A Peculiar Film From a Peculiar Decade, ‘Prime Cut,’ Now Out on Blu-Ray, Is More Than a Curiosity

Kino Lorber has just released a Blu-Ray set dedicated to a peculiar film from a peculiar decade: the 1970s. Ever heard of “Prime Cut” (1972)? This was no esoteric venture. Though the production company, Cinema Center Films, was short-lived, it was an arm of the CBS Television Network. The male lead, Lee Marvin, was a bankable star, as was Gene Hackman, who was just coming off an Oscar-win for his role as Popeye Doyle in “The French Connection” (1971).Then there was Michael Ritchie (1938-2001), a director without whom 1970s American cinema is unthinkable. “Prime Cut” was his sophomore effort, the first being “Downhill Racer” (1969). “The Candidate” came along in 1972, which was followed by “Smile” (1975) and two sizable hits, “The Bad News Bears” (1976) and “Semi-Tough” (1977). After this impressive run, Ritchie’s output turned variable, though “Fletch” (1985) was profitable and “The Scout” (1994), a modest venture starring Albert Brooks and Brendan Gleason, is worth seeking out.All of which doesn’t explain why “Prime Cut” has languished in near obscurity. Couple all of the above with the first speaking role by Sissy Spacek and you’d think the picture could get some love. “Prime Cut,” though, isn’t lovable: it is often gratuitous and off-putting. In sexual matters, the film radiates an icky vibe. Among the more memorable scenes is Marvin sitting down at a ritzy restaurant with Ms. Spacek wearing an almost-transparent gown. A lot of ogling commences. It’s impossible not to cringe.Then again, any picture that has sexual slavery as a subplot had better prompt squirming. Let’s begin at the beginning. As the introductory titles unroll, the audience is privy to the unlovely machinations of a slaughterhouse: we watch the sausage getting made. Avowed carnivores will be sobered by these scenes. Avowed cineastes will be taken aback by Lalo Schafrin’s accompanying score. The juxtaposition of food processing and chirpy Muzak is a cue to the film’s disagreeable comic undertow. When a black leather shoe is summarily deposited upon the butcher’s conveyor belt, “Prime Cut” starts to earn its ugliness. A “special” package of meat is subsequently sent to a Chicago mobster, Jake (Eddie Egan, the real life inspiration for Popeye Doyle). The proprietor of “Mary Ann’s Meats” is in debt to Jake and Jake’s emissaries invariably meet their fate upon trying to collect the cash. Nick Devlin (Marvin), a freelance enforcer with a snappy set of white loafers, is called in to get the job done. He’s accompanied by his trusty driver Shay (Bill Morey) and a couple of Irish toughs.Did I mention that Mary Ann is Mr. Hackman’s character and that his glamorous wife goes by the unglamorous name of Clarabelle (Angel Tomkins)? They each have a history with Devlin and are unruffled when he saunters into Mary Ann’s property on the outskirts of Kansas City. We’ve entered into what appears to be a cattle auction and turns out to be the stockroom for human trafficking. Amongst the feeding troughs and hay bales are a bevy of beautiful nude women, all of whom have been tranquilized and put up for sale. Among them is the winsome Poppy (Ms. Spacek). Ritchie and Marvin had their contretemps about Devlin’s relationship with Poppy: the director wanted sexual engagement; the actor wanted none of it. Marvin won out and, as a consequence, Devlin makes a most gentlemanly of strongmen. Otherwise, there’s all sorts of weirdness afoot: a strike force made up of Dutch Boy blondes wearing overalls; Ritchie shamelessly cribbing from “North By Northwest”; and proof that there are better implements than a stray hot dog by which to quell your opponent.These shenanigans are supercharged by the strength of its players — Marvin, especially, is happy to strut and preen — and Ritchie keeps the rhythms fleet and the gunplay outrageous. “Prime Cut” shouldn’t be included in anyone’s gangster movie pantheon, but if the picture is less than a classic, it is also more than a curiosity. Viewers who like their entertainment a bit off the beam will find it their cup of meat.

A Peculiar Film From a Peculiar Decade, ‘Prime Cut,’ Now Out on Blu-Ray, Is More Than a Curiosity

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