Death Hunt (1981) 20th Century Fox/Action-Adventure RT: 97 minutes Rated R (language, strong graphic violence) Director: Peter Hunt Screenplay: Michael Grais and Mark Victor Music: Jerrold Immel Cinematography: James Devis Release date: May 22, 1981 (US) Starring: Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Andrew Stevens, Carl Weathers, Ed Lauter, Scott Hylands, Angie Dickinson, Henry Beckman, William Sanderson, Maury Chaykin, Jon Cedar, James O’Connell, Len Lesser, Dick Davalos, August Schellenberg. Box Office: $5M (US)
Rating: ***
Talk about an action movie casting coup. Death Hunt features an all-star lineup of great tough guy actors. It has Charles Bronson (the Death Wish movies), Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen), Carl Weathers (Predator) and Ed Lauter (Death Wish 3). It also has Andrew Stevens (10 to Midnight) and Angie Dickinson (Police Woman), not quite all-stars but still cool. With a line-up like that, you would think Death Hunt would be totally, off-the-charts awesome, yes? No. It’s good, but hardly what I’d call awesome.
Loosely based on a true story, Death Hunt concerns the pursuit of an alleged killer by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Yukon Territory circa 1931. Albert Johnson (Bronson) forcibly rescues a severely injured German Shepherd from a dog fighting ring and his cruel owner Hazel (Lauter) who means to finish off the dying animal. Even though he pays the guy $200, it’s still not good enough for the greedy bastard. His claims of theft of property go ignored by Sgt. Edgar Millen (Marvin), the commander of the local RCMP post.
Hazel and the other trappers go to Johnson’s isolated cabin to retrieve the dog, but the dog is killed in the ensuing shootout by one of Hazel’s men. Johnson responds by blowing the jerk’s head off. This time, Millen does something about it. He goes to Johnson’s cabin to try and talk him into surrendering to him. He has a pretty good idea of what really went down; he just needs a few days to get it sorted out. That’s not good enough for the angry mob of trappers behind him. One of them fires at the cabin which results in another shootout that claims the lives of several of the men. After a short standoff, they blow up the cabin with dynamite. Johnson escapes and goes on the run in an attempt to get across the Alaskan border before the law and the lynch mob catch up to him.
Millen is joined in the chase by his two associates, tracker Sundog Brown (Weathers) and the new, idealistic deputy Alvin Adams (Stevens). He hopes to be the first to reach Johnson to ensure he’s brought in alive. His job is made harder by the $1000 reward being offered for Johnson’s capture, dead or alive. That brings out a whole bunch of gun-toting wannabe bounty hunters looking to cash in. There’s another added wrinkle to the already messy situation. Many believe Johnson to be a chap known as “The Mad Trapper”, a serial killer with a penchant for stealing the gold teeth of his victims. Johnson isn’t that guy, but you’ll have no problem picking out who is.
Death Hunt doesn’t hold back when it comes to delivering the action and the violence. And take it from me, it’s one violent picture! It’s also a total guy’s movie. The only major female character in the movie is Vanessa (Dickinson), a widow who comes to collect her late husband’s belongings and ends up becoming Millen’s lover. She’s a completely unnecessary character. She has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. She serves no purpose other than adding a small dose of estrogen to the proceedings. She disappears about midway through and is never seen or heard about again.
I wasn’t all that impressed with Death Hunt the first time I saw it all the way through in summer 1998. I guess I expected more from it given who’s in it. I honestly can’t remember why I wasn’t enthralled with it. I gave it another shot about 13 years later and liked it better. I recently watched it for the third time. I still don’t think it’s one of the greats, but it’s a nice testament to a time when hardened action heroes ruled the genre.
Bronson and Marvin, who also appeared together in The Dirty Dozen, are kings of old school action. Marvin is particularly great as the grizzled old lawman not happy about the changing world, especially as it pertains to law enforcement. He looks on in annoyed bemusement as his new deputy tries to install a two-way radio. He doesn’t see the need for a new-fangled device; he does just fine without it. Bronson matches him as the fugitive who’s always a few steps ahead of his pursuers, an amazing feat when you consider he’s wearing snowshoes.
Lauter is one of my favorite character actors. No one plays a mean bastard like he does. Weathers, I have only two words about this guy: Action Jackson. That says it all. Stevens, who would reunite with Bronson in 10 to Midnight, does fine work as the young, naïve Mountie who learns a thing or two about law enforcement in the rough, untamed Yukon. The cast also includes Henry Beckman (The Brood), Jon Cedar (The Manitou), William Sanderson (Blade Runner), Maury Chaykin (Dances with Wolves) and August Schellenberg (Free Willy 1-3).
Directed by Peter Hunt (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Assassination), Death Hunt tells a good story fraught with excitement. It stumbles only in dramatic scenes like the ones between Marvin and Dickinson. Again, I don’t understand why she’s around. Her storyline is completely superfluous. It’s a misstep, but it doesn’t derail the film. It’s a good one like I said. It’s a rough and tough piece filled with dialogue right out of the tough guy manual. It’s the very type of actioner that would guarantee my presence in the theater opening weekend. [WISE GUY INTERJECTION] Yes, but is it art? [MY RESPONSE] Dude, if you have to ask, it’s definitely not for you.
