie that goes back to the source - Malory's "Morte D'Arthur."
And it’s cheesy horrible and sorry no dice.
Well, there's always "First Knight" or "Camelot!" ;)
Loved this essay. Curious fact: in 1966 Lee Marvin and Anna Karina played the same character in different films. Jean-Luc Godard's "Made in USA" is also based on a Richard Stark novel. Tarantino thinks he's outgrown Godard as well!
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for reading my article and for the information about "Made in U.S.A" too. Who could've guessed that Anna Karina and Lee Marvin both played the same character in the same year? I've seen "Made in U.S.A." a long time ago - I'll have to find a copy and watch it again now.
This is excellent
Hi Gorilla,
Thank you! I've become obsessed with "Point Blank" and had a lot of fun writing and researching my article about it.
What’s the best Porter movie, in your opinion?
The best Porter movie? Or did you mean the best Parker movie? I'm sorry, I'm a little confused.
I mean the character from the Westlake books. Payback was my fave.
I haven't read any of his books yet, but now I'm interested in checking them out. I'll start with 'Payback" based on your recommendation. Thank you!
To me it's Point Blank, The Outfit and Payback...with any of the other adaptations well below
Payback is a movie with Mel Gibson, based on The Hunter book. It seems like there’s a few movies based on the character.
Nice article, complete. The Parker name had to be changed because Westlake was not going to turn over the rights to the studio. He created Parker and wanted to continue to control the character. The Outfit and Payback, no Parker, but if you have read the books, the protagonist is Parker. The Westlake estate allowed Parker to be used for Statham’s Parker after Westlake had passed.
I too, after multiple viewings believe Walker never makes it off Alcatraz. It’s a fever dream of the revenge he would take if he was able to live.
I like movie and I like how Boorman shot and edited it. Marvin does look sleepy or out of it at times, but this is all going on while he’s dying so, to me, it blurs line between fever dream and the reality of death, his death approaching.
I love Tarantino the writer and director, but his need to be the final word on every movie is not for me. He’s entitled to his opinion just as anyone else, but he’s not the final word and I dislike the fact that his ego allows him to believe that he is.
I'm still annoyed at the estate for allowing Statham to use the Parker name 😡
I have to agree with you. If anything I would have thought they would have allowed it for Payback. Again, though, unless there is no permission call the movie The Hunter.
Wasn't Westlake still alive when Payback was filmed?
Yes, I believe he was so getting the rights to use the name “Parker” was out of the question and so may have the rights to use “The Hunter”. Thank you.
Hi Ktiranno,
Thanks for reading! Also, thank you for sharing all of this information about the rights to Parker's name and Westlake's ability to control the character. I didn't know any of this, and I think it's quite interesting. Finally, I agree with you about Tarantino. I've enjoyed reading his book and I like his writing style, but often I just scratch my head over his opinions about many of the great classic films he writes about. Sometimes I think he takes a contrarian point of view just to be controversial for the sake of being controversial.
I don’t doubt that. It’s very clear in any interview Tarantino does he has a very high opinion of what he’s saying and that it should just be accepted. I did enjoy his book. I have read several of Stark’s Parker novels, they’re so good, and I did some digging as to why the protagonist is never named Parker. You’re welcome. Keep it up.