Review of Mr. Majestyk (1974) by Danny R — 22 Jan 2016

Richard Fleischer's gritty, forceful action drama, concerning a Vietnam veteran named Vince Majestyk, a Colorado watermelon framer, played sensationally by the late great Charles Bronson, in one of his best roles, he is wronged by a irritating, weasel-like, unscrupulous labor racketeer, Bobby Kopas, superbly played by Paul Koslo, who tries to force him to hired a worthless crew of bums and vagrants to pick his melons, instead of using his Mexican migrant workers he employed.

Kopas pulls a shotgun on Majestyk, and ends up getting the shit kick out of him, for which Majestyk is arrested for and sent to the city jail, there he encounters a notorious Mob hitman, Frank Renda, played terrifically by the late character actor Al Lettieri, in a tremendous scene-stealing performance, who is waiting to be transferred to prison for murder.

When Renda's mob associates stage a daring breakout during his prison transfer on a bus with Majestyk, but then Majestyk seizes Renda, and tries to make a deal with the police to exchange him for his freedom, the ruthless Renda escapes and is now hellbent on killing Majestyk personally, what follows is a rapid action thriller filled with shootouts, exciting car chases, and bare-fisted brawls.

Astute direction by Fleischer, with a wonderful tongue-in-cheek script by Elmore Leonard, and a superb score by Charles Bernstein. Highly Recommended.