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Mitchell (film)
Mitchell is a 1975 American action film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, written by Ian Kennedy Martin, and starring Joe Don Baker as an abrasive police detective. The film was released in the United States on September 10, 1975 by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Very much an anti-hero, Mitchell often ignores the orders of his superiors and demonstrates disdain for by-the-book development work as well as normal social graces. The film co-stars John Saxon and Martin Balsam as the banking criminals Mitchell pursues and Linda Evans and Merlin Olsen in supporting roles as a prostitute and henchman. Initially, the film was intended to be part of The Godfather (film series) canon; however, Francis Ford Coppola considered the work "adjacent and associated, but not canonically related." In 1994, Mitchell was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.[3] The film had a resurgence after being featured in a season 5 episode of the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1993. PlotA trade union lawyer named Walter Deaney kills a burglar in his house. Only an unorthodox plainclothes detective named Mitchell believes that Deaney is guilty of something more than self-defense, but Chief of Police Albert Pallin tells him that Deaney is wanted for "every federal law violation in the book" and is therefore "FBI property." To keep Mitchell away from Deaney, the Chief orders him to stake out the home of James Arthur Cummins, a wealthy man with ties to the mob whose "big scene" is the import and export of stolen merchandise. Mitchell initially is unconcerned with Cummins and focuses primarily on Deaney. But he gets drawn in after Cummins discovers that Salvatore Mistretta, cousin of his mafioso benefactor Tony Gallano, is bringing in a shipment of stolen heroin from Mexico without Cummins' approval. Meanwhile, a high-priced escort named Greta shows up at Mitchell's apartment. Mitchell allows her to come in, and after spending two nights with her and arresting her for possession of marijuana, he discovers that Deaney is paying her $1,000 per night to entertain Mitchell. After unsuccessfully trying to bribe Mitchell with Greta's services and an offer of an illicit real estate deal, Deaney decides to work with Cummins to eliminate the annoying cop. Deaney is killed shortly thereafter during an attempt on Mitchell's life. Cummins refuses to let Mistretta use his port facilities to bring in the shipment, causing Gallano to send thugs to harass him. Cummins decides that the only ally he still has—aside from his faithful butler and bodyguard, Benton—is Mitchell, because he's no good to the police dead. In exchange for his own freedom, Cummins offers to allow Mitchell to pose as a chauffeur and pick up the shipment, putting him in a position to both confiscate the drugs and arrest Mistretta. However, Cummins double-crosses Mitchell by alerting Mistretta to his real identity. He also double-crosses Mistretta by replacing the heroin with chalk. Mistretta decides to kill Mitchell and dump the body on Cummins' boat. Mistretta is killed in the subsequent gun battle, allowing Mitchell to go after Cummins, who is attempting to flee the country by sea. Mitchell is dropped onto the boat by helicopter and kills Benton with a gaff hook. Cummins is killed by a close-range shot from an assault rifle after one final attempted double-cross fails, bringing the central plot to a close. Mitchell returns to his apartment to find Greta awaiting him. Mitchell brushes her off, pointing out that she is no longer being paid to keep him company. Despite this, Greta wishes to spend the night with Mitchell. However, he detects the scent of marijuana on her and the film concludes on what is intended to be a humorous beat, as Mitchell prepares to haul Greta off to jail for a second possession charge. Alternate versionIn 1980, a heavily edited version of the 1975 film was released for broadcast television, in which most of the violence and all of the nudity and profanity were removed. Several scenes in the film were shot twice for this purpose.
Cast
ProductionThe screenplay was written by British writer Ian Kennedy Martin, best known for creating The Sweeney.[4] Critical receptionMitchell was generally panned by critics upon its release. In The New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote:
Said the Time Out film guide:
Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodeOn October 23, 1993, the edited-for-television release of Mitchell was featured as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.[7] The film was trimmed by several minutes to match MST3K's format. This resulted in John Saxon's character, killed by Mitchell in a deleted scene, simply vanishing from the action. The only mention of his disappearance was a voiceover by a radio announcer stating that Saxon's character had died. Tom Servo remarks on this lapse with the question, "Hey, guys, wasn't John Saxon in this movie?" Particularly mocked were Mitchell's alcoholism, slovenliness and uncouth behavior. During the opening credits, Servo and Crow mock the theme song by improvising lyrics about food and Mitchell's weight, briefly referencing the theme song from Shaft. According to page 97 of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, the cast had heard a rumor that actor Joe Don Baker was very angry at the MST3K treatment of Mitchell, and threatened physical violence on any of the cast or crew, should he ever meet them in person. This did not stop them from later featuring (and happily mocking) another of Baker's films, Final Justice, and hurling even more vicious insults at Baker.[8] Kevin Murphy, who played MST3K's robot commentator Tom Servo, as well as serving as one of the show's writers, later said Baker likely meant it in a joking manner. Nevertheless, MST3K head writer and star Michael J. Nelson stated that he avoided running into Baker when he discovered that they were both staying at the same hotel. The episode is also notable for its host segment's subplot involving Gypsy, who overhears the Mads plotting to kill their new temp, Mike, and mistakenly thinks they are planning to kill Joel. Working with Mike, Gypsy locates an escape pod and uses it to "save" Joel's life, ending his imprisonment on the Satellite of Love. The Mads then abandon their plan to kill Mike, and instead send him to the SoL to replace Joel. The episode was chosen by fans to appear in the MST3K 2016 Turkey Day Marathon. The episode finished third in a poll of MST3K Season 11 Kickstarter backers.[9] Writer Jim Vorel ranked the episode the eighth best in his rankings of the show's first 11 seasons (191 episodes),[10] and Season 11 head writer Elliott Kalan selected Mitchell as his ninth-favorite MST3K episode.[11] The MST3K version of the film was released on VHS by Rhino Home Video on September 1, 1998 and was reissued on DVD in November 2001 with the theatrical trailer as an extra. On November 26, 2013, Shout! Factory re-released the MST3K version of the film as a bonus feature on their 25th Anniversary Edition DVD boxed set. It was also the final episode that featured the show's creator Joel Hodgson as the subject of the "experiments". At the end of the episode, Michael J. Nelson steps in to fill his shoes after Joel leaves. MusicThe film's theme song, "Mitchell," was performed by country music singer Hoyt Axton. See alsoReferences
External links Wikiquote has quotations related to Mystery Science Theater 3000#Mitchell.
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