Company of Killers

This is a very run of the mill TV movie that somehow got diverted to the big screen. I don't know why, except maybe they had trouble with some of the violence and material when it was first made (then again this was apparently G rated when it played in theaters). The plot has a hit man on the run from both the cops and the mob after a cop is shot. Its well acted by the cast (Ray Milland, Van Johnson, Fritz Weaver, and other TV movie stalwarts of the 1970's) but everyone seems to be there more for a paycheck than for anything else. Only John Saxon seems to be there for more than a paycheck. Actually Saxon's performance seemed to make me think that this wasn't a hack TV movie.

I apologize for not being more detailed but while the movie wasn't bad it wasn't very good either, it just sort lays there, not really a movie movie, and not really a TV movie. Watching this late last night I found myself slowly being put to sleep by it while at the same time trying to remain awake enough to find out what happened next (which does score points for it). Once it was over I moved on to other, more lively things and was wide awake for those. I guess the best thing I can say, its not bad, but if you can watch something else you might want to.

The typical thriller from the seventies, where th evil wins at the end, and one of the lead characters die at the end. I won't say who...But this is a hired killer supposed to get rid of by his boss, a common scheme already seen hundreds of times, but so efficiently done, with many sub characters and plots. John Saxon is excellent in a role made for him. A role a billion times away from the today super f...heroes.

I read through the other three reviews on IMDb for "Company of Killers" and I am apparently a bit happier with the film than them. While I'd say it's far from a must-see film, it is a decent time-passer.

The film begins with a guy bleeding in the park. He's discovered by a cop and brought to the hospital. Surprisingly, a few minutes later, he is able to walk off--and the police are naturally baffled. What they don't know is that this injured man is an assassin. The film then follows three main tracks--following the killer, following the organization that hired him and the police as they investigate. Can this guy be stopped in time? The biggest weakness of the movie is that the time between the discovery of Saxon in the park until something serious occurs is about 40 minutes--providing a lot of relatively dull time in between. However, the film is rather realistic in its depiction of police work and the final portion of the movie is pretty exciting. In addition, you get to see a lot of A and B-list celebrities in this one including Van Johnson, Ray Milland, Fritz Weaver, Diana Lynn* and Clu Gulager.

*Sadly, this was Lynn's final film, as she died of cancer the same year this film was released. Sadly, although about 45, she looked significantly older here and her part was rather small.