''Hard Contract'' is a 1969 American drama mystery film written and directed by S. Lee Pogostin and starring James Coburn and

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...

. It premiered on April 30, 1969 in

Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses dur ...

Plot synopsis

CIA assassin John Cunningham ( James Coburn), a cold-blooded killer with nerves of steel and no conscience, kills a man on election day, votes in the local election and spends the rest of the afternoon with Ellen (

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

), a prostitute. The next day, Cunningham goes to see James Ramsey (

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

), his mobilizer, a CIA man whose cover is a job as a college physics professor. Ramsey offers one final, lucrative job, or "hard contract" as he calls it, that can allow Cunningham to retire from the business for good. This consists of three hits, two in Spain and Belgium, with the last victim to be revealed after the first two are dispatched. On his way to Spain to make the first hit, Cunningham meets two women in Tangier who will change his life: American tourist and

jet set In journalism, jet set is a term for an international social group of wealthy people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term, which replaced "café society", came from the lifestyle of tra ...

ter Sheila Metcalfe (

), and her naive but good-hearted friend, socialite Adrianne (

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Glob ...

). He does kill the first two victims, but later, as remorse slowly takes hold over him, Cunningham can't bring himself to knock off his third target, former top CIA hit-man Michael Carson (

Sterling Hayden Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and an Office of Strategic Services' agent during World War II. A leading man for mos ...

). A more vicious and effective hit-man in his day than Cunningham is now, Carson has become so passive, he wouldn't even defend himself. Ramsey flies to Spain to persuade Cunningham to complete the job, and promises Cunningham that if he does not do so, he will himself be killed, and so will Sheila. Cunningham drives Ramsey, Sheila, Carson, and everyone else who knows about him back down a mountain, and is close to deliberately causing a car crash that would free him for all time, only to relent at the last moment, telling a confused Ramsey afterwards that murder is obsolete. Ramsey is then romanced by Adrianne, much to his bemusement, and it's unclear if he has also weakened in his resolve. The ending is enigmatic, with Cunningham and Sheila running off together and beginning to make love, as Cunningham tells her that the worst deeds can be done for the best motives. The final image of them narrows to a circle around their heads, reminiscent of the image one would see in a rifle scope.

Cast

* James Coburn as John Cunningham *

as Sheila Metcalfe *

as Adrianne *

as Ramsey Williams * Patrick Magee as Alexi *

as Michael Carlson * Claude Dauphin as Maurice *

Helen Cherry Helen Mary Cherry (24 November 1915 – 27 September 2001) was an English stage, film and television actress. She was born in Worsley, Lancashire, and brought up in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire. Marriage Whilst working at the Arts The ...

as Evelyn Carlson *

as Ellen * Sabine Sun as Belgian Prostitute * Jo Nupie as Flemish lady * Miquel Bordoy * Gerda Marchand * Vic Moeremans

Production

Producer Marvin Schwartz approached Pogostin, an award-winning TV writer, to see if he was interested in adaptating a story for the screen. Pogostin instead pitched ''Hard Contract'' and Schwarz was enthusiastic. Pogostin insisted on directing. Schwartz financed the writing of the script over 15 months.

Box office

According to Fox records the film required $7,200,000 in rentals to break even and by 11 December 1970 had made $3,200,000 so made a loss to the studio.

Subsequent release

''Hard Contract'' was first broadcast on television by ABC in 1974. It was released on VHS by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in 1982 in the UK and by Fox Video in 1996 in the United States.

Ster-Kinekor Ster-Kinekor is a South African-based cinema company, and the country's largest movie exhibitor. It represents 60-65% of the market, having 56 cinema complexes consisting of 400 screens and 64,000 seats; 154 of those screens being 3D cinemas. It ...

Video and CBS/Fox Video released the film with

, which was released on VHS in 1990 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

References

External links

* * * * {{AFI film, id=21688, title=Hard Contract 1969 films 1960s mystery films 20th Century Fox films American mystery films American spy films 1960s English-language films Films scored by Alex North Films about contract killing Films about the Central Intelligence Agency American neo-noir films 1960s American films English-language mystery films