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99 and 44/100% Dead
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Wikipedia article
'99 and 44/100% Dead!' is a 1974 American action-comedy film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Richard Harris. The title is a play on an advertising slogan for Ivory soap.
Plot
Harry Crown, a stylish professional hit man with a pair of Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistols with ivory grips, carried in a shoulder holster, is brought in by mob boss "Uncle Frank" Kelly when his operation is challenged by Big Eddie, a grinning, lisping rival.
Crown is caught in the crossfire, as is his romantic interest, Buffy, a third-grade schoolteacher. In his attempt to take over the rackets, Big Eddie has hired Marvin "The Claw" Zuckerman, a sadistic one-armed killer with a prosthetic attachment that includes machine guns and knives.
Buffy is abducted, causing Harry to ignore Uncle Frank's warnings not to take on Eddie's men in broad daylight. A showdown in a warehouse results in The Claw being overpowered and literally disarmed. Harry appears to be too late to save Buffy, but a gunshot rings out and Big Eddie falls to the ground, slain by Uncle Frank.
Cast
* Richard Harris as Harry Crown
* Edmond O'Brien as Uncle Frank Kelly
* Bradford Dillman as Big Eddie
* Chuck Connors as Marvin 'Claw' Zuckerman
* Ann Turkel as Buffy
* Constance Ford as Dolly
* David Hall as Tony
* Kathrine Baumann as Baby
* Janis Heiden as Clara
* Max Kleven as North
* Karl Lukas as Guard
* Tony Brubaker as Burt (as Anthony Brubaker)
* Jerry Summers as Shoes
* Roy Jenson as Jake
Release
The film began production in 1969 with Sergio Leone directing and Marcello Mastroianni and Charles Bronson starring.
Principal photography began on August 10, 1973, in Seattle before moving to Los Angeles.
Frankenheimer later described the film as "a bit off center":
It's like 1970s pop art, the idea being, quickly, that our society is so violent that the person best qualified to cope with it is the professional killer. I hope what happens won't be what happened with 'The Manchurian Candidate' horrible reviews and then five years later it's on everyone's list. I don't want that to happen again.
In an interview two decades later, Frankenheimer himself thought the film a failure. He felt that he did not do his best work on it and in hindsight, shouldn't do this sort of satire.
On December 13, 2011 Shout! Factory released the film on DVD as part of a double feature with 'The Nickel Ride'.
See also
* List of American films of 1974
* Richard Harris filmography
References
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