Claude like most other American is in pursuit of its dream. His day job doesn't cut it so he seeks employment as a hit man. Soon he is making great strides towards buying the house in the burbs by coldly offing a couple of mugs. When he goes out west to whack another target he hesitates because the victim is a woman. He wants more cash.
Murder by Contract is an over achieving B flic with a style reminiscent of Sam Fuller and a twist or two to keep things interesting. Vince "Ben Casey" Edwards as Claude utilizes his one dimensional style to convincingly portray the dispassionate terminator who also dispenses updated Schopenhauer philosophy to all within earshot. In one inspired scene he goes into a tirade when served a dirty coffee cup. Humiliating the waiter with his withering insults, it is a scene as violent as the hits.
More than once in the film director Irving Lerner diverts from the formulaic path to lend originality and ambiguity to character and scenes. The narcissistic Claude sexual orientation is questioned while an associate thug (Hershel Bernardi) questions his. He makes Billie, the female target, a drunken self absorbed shrew, thus enabling you to root for Claude.
There's a lot wrong with Contract (back projection that goes light and dark, a music score more appropriate for a Greek Island) but it makes the most of what it has with a touch of originality.
Murder by Contract is an over achieving B flic with a style reminiscent of Sam Fuller and a twist or two to keep things interesting. Vince "Ben Casey" Edwards as Claude utilizes his one dimensional style to convincingly portray the dispassionate terminator who also dispenses updated Schopenhauer philosophy to all within earshot. In one inspired scene he goes into a tirade when served a dirty coffee cup. Humiliating the waiter with his withering insults, it is a scene as violent as the hits.
More than once in the film director Irving Lerner diverts from the formulaic path to lend originality and ambiguity to character and scenes. The narcissistic Claude sexual orientation is questioned while an associate thug (Hershel Bernardi) questions his. He makes Billie, the female target, a drunken self absorbed shrew, thus enabling you to root for Claude.
There's a lot wrong with Contract (back projection that goes light and dark, a music score more appropriate for a Greek Island) but it makes the most of what it has with a touch of originality.