“Charley Varrick” The spirit of Last of the Independents is overflowing *Note! Contains spoilers.

last of the independent

The words on Charlie Varrick's crop dusting uniform read: Last of the Independents. Perhaps it would be better to shorten it to "Best of the Self-Employed." The tagline appears on the film's poster and trailer, and is used throughout the film.

Don Siegel also wanted to title the film "The Last of the Independent" (the original title was the main character's name, "Charley Varrick"). In this case, perhaps it should be shortened to "The Last Lone Wolf". It is a declaration of his position in Hollywood, and a declaration that "I am the last independent filmmaker". This is also the first film to use his production credit "A Siegel Film". The words "The Last of the Independent" may contain the joy of being in a position to film the subject matter he wants to film, at his own discretion, rather than being a hired director.

“Charley Varrick”(c)Photofest / Getty Images

That's why this movie is full of Don Siegel-esque things. Antimorality that goes beyond good and evil. Overt violence. A dry touch that excludes sentimentalism. If I had to pick just one of his works, I would choose " Charley Varrick " over " Dirty Harry " without hesitation.

As an aside, there is a musician who was inspired by this movie. It is Irish guitar hero Rory Gallagher . The eighth track on his album " Photo Finish " released in 1978 is " Last of the Independents ". He too has been the "last lone wolf" in the blues rock genre.

(*1) http://www.cineoutsider.com/reviews/bluray/c/charley_varrick_br.html

(*2) https://cinephiliabeyond.org/charley-varrick/

Text: Rui Takeshima

A pop culture writer who wants to be kicked by Hit Girl. Host of the web magazine "POP MASTER".

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(c) Photofest / Getty Images