Código Murphy

while he was still making movies for cannon films which is no longer in existence, bronson took the lead in this cop thriller from the early eighties. he stars as jack murphy a worn and beaten down cop who has been framed for the murder of his wife who left him to become a stripper in a sleazy bar. while on the run from the mob as well, and trying to clear his name, he is handcuffed to a mouthy petty thief named arabella mcgee. considering it is kathleen whilhoite's first starring role in a feature (she plays arabella) she turned in a great and funny performance. she has a mouth like a trucker but has some very creative and imaginative ways of telling people off who displease her ie. snot-licking donkey fart among other things. while she is more than half of bronson's age the writers were trying to build some kind of weird sexual tension between the two and it clearly wasn't working. it came off more creepy and awkward than anything else. while bronson's later movies won't win any awards it will keep you entertained.

Mostly routine, but agreeably trashy goodness from the Charles Bronson-J. Lee Thompson- Cannon Group-1980s assembly line. The almighty Bronson plays Jack Murphy, a detective whose motto is simple: "Don't *beep* with Jack Murphy." But of course, somebody does: a vindictive, psychotic woman named Joan Freeman (Carrie Snodgress), who goes about murdering people who Jack knows and framing him for the crimes. However, Jack seizes upon an opportunity, breaking out of prison while handcuffed (shades of "The Defiant Ones") to a foul mouthed car thief, Arabella McGee (scene stealing Kathleen Wilhoite).

With this team, you expect some pretty straightforward, and effectively sleazy, entertainment. It's fairly violent as well as exploitative (ever delectable Angel Tompkins, as Jacks' ex-wife Jan, plays a stripper and shows off some of the goods). Gail Morgan Hickmans' story is diverting, throwing in a subplot involving a mobster named Frank Vincenzo (Richard Romanus) and creating a reasonable body count.

What gives this otherwise formulaic scenario a shot in the arm is the give and take between Bronson and the sexy, husky voiced Wilhoite. She's constantly firing off insults at him. While they were much more profane in the original script, Wilhoites' one-liners are still ridiculously funny. And you can see that Bronson is having some fun with this premise. It's not often that he had a full blown sidekick in one of his vehicles.

Other familiar faces that turn up include Robert F. Lyons, Bill Henderson, James Luisi, Janet MacLachlan, and Lawrence Tierney. It is somewhat novel that our vengeance crazed villain is female, and Snodgress is just fine as the kind of psycho who's *well aware* that they're a psycho.

Capped off by a finale that offers up some fairly good suspense, and a typically amusing Bronson quip.

Wilhoite gets an "introducing" credit, although she'd actually made her film debut in "Private School" three years previous. She also belts out the theme song over the end credits.

Seven out of 10.

Our group watched this on valentine's day and I can tell you that it was a wonderful idea. We ended up writing down as many of those excellent 80's insults as possible, and our list ended up filling an entire page. You just don't see movies anymore where a major character says things like "I must have boogers for brains," or "eat it toe jam," let alone calls Bronson a "Snot Licking Donkey Fart" or a "Camel Crotch." We agonized over the seething sexual subtext throughout the film, wondering "would they or wouldn't they?" For maximum fun, appoint someone to yell "BRONSONED!!!!" whenever a heaping helping of snarling .44 Magnum super-justice appears imminent.

Veteran detective Jack Murphy is a highly wanted man, after being framed for the murder of his ex-wife, he escapes and sets off in pursuit of the real killer. But Jack not only has the killer to occupy his mind, he also has the mob hoping to bring him down as well.

Murphy's Law is a very enjoyable and tidy thriller, it finds Charles Bronson in a role that requires a cool veneer, that he delivers is something of a given to this particular viewer, but the unflustered nature of the character actually lifts this film above many of Bronson's other 80s efforts.

The plot is simple, and some of the dialogue comes heavy with a slice of cheese, but the set pieces stand up, and here we have a female villain worthy of the title. Carrie Snodgress is the lady in question, and although underused because of Murphy's other plot strands, she puts gusto and menace into the role of the vengeful Joan Freeman.

A running plot strand involving Murphy and Kathleen Wilhoite's youthful and foul mouthed Arabella McGee, only hinders the film instead of enhancing it, though the simmering sexual tension between the two does make for an intriguing arc - and it definitely helps the film's finale deliver the goods with added impact.

Perhaps I'm being over biased towards Bronson? But I honestly believe that this film is seriously undervalued on internet sites, so enjoy the cool leading man and take in a great female villain - even if she is sadly under written. 7/10

I found this Charles Bronson/J. Lee Thompson film combo to be not so bad after all. Bronson plays tough as nails detective/cop Jack Murphy who lost his wife and now has a big drinking problem. Along the way through his travels he runs into a very mouthy young lady who eventually becomes friendly with him. The action is all there along with some rare Bronson dark-humor as well. It seems as though somebody is getting revenge on Bronson and his cronies for an unfortunate incident that had happened years prior. Very well done movie, I thought at times it was a little cheesy (I keep forgetting that this flick was from 1986). Not bad at all. Definitely a rating or two (or three) higher than Director Thompson and Bronsons next film combo 'Death Wish 4 : The Crackdown'. It is worth a viewing. 7 out of 10 stars will definitely do.