La grande traque

I like Trackdown, it's the typical B-movie with bad acting, especially the main character, who has no feelings at all, not even when he saw his sister's corpse in the morgue, some nudity, bullets and blows. Typical of the exploitation of the 70s and 80s, Hollywood Boulevard is used as the epicentre of crime, the characters are looking for luck and who to take advantage of, like that duo in Midnight Cowboy 1969. What I must say, and it's a shame, is that Trackdown lacks a soundtrack to support it firmly, normally this kind of films are supported by songs or musical genres that are in vogue at the time of filming, which gives them a certain air of interest apart from some poor cinematography or script. In short, the 70s are well reflected here cinematically, and it's good for a Sunday afternoon.

Trackdown is another of those well made flicks of the Seventies. The film, though dry in parts, pulls you in with a story, with not such a happy ending, tragic and shocking. The film with it's good intentions, does turn nasty, yet is violently effective, one could say. It's not what you foresee in the early part of this film, especially if judging it, against the country song in the opening. The scenario here has been done, many times, but the nasty turn of incident here, ups the film's merit. We have a bored, young and beautiful girl, (Karen Lamm, who in real life, died quite young, I believe) who's 'spose to be 17. She sets out for Hollywood, leaving her farm and Mumsie behind, who we never see, where we apparently learn from the small informing dialogue, things aren't quite particularly great between the two. Big ox of a brother (Jim Mitcham- Yes Robert's son) returns and sets out to save her. Lamm quickly ends up in a slick sex slavery operation as a high priced call girl, run by a notorious older pimp, Johnny D, who fronts a topless dancer and entertainment agency. An older woman, also in the rackets, and is obviously doing Jonhny D (a younger Ann Archer, at her sexiest) befriends her, while stubborn and determined Mitchum, kicks down doors, and causes a ruckus, trying to find Sis, almost passing her in one scene. What are the chances? He teams up with a young hustler (Chip's Erik Estrada) who was bedding her, while also working with a pretty social worker (Cathy Lee Crosby) who tells the stubborn headed Mitchum, in a heated moment, "The kids run away, cause the parents are such idiots". Mitchum, who's never really been to Hollywood before, as we can gather, later tells Crosby "I've been a hunter all my life. A hunter survives on instinct, and right now my instinct's telling me, it's not good". He couldn't be more right. Sadly, the last thirty minutes of Trackdown is the strongest, starting with that one brutal scene in the bedroom, and in how Mitchum and company use their smarts to gain revenge. Mitchum's character, a man with a plan, you do root for, but too you can't help get angry at him, to how he's ended up in this position, as you don't believe for two secs, he wants to take a step back, and think how this could of been prevented. In this secret context, Mitchum's character is used as an illustration. We need to focus on the problem, for every runaway, so we can prevent kids taking off, with some not so happy fates ensuing. Trackdown isn't the best movie of this kind, but it's a well worth insight into how these sort of things go down, and how the these scumbags operate in a not half bad movie, considering it's era. Trying to Trackdown Trackdown on VHS, etc, well all I can say, is, I wish the best of luck. See what little of Mitchum's face muscles move, or is it, a play down on his character. You decide.

This movie is now available on DVD though Warner Home Video. It's a good action movie that makes up in creativity and strong performances what it lacks in budget. There is an action sequence involving an elevator shaft that is particularly good. It was made in the 1970s and really feels like that era in terms of styles, settings, and attitudes. I thought the weakest part of the film was the beginning. We're told the teenage girl is not getting along with her mother but we never see any conflict or even see the mother, then there is a long shot of Jim Mitchum herding horses before he arrives in LA to track her down. It all seemed rather clumsy. When Jim gets to LA, the story finds a groove that plays out at a good pace with a nice mix of action and character development. All of the actors do a nice job. Jim Mitchum and Erik Estrada play well off of each other. It's too bad they didn't make another movie together. It's great to see the always beautiful, always classy Ann Archer in an early role.

James Mitchum plays a Montana rancher who goes to the big city to find his runaway sister, who's fallen into the seedy LA underworld. He then takes his down-home style of justice to the big city sleaze peddlers! Mitchum is helped by a local who encountered his sister, Chucho (Erik Estrada), and a local social worker (Cathy Lee Crosby), but it's the evil pimp and sleazy madam, Anne Archer (in what was her breakout role), who Mitchum needs to face down himself. TRACKDOWN's plot is remarkably similar to Paul Schrader's HARDCORE (which came out three years later), where George C. Scott looks for his missing daughter, tracking her down to LA, going down a rabbit hole of the illicit subculture of pornography and snuff films. TRACKDOWN is not as erudite or as disturbing as HARDCORE, but it does deliver the DEATH WISH-like payback you wish Scott was allowed to dish out, and at the same time, does not shy away from the ugliness of prostitution. At the same time, the film might have been stronger if it had a director with more panache, say a J. Lee Thompson or Don Siegel, though TV director Richard T. Heffron does an adequate job. Interestingly, the film is based on a story by Ivan Nagy, who would later become famous as the ex-boyfriend of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, whose Anne Archer's character seems eerily similar to. Nagy's firsthand knowledge of the prostitution racket and sex trafficking likely gave the film its uncomfortable realism. Overall, while TRACKDOWN is certainly not high art, it does deliver the exploitation film goods and a gritty realism that I wasn't expecting.

AI CAPSUL REVIEW: Trackdown is a gritty, exploitation-flavored take on Hardcore, with James Mitchum dishing out cowboy justice in the sleazy underbelly of 1970s L. A. While rough around the edges, it delivers raw thrills and unexpected realism, bolstered by early performances from Erik Estrada and Anne Archer.

Back when I was in school and my classmates were "Stayin' Alive" or tripping through "A Galaxy Far, Far Away", I preferred to take my best girl to some very good movies - Trackdown is one of these movies. James Mitchum is as good as any. Though the plot is a little thin, Mitchum's on-screen presence continued to bring the story together to it's inevitable conclusion. Guys, rent it - you'll be glad you did!