The Marseille Contract

Last updated

The Marseille Contract
The Marseille Contract 1974.jpg
Directed by Robert Parrish
Written by Judd Bernard
Produced byJudd Bernard
Starring
Cinematography Douglas Slocombe
Edited by Willy Kemplen
Music by Roy Budd
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • 4 September 1974 (1974-09-04)(France)
Running time
89 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • France
LanguageEnglish

The Marseille Contract (released in the US as The Destructors) is a 1974 British thriller film directed by Robert Parrish. Its stars are Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn and James Mason. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Set in France, the story concerns an American agent attempting to bring down a French drug baron by hiring an assassin who turns out to be an old friend.

Plot

Steve Ventura, the French station head of Drug Enforcement Administration, is unable to find a way to expose and arrest a drug baron named Jacques Brizzard, whose henchmen were responsible for killing one of Ventura's undercover agents in Marseilles. Given that Brizzard is politically well connected to numerous affiliations, the law enforcement is finding it difficult to prove that Brizzard is involved in various crimes including murder. After several failed efforts of trying to cover an angle on Brizzard, Ventura comes to the conclusion that he couldn't take down the crime lord by the book, especially after Brizzard's henchmen make an attempt on his life, which he barely survives by evading them.

Following the incident, Ventura approaches Inspector Briac of the French Police Prefecture in Paris about the pinnacle, who reluctantly leads him to contact a hitman to assassinate Brizzard. Meeting the hitman discreetly, Ventura recognizes an old friend in John Deray, much to the surprise of both men. Accepting the contract, Deray travels to Marseilles under a false identity and scouts Brizzard's villa for ways to penetrate the property, spotting a possible approach by Brizzard's daughter, Lucienne, who enjoys the lavish life and privileges which her father provides, including fast sports cars. The next morning, Deray meets with Lucienne after impressing her during a car race between the two, with Lucienne in a Porsche 911S and Deray in an Alfa Romeo Montreal, and gets a dinner invite to the villa to meet her father which he attends.

Ventura, in the meantime, decides to cancel the contract and have Deray arrested under false charges after a change of heart, which exposes Deray as Brizzard runs a background check on him to which he admits to being a killer for hire, albeit unemployed at the time. Brizzard tests him by hiring him to kill an informant, and Deray does not hesitate. Brizzard eventually hires Deray as a full-time employee which he uses as a cover until he could find the right moment to take him out, and is assigned to be a courier at a change of hands. But, Deray barely makes it out of the scene alive at the rendezvous when the party he was supposed to meet at the change of hands turn out to be undercover policemen who attempt to arrest Deray over possession of illegal substance which was planted on him on the orders of Brizzard, immediately coming to the conclusion he was double crossed.

Successfully evading armed forces of both the police and Brizzard's killers, Deray meets with Ventura to brief him about the drugs shipping to Marseilles from Turkey and Brizzard is the one buying them all which he had heard earlier when eavesdropping on the crime lord's telephone calls. Both men head to the meet where they discover that Inspector Briac was directly involved with Brizzard and was planning to betray and kill him in order to take all the drugs for himself and sell them to other buyers and frame Deray for it. A firefight ensues and all three parties shoot each other, except for Brizzard who drives away, and Ventura at whose feet Deray dies due to a fatal bullet wound. Outraged, Ventura heads to the political fundraiser Brizzard is hosting, discreetly shoots him without letting anyone notice and departs.

Cast

Related Research Articles

Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be a person, group, or organization. Contract killing has been associated with organized crime, government conspiracies, dictatorships, and vendettas. For example, in the United States, the Italian- and Jewish-American organized crime gang Murder, Inc. committed hundreds of murders on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate during the 1930s and 1940s.

<i>Le Samouraï</i> 1967 neo-noir crime film

Le Samouraï is a 1967 neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, and Cathy Rosier. A Franco-Italian production, it depicts the intersecting paths of a professional hitman (Delon) trying to find out who hired him for a job and then tried to have him killed, and the Parisian commissaire (Périer) trying to catch him.

Midnight Run for Your Life is a 1994 made-for-television film, and the third and final entry in a series of television films produced for Universal Television's Action Pack programming block and based on the 1988 film Midnight Run. Christopher McDonald, who played Jack Walsh in previous installments Another Midnight Run and Midnight Runaround, reprises the role.

<i>Fled</i> 1996 film directed by Kevin Hooks

Fled is a 1996 American buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad.

<i>Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon</i> 1977 Japanese film

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon is a 1977 Japanese-language action thriller film starring Sonny Chiba as the international assassin Golgo 13. It is the second live-action movie based on the manga series Golgo 13, after the eponymous 1973 Japanese–Iranian film starring Ken Takakura.

The 2007 hitman case is an Australian criminal case involving Steven Wayne Spaliviero and Swede Charlotte Karin Lindström. Lindström is so far the only one sentenced for the crime. Spaliviero served 11 years in prison and was released October 2017, but was never charged for the hitman case. The hitman case has been widely reported by media in Australia and Scandinavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Giovanni</span> French film director

José Giovanni was the pseudonym of Joseph Damiani, a French writer and film-maker of Corsican origin who became a naturalized Swiss citizen in 1986.

<i>The Outside Man</i> 1972 French film

The Outside Man is a 1972 French-Italian thriller set in Los Angeles, directed by Jacques Deray and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Roy Scheider, and Angie Dickinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arianna Hernandez</span> Fictional character from Days of Our Lives

Arianna Hernandez is a fictional character from the American NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, played by Lindsay Hartley. Arianna made her first appearance on April 15, 2009. In July 2009, it was announced that original actress Felisha Terrell had been axed from the soap and would be replaced by Lindsay Hartley. Hartley made her first appearance on August 28, 2009. In July 2010, it was announced that Hartley would be departing Days of our Lives and Arianna made her final appearance on November 8, 2010.

<i>The Iceman</i> (film) 2013 American film directed by Ariel Vromen

The Iceman is a 2012 American biographical crime film loosely based on hitman Richard Kuklinski. The film was directed by Ariel Vromen and stars Michael Shannon as Kuklinski, with Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, James Franco, and Ray Liotta in supporting roles.

<i>Razzia sur la chnouf</i> 1955 French film

Razzia sur la chnouf is a 1955 French gangster film directed by Henri Decoin that stars Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, Lila Kedrova and Magali Noël. The screenplay, based on a novel by Auguste Le Breton, explores the contemporary drug scene in Paris and the efforts of the police to limit it. The film was released as Razzia in the United States, distributed by Kassler Films Inc. with English subtitles by Herman G. Weinberg.

<i>A True Mob Story</i> 1998 Hong Kong film

A True Mob Story is a 1998 Hong Kong crime drama film produced, written and directed by Wong Jing and starring Andy Lau and Gigi Leung.

<i>Le Marginal</i> 1983 French film

Le Marginal is a 1983 French crime film directed by Jacques Deray and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. The music for the film was composed by Ennio Morricone.

<i>A Taste of Killing and Romance</i> 1994 Hong Kong film

A Taste of Killing and Romance is a 1994 Hong Kong action romantic thriller film produced and directed by Veronica Chan and starring Andy Lau and Anita Yuen as a pair of assassins who unknowingly work for the same organisation that meet and eventually fall in love. The film was released in Hong Kong on 5 August 1994. A Taste of Killing and Romance was later shown at the New Beverly Cinema on 11 December 2018 as part of a double feature with the 1997 film, The Odd One Dies.

<i>A Black Veil for Lisa</i> 1968 film

A Black Veil for Lisa is a 1968 thriller film directed by Massimo Dallamano.

"Ghosts" is the second episode of the first season of the American television drama series Person of Interest. It is the 2nd overall episode of the series and is written by Greg Plageman and series creator Jonathan Nolan and directed by co-executive producer Richard J. Lewis. It aired on CBS in the United States and on CTV in Canada on September 29, 2011.

<i>Tough Beauty and the Sloppy Slop</i> 1995 film

Tough Beauty and the Sloppy Slop is a 1995 Filipino-Hong Kong action film directed by Yuen Bun and Alan Chui. It stars Yuen Biao, Cynthia Khan, Waise Lee and Monsour Del Rosario. It was theatrically released in the Philippines on January 4, 1996, as Mabangis Na Lungsod.

Cecil Kirby is a Canadian former outlaw biker, gangster and hitman for the Commisso 'ndrina, turned police informant.

<i>The Infernal Walker</i> Film by Ally Wong

The Infernal Walker, previously known as The Spy Walker and The Redeemer, is a 2020 Hong Kong action film produced by Billy Chung and directed by Ally Wong. The film stars Michael Tse as an undercover cop who infiltrates the triads and Pakho Chau as a triad mole planted into the police force. The Infernal Walker is the first film of a planned trilogy. Originally set for release on 30 September 2020, the film's release was postponed to 19 November 2020.

<i>Billy Summers</i> 2021 crime novel by Stephen King

Billy Summers is a crime novel written by American author Stephen King, published by Scribner on August 3, 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Hartman, Matthew (18 September 2015). "The Destructors". Blu-ray News and Reviews. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  2. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (14 June 2019). "Michael Caine's best films – ranked!". The Guardian . Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Andrew (12 June 2018). "Classic Cars on Film: The Marseille Contract, aka The Destructors". Autoclassics. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Hirschhorn, Clive; Mason, James (1977). The Films of James Mason. Citadel Press. p. 248. ISBN   9780806505848 . Retrieved 22 February 2021– via Google Books.
  5. ↑ Cettl, Robert (17 November 2014). King of the Turkeys: Michael Caine in America. Wider Screenings TM. pp. 18–19. ISBN   9780987378514 . Retrieved 4 July 2015– via Google Books.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.