Ein Mann geht über Leichen

This movie with Charles Bronson was extremely no nonsense, whatsoever. "The Stone Killer" is when Bronson plays a hard as nails cop who uncovered a group of Vietnam veterans who are do the dirty work for the Mafia. That form of dirty work is to take out the completion. In this movie, there are future "Three's Company" stars John Ritter and Norman Fell. Ritter plays the one in uniform, while Fell plays Lou Torrey's boss Les Daniels. Lou Torrey (Bronson) worked for the NYPD, until a incident with a young offender caused him to quit the force. So he ends up moving to Los Angeles as a detective to investigate mob like killings. It turns out that the mafia has been using Vietnam veterans to kill the competition. Some of their help have ended up dead by the people that hired them. This was a coast to coast situation for the police to handle. And Torres showed plenty of tenacity to put an end to this mess. The shootout in both areas was awesome. Especially in the parking lot scene in New York. Great movie, great plot, great cast, "The Stone Killer" makes great sense! 3 out of 5 stars

If you're not already a Charles Bronson fan, this film isn't likely to change your mind. But for those of you like their action films with side-burns, bell bottoms and good old fashioned,hard-hitting action, you'll really enjoy this. Bronson does his "Dirty Harry" impression while investigating a strange ring of murders involving ex-vietnam vets and the Mob. Great car chases. The crazy car crack up inside a parking lot is this film's action highlight. One of my favorite Bronson flicks.

You either get Old Stone Face or you don't. I get him. He played virtually the same type of character in every movie from the '70s forward, although his character's profession changed from time to time. Didn't matter if he was an unflinching streetwise cop that walks outside the law to bring justice, an architect, or an amazingly tough journalist that can beat up bad guys as easily as normal people breath air (how often do you see that?), he was always a character that looked out for what was right, the law be damned. And no mamby pamby metrosexual stuff anywhere in sight.....

This movie was interesting to me in that it was filmed during the prime of the '70s Cop Movie glory days and also happened to be part of the golden age for Bronson himself. I dig the terrible period clothing, hair and lingo. I also dig the neo-psychedelic soundtrack. It was rather amusing seeing Bronson amongst the young hippie burnouts at a wacked out party when he was searching for clues, talk about a fish out of water! And even way back then, the ever popular grouchy old Italian mobster stereotype was in full play, although this was one of the first Bronson films to do this (and it often resurfaced in his movies, even in Death Wish 4 decades later). It also featured several familiar faces including "Mr. Roper" of Three's Company as a cop(!) and "Jack Tripper" of the same show as a bumbling, inept rookie cop. Those with either sharp memories or an extensive Twilight Zone collection will recognize Mob Boss Vescari as the star of the much loved wax figures episode (New Exhibit).

You're not going to see Oscar type performances in a Bronson film, but then again, that's not what they were shooting for. You do get a glimpse of a great period of gritty American cop films. They didn't have the internet to help them. No GPS. No Google maps. Just coffee, steel revolvers, typewriters and good old fashioned investigational work, and of course real cars that were driven to death by stunt men, not computer generated crashes. And you do get politically incorrect, 150 proof MANDOM of the kind that isn't made any more. And that makes for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon in my book.

A Dirty Harry clone? The Stone Killer is an interesting film, Bronson portrays a plain-clothes cop named Lou Torrey, Torrey has a penchant for being a little violent at times and it costs him his badge in NYC. Torrey eventually picks up a Lieutenant position at the Los Angeles department and gets knee deep in some real problems. War veterans (Vietnam) with itchy trigger fingers, anti-war sentiment, druggies, prostitutes, civil rights issues, a mafia-related vengeance plot that has been in the works for forty two years as well as a host of other problems. I had to watch this film twice in order to really follow the films somewhat confusing pace, there are some subplots which confused me a little bit but upon the second viewing I had, the film made a lot more sense to me than in my initial viewing. There are some scenes that go straight from Los Angeles to New York City and back throughout the film but the pace is easy to keep up with. There is a ton of action to feast your eyes upon, many gun fights, a few car chases, etc. Bronson acts in his usual tough-guy role as Lou Torrey and plays it very well in my opinion. The ending is not as satisfactory as I would have liked, but Director Michael Winner is known for having unique endings/twists to his films. As far as rating the film goes, The Stone Killer in my opinion is just a notch or two below other Bronson/Winner collaborations such as 'The Mechanic' or the classic 'Death Wish', but all in all I would recommend this film to any Bronson fan, or anyone who appreciates old, dated action films. I certainly enjoyed it.

I sought relaxing and undemanding action entertainment, I found …. Charlie Bronson! What's better after a hard and long working day than to sit down in a comfortable couch, switch off all still operational brain functions, and watch Charlie kill off some random street scum? During the 70's and 80's, Bronson mastered in depicting unorthodox coppers/relentless vigilantes in ultra-violent and gritty movies, and personally I love each and every single one of them, even though – admittedly – they're not the most sophisticated or even memorable form of art! In this same period, Charlie collaborated a number of times with director Michael Winner, who himself isn't exactly known for his subtlety and flair either, so a joint venture of these gentlemen is a guaranteed piece of uncompromising trash. "The Stone Killer" boosts a slightly more ambitious storyline – one based on a novel by John Gardner – but eventually it just remains a raw 'lone cop' thriller. After the umpteenth "shoot first, ask questions later" incident, lieutenant Lou Torrey gets transferred from gloomy New York to sunny California. There, during a banal prisoner's transport, he stumbles upon a convoluted crime network that brings him all the way back to New York. Torrey, thanks to the help of bizarre informants and dissident interrogation techniques, gradually uncovers the plot of a mafia war to end all mafia wars. Bronson's acting performance is more automatic pilot than ever, but Michael Winner serves numerous exciting car chases and vigorous shootouts, including a wildly out-of-control finale. Did I mention that the film is violent?!? This is early 70's at its best, full of racial slur, realistic dummies falling from the nineteenth floor and gay musicians getting run over by a Cadillac! Oh, and this movie proves that Charlie Bronson is the most efficient shooter ever! With him, each shot is a hit. Whether from inside a shaky helicopter or from an impossible angle on a staircase, it's always bullseye!