Charley Varrick

"When he runs out of dumb luck, he always has genius to fall back on!"

1973 1h 51m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🍅

82%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 300🍅82%Rotten Tomatoes●76Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 15,012

CrimeThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Charley Varrick robs a bank in a small town with his friends, but instead of obtaining a small amount of money, they discover they stole a very large amount of money belonging to the mob. Charley must now come up with a plan to not only evade the police but the mob as well.

“When he runs out of dumb luck, he always has genius to fall back on!”

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Cast

Walter Matthau
Charley Varrick
Joe Don Baker
Molly
Felicia Farr
Sybil Fort
Andrew Robinson
Harman Sullivan
Sheree North
Jewell Everett
Norman Fell
Mr. Garfinkle
Benson Fong
Honest John
Woodrow Parfrey
Harold Young

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Don Siegel
Writers: Howard Rodman, Dean Riesner, Don Siegel
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Don Siegel, shot by Michael C. Butler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frank Morriss shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker and Felicia Farr carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When he runs out of dumb luck, he always has genius to fall back on!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0069865 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Don Siegel directs. Michael C. Butler behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Frank Morriss cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

153 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Don Siegel, shot by Michael C. Butler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Frank Morriss shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker and Felicia Farr carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "When he runs out of dumb luck, he always has genius to fall back on!".
7IMDB entry: tt0069865 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 23 themes, including "small town", "suicide", "sheriff", "based on novel or book".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael C. Butler
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Frank Morriss
Costume design: Helen Colvig
Stunt coordinator: Paul Baxley
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Charley Varrick (1973)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 76/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 15,012 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Won 1 BAFTA Award1 win & 1 nomination total

Also by

Don Siegel

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-01-21
★ 8/10
You can never worry too much... ...when you got the fuzz and the mafia after you. Charley Varrick is a quality caper movie courtesy of director Don Siegel and backed up by a wonderful understated performance from Walter Matthau as Charley Varrick. Varrick along with his partners rob a small New Mexico bank, but instead of the usual decent haul they find that they have nabbed over $760.000, sadly for the boys it is mafia money that the bank was laundering. Varrick is a smart cookie and thinks it should be given back, but his young greedy partner insists that it's a chance of a lifetime and convinces Varrick that they should keep the cash. This not only brings the law after them but also sadistic hit-man for the mob, Molly, and he is cruelty personified. Can the boys flee the country in one piece? This is a delightful film that relies heavy on character development and strength of plot. Siegel gets fine performances from the supporting cast to back up the cunningly sedate lead turn from Matthau. As Siegel left Dirty Harry behind, where 1973 saw the sequel Magnum Force released (Ted Post directing), the director gives us a complete opposite to the machismo of Harry Callahan. Matthau’s Varrick is low-key and hang-dogged, but below that sleepy exterior beats the heart of a cunning devil and he’s the one with all the aces up his sleeves. Andy Robinson as Varrick's partner Harman Sullivan is all twitchy and on the edge, whilst Joe Don Baker as hit-man Molly is simply magnetic in his icy portrayal. Lalo Schifrin again scores for Siegel with great results, and the photography from Michael Butler is very rich indeed as the locales seep with that bleached dried look. This is great storytelling with suspense and no little action (the opening robbery and the finale involving a car and a plane joust are quality Siegel constructions), but most of all it's a film to remind you that cinema can be great without crash bang wallop every ten minutes. An excellent heist and escape movie. 8/10
CinemaSerf2025-06-28
★ 7/10
When a bank robbery goes wrong, “Charley” (Walter Matthau) and his friend “Harman” (Andrew Robinson) just about manage to escape with the loot, but along the way his wife “Nadine” (Jacqueline Scott) gets herself killed. These folks are meticulous at cleaning up after themselves and thinking they have eradicated all possible leads to them they return to his motor home. That’s where the next shock comes from. They’d expected a few thousand bucks. Instead, there is over $750,000 lying on the floor. “Charley” quite quickly assumes, correctly, that this isn’t legitimate money and they are in way more danger from the mob than from the feds. That turns out to be true as “Boyle” (John Vernon) hires their enforcer “Molly” (Joe Don Baker) to get their cash back and to suitably reward the felons who pinched it. With “Charley” now engaged in trying to get them to safety, he has to expose himself to some unsavoury characters to get passports and the like - and that’s what ultimately puts them in peril. What chance they can make it to safety - with or without the money? I preferred Matthau in his comedy roles, but he holds this together well as “Molly” gets ever closer and more nonchalantly violent with just about everyone he meets. It’s not often you get a denouement set in a junkyard with explosives and a crop duster but Don Siegel manages to build the tension nicely as we head to that almost comedic but action-packed conclusion.