Hard Contract

20th Century-Fox. Dir S. Lee Pogostin; Producer Marvin Schwartz; Screenplay S. Lee Pogostin; Camera Jack Hildyard; Editor Harry Gerstad; Music Alex North Art Dir; Editor Graves

James Coburn
Lee Remick
Lilli Palmer
Burgess Meredith
Patrick Magee
Sterling Hayden

The principle of the loner, the individual in the jungle of society, the solitary predator, is emphatically portrayed in this skillfully-mounted film about the killer-for-hire who agrees to a hard contract to eliminate three men in Europe.

James Coburn, as Cunningham, accepts the deal dished out by Burgess Meredith. Leaving the US for Torremelinos, he meets the self-indulgent jet-set quartet who bloom in the Spanish sun.

Leader of the group is Lee Remick, who finds herself in love with Coburn but not his profession.

Scenery of Spain and Belgium is in sharp focus, which isn't always true of story. A shift of values has been initiated, but no one has raised a signpost to tell where we're going.

Coburn and Remick, effective in their roles, allow characters to develop naturally.

(Color) Widescreen. Extract of a review from 1969. Running time: 106 MIN.

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