Charlie Varrick

TCM is showing Charlie Varrick tonight. The Yahoo TV listing says the movie was released in 1973, but I discovered it a couple of years on IFC or Sundance channel.

Walter Matthau plays a small time crook who robs a mob bank. Thus he is pursued by the police and the mob. Simple premise, yet Matthau delivers a wonderful little performance as a smart, ruthless, and gutsy guy. The plot has enough quirky scenes, telling gestures, and mystery to leave you watching it all the way to end to see what happens.

Check it out sometime to see Walter Matthau playing outside his usual roles. Joe Don Baker and the other actors do a honey of a job too.