''The Split'' is a 1968 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

film directed by

Gordon Flemyng Gordon William Flemyng (7 March 1934 – 12 July 1995) was a Scottish television and film director. He was also a writer and producer. He directed six theatrical features, several television films and numerous episodes of television series, some ...

and written by Robert Sabaroff based upon the Parker novel ''The Seventh'' by Richard Stark (a pseudonym of

Donald E. Westlake Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with more than a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into ...

). The film stars Jim Brown, along with Diahann Carroll,

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

Jack Klugman Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He began his career in 1950 and started television and film work with roles in '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957) and '' Cry Terror!'' (1958). ...

Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...

and Gene Hackman. The music is by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. It is notable for being the first film with an R rating.

Plot

Thieves fall out when more than a half-million dollars goes missing after the daring and carefully planned robbery of the

Los Angeles Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...

during a football game, each one accusing the other of having the money. The heist has been masterminded by a man named McClain and his partner, Gladys. In choosing their accomplices carefully, McClain challenges

getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of fleeing the location where one has broken the law. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a crime; e ...

Harry Kifka to a race, picks a fight with thug Bert Clinger, imprisons electrical expert Marty Gough in a wire-controlled vault to watch him fashion an escape, and has a shooting match with marksman Dave Negli before pulling off the job. Together, the thieves make off with over $500,000. With the five men having carried out the heist and Gladys having financed it, the plan is to split the money six ways the next day. McClain stashes the money for the night with Ellie, his ex-wife. While his partners impatiently await their split of the loot, Lt. Walter Brill takes charge of the case. Ellie is attacked and killed by Herb Sutro, her landlord, who also steals the money' The rest of the gang members hold McClain accountable for the lost money and demand that he retrieve it. Brill quickly solves the murder and is well aware of the connection to the robber. He kills Sutro, but keeps the money for himself. With Ellie's murderer identified, but still no trace of the money, the gang members all turn on McClain, assuming he's hiding it. This leads to a confrontation that ends with the deaths of Negli and Gladys. McClain escapes and visits Brill, threatening to reveal that Brill has the money. He and Brill decide to divide it up between themselves, but the rest of McClain's gang has other ideas. After a shoot-out at the docks, only McClain and Brill are left—Brill decides to take a small part of the money, giving McClain his rightful sixth, and plans to return the rest to win a promotion. McClain is satisfied with the arrangement, but also haunted by Ellie's death. With his money, he is about to board a flight leaving town when he hears an off-screen female's voice call his name.

Cast

* Jim Brown as McClain * Diahann Carroll as Ellie Kennedy *

as Bert Clinger *

as Gladys * Gene Hackman as Lieutenant Walter Brill *

as Harry Kifka *

as Marty Gough *

James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...

as Herb Sutro *

as Dave Negli *

Joyce Jameson Joyce Jameson (born Joyce Beverly Kingsley; September 26, 1932 – January 16, 1987) was an American actress, known for many television roles, including recurring guest appearances as Skippy, one of the "fun girls" in the 1960s television seri ...

as Jenifer * Harry Hickox as Detective *

Jackie Joseph Jackie Joseph (born November 7, 1933) is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her role as Jackie Parker on ''The Doris Day Show'' (1971–1973) and Audrey in '' The Little Shop of Horrors'' (1960), as well as a supporting role i ...

as Jackie * Warren Vanders as Mason

Production

The film was produced by Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff who had just made another movie based on a "Parker" novel for MGM, ''

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...

''. Winkler offered the lead part to Steve McQueen who originally wanted to do it, but then decided to make ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...

'' instead. Jim Brown had read the script and was enthusiastic about it and he was cast instead. MGM had made several movies with Brown and agreed to finance.Jim Brown's End Run Around Race Prejudice TUSHER, WILLIAM. Los Angeles Times 28 Jan 1968: d11. "This negro is no Harvard graduate on his way to winning a Nobel prize," said Chartoff of the lead character. "He doesn't hit a white man just because he had been hit by him first."CHARTOFF AND WINKLER: Entrepreneurs of the Offbeat Film Two Entrepreneurs of Offbeat Movies Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times 16 Jan 1968: d1. Jim Brown was under a long-term contract to MGM at the time. He was paid $125,000 for the role. Chartoff and Winkler had success in using a British director, John Boorman, on ''Point Blank'', so sought out another one for ''The Split''. They chose Gordon Flemyng, who had impressed them with his work on '' Great Catherine''. A strong support cast was selected to give Brown as much support as possible. The film was originally called ''Run the Man Down''. Jim Brown's original action double for the movie was pioneering stuntman Calvin Brown, the first black stunt performer in Hollywood. (Prior to the 1960s, on the rare occasions that a stunt double was required for a black actor, they were typically doubled by a white stunt performer in blackface).

Reception

Winkler called the film "a solid thriller, no more, no less. Nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be proud of, except the accidental casting that was groundbreaking." The movie was previewed at Oakland in order to ensure a sizable African American audience, but the movie was not particularly well received. Winkler wrote "the film just wasn't good enough to capture an audience."Winkler p 457/3917

References

External links

* *
''The Split''
at

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