Le jour des loups

Once you get past the $1.98 production values, this one is a true treat for the mind. The gang's plot and execution are mind-boggling, and Jan Murray plays one of the most vicious criminal masterminds ever. The desert is used to good advantage, and Richard Egan's poor-man's Will Kane is well executed. See it.

It's sad that The Day Of The Wolves was not done by a major studio with some decent scripting and editing as part of the package. Had it been the film could have been a classic. It had the makings.

It's a combination of High Noon and the Phil Karlson noir classic Kansas City Confidential. Richard Egan as the local chief of police busts one of the kids of a city councilman and for his pains loses his job. He takes it philosophically.

At the same time Jan Murray as Preston Foster did in Kansas City Confidential recruits six professional criminals all unknown to each other and all use numbers when addressing each other and him. They also wear gloves at all times so no fingerprints can be detected.

Murray has an audacious military style operation planned to hit several locations in a small town on a pay day at the main employer which is a lumberyard. These heist commandos are trained down to perfection.

But when the operation goes down it's the former sheriff Egan who springs into action, purely from reflex. What happens after that is for you to see. Martha Hyer plays Mrs. Egan and she reacts the same way to his involvement the same way Grace Kelly did.

Shot completely on location in Arizona, The Day Of The Wolves shows many cheap touches, obviously because the film didn't have the budget. One thing that was terribly wrong. Egan has only a shotgun when he deals with the seven criminal commandos. No way in the world he was able to do what he did with only a shotgun which could not have been fired for distance the way it was. Maybe a bigger studio's writing and editing staff would have realized that.

Still it's not a bad TV film and it really could have been a lot better.

While budgetary constraints may be evident, the plot is what probably attracted a quality actor like Richard Egan. Definitely a must see for Tarantino fans, as it seems he watched it more than a few times. The film itself was ahead of its time in terms of plot, and if it were more available, would be a favorite among heist fans. Despite the budget/filming conditions, Egan gives a great performance, giving the writing a bit more than it deserves. All in all, a good watch.

This movie was filmed back in 1971 in Lake Havasu City, Az. I really liked the movie, but unfortunately I knew a lot of the local people that they used in the film, & the layout of the town. So the "towns people" laughed at how it was made and their family or friends that were in it. They didn't stop to think of how possible it was for this to really happen. I've been waiting for someone like yourselves to give their thoughts on it. Now I can show the people who were here at that time, that it truly was a good movie. Thanks

"The Day of the Wolves" has attracted a small cult among die-hard aficionados of the crime syndicate genre, yet the central concept of a large-scale robbery pulled off by an anonymous boss (and his specifically-invited cohorts, who don't know their leader nor each other) isn't too original--it reminds one right away of "The Thomas Crown Affair", and probably a few other titles besides. The low-budget yarn begins with one man killing a restaurant manager, another robbing a bank while disguised as a postman (!), and still another robbing a hilltop residence; these three crooks, as well as three other men, are then brought to a secret hideout where their new leader (Jan Murray, playing "No.1") lays out his plan: to overtake a small town after knocking out the phones and electricity, each man standing to gain $50,000 G's. Richard Egan plays the chief of police--recently dismissed by his own city council!--who is the only town resident brave enough to take on the bad guys. "Wolves" must have been more fun to make than it is to watch. Apparently, the population of Lake Havasu City got involved in the production, and the results have that stilted, tentative feel of an amateur project wherein everybody pitches in without actually possessing noticeable film-making talent. Egan, though looking weathered, does his best without embarrassing himself; as his child-hugging spouse, Martha Hyer isn't as fortunate. Surprisingly, Murray really delivers the goods as the brains of the outfit, and there's a nifty ending with him on TV. Sean Bonniwell's score, which sounds like stoned-out jazz, dates the picture more than anything else, though the opening theme song is a gone gasser. "Nameless men have heard the cry of silent, pounding hoofs," we're told, "While nameless men like you and I will never hear the wolves!" Huh?? ** from ****