Here’s another column of novels that have been made into films, including another stab at one of the Dortmunder books, Michael Caine with a machine gun, and a certified classic with the late, great Charles Bronson and a very young Jeff Goldblum. (This is actually the fourth book I’ve covered that became a Bronson vehicle. Can you tell I’m a fan of his films?) All are on DVD, I believe (one as an import-only), so for those to lazy to read, you have that option. But as we already know, the books are always superior to the films … especially this first one.
BANK SHOT by Donald E. Westlake — George C. Scott is not who I think of when I think Dortmunder. Robert Redford was not a great choice, either. Talk about a botch job of turning this 1972 book into the 1974 film, with whole parts ignored and others added that just fall flat.
But we are not here for my movie critiques. Westlake’s novel is another caper with that lovable crook Dortmunder and his crew. We find our hero working a door-to-door scam selling encyclopedias, until his latest mark makes a phone call, sending Dortmunder out the door faster than a jackrabbit.
That’s just set up to show he is waiting for the right score. This time, the job is not only to rob a bank, but to actually steal a whole bank — lock, stock and barrel. Kelp has a nephew who was once in the FBI and has an idea for Dortmunder and his crew: to steal from a bank that is using a trailer as a temporary location while its new bank is being built. Every Thursday, the bank is loaded to the gills with money that has to stay overnight.
Dortmunder is totally iffy about the whole prospect, until his men brilliantly point out the bank is really just a mobile home on blocks. Why not steal the whole thing with a tractor-trailer? This being the comedic side of Westlake, you can expect problems and hilarity to ensue, which they do.
Some portions are a bit dated, with one of the crew members being called Herman X, a black radical. All in all, it’s a quick ride into the world of Dortmunder, with the whole robbery taking place so fast, you think you missed it. Of course, even when the job goes perfect, there are those moments that can only happen to Dortmunder. The final payoff is really funny.
Again, George C. Scott — what were the filmmakers thinking? Sure, he can do some comedy, but this was just a mistake on the level of Martin Lawrence proportions. The best thing to come out of the movie was the super-cool Jack Davis artwork that adorns the cover.
SEVEN DAYS TO A KILLING by Clive Egleton — I’m going with this 1973 book’s original title instead of its movie title, THE BLACK WINDMILL. Nothing against the 1974 film, though.
What would you do if your son was kidnapped from school? “Anything possible” should be your answer. That is exactly what happens to David Tarrant, a British Army officer who gets a call saying that his child has been taken and held ransom for half a million dollars in diamonds. Tarrant is flustered since he can’t easily access that type of money, so when he contacts his superiors about what has happened, he’s made out to be some sort of a defector who will take the money and run.
It’s never directly said to Tarrant himself, but all the higher-ups believe that he’s part of a scheme the whole time, especially when the payoff is set in Paris, with Tarrant as the courier. It’s at this point Tarrant understands he can’t even rely on his own people for help, despite them hearing the disturbing phone calls of the torture happening to the boy.
It all builds to the climax that, to be honest, the cover sort of gives away. With the reveal of who the brains behind the operation really was, it’s a pretty taut thriller that never lets the reader think for a moment that everything will end up in a shiny, happy way. Blood will be spilled, and trust me, it’s thrown at the window.
Egleton is one of those writers who has totally slipped through the cracks — not in the sense his books are out-of-print, but more that people just don’t mention the spy-like thrillers he has written that are just great crowd-pleasers. It’s pretty hard to read the book and not think of Michael Caine, who played Tarrant in the film directed by Don Siegel, who also made two other pretty darn good crime films right before this one: DIRTY HARRY and CHARLEY VARRICK.
DEATH WISH by Brian Garfield — Here’s a bit of shocker for fans of the 1974 Charles Bronson film: The 1972 book’s body count is not that high. And there is no actual shooting until very late in the story.
CPA Paul Benjamin is a bleeding-heart liberal and proud of it. But that all changes when his wife and daughter are mugged, sending his daughter into a state of shock, then later causing the death of his wife. Paul’s world is rocked by these events, so his company sends him off to the Southwest to not only get away, but deal with a high-paying client. Once in that area, he thinks about getting a gun and taking vengeance on those who prey upon people like his family.
From here on out, Paul gets deeper into the idea of being a vigilante. When he comes back home, he first uses a roll of quarters in a sock to protect himself, which slowly morphs into a .38 revolver. Again, the body count is by no measure like the film or its four sequels, but Garfield’s book is a peek into a man who has not given up on his love for his city, even as he becomes a one-man wrecking crew. The story continues in the follow-up DEATH SENTENCE.
Next time: a few quick reads. —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF BRIAN GARFIELD:
• HOPSCOTCH by Brian Garfield
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF DONALD E. WESTLAKE:
• ASK THE PARROT by Richard Stark
• THE AX by Donald E. Westlake
• COPS AND ROBBERS by Donald E. Westlake
• THE CUTIE by Donald E. Westlake
• DIRTY MONEY by Richard Stark
• THE HOT ROCK by Donald E. Westlake
• THE HUNTER by Richard Stark
• I KNOW A TRICK WORTH TWO OF THAT by Donald E. Westlake
• THE JUGGER by Donald E. Westlake
• KILLING TIME by Donald E. Westlake
• KILLTOWN by Richard Stark
• LEMONS NEVER LIE by Richard Stark
• THE MAN WITH THE GETAWAY FACE by Richard Stark
• THE MOURNER by Donald E. Westlake
• THE OUTFIT by Richard Stark
• PITY HIM AFTERWARDS by Donald E. Westlake
• POINT BLANK by Richard Stark
• THE SCORE by Donald E. Westlake
• SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY by Donald E. Westlake
• THE SOUR LEMON SCORE by Richard Stark
• THE SPY IN THE OINTMENT by Donald E. Westlake
• 361 by Donald E. Westlake
• WHAT’S SO FUNNY? by Donald E. Westlake
• WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN? by Donald E. Westlake
Related posts:
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Goodbye, Mr. Westlake
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Questionable Reading Material
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Tools of the Trade
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Lee Marvin’s Bookshelf
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Let’s Do Some Crimes
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The novel of Deathwish is so much more satisfying than the movie.
Watching Benjamin slowly crumble, his comfortable middle class morals degrading into homicidal rage is genius.
I remember when I got my hands on the DVD of Bank Shot, shortly after watching (and enjoying) the film version of The Hot Rock. You could basically sum up my reaction as WTF…
Sorry, DEATH WISH cover, but I would never call the movie “terrifying.” Disturbing, sure, but terrifying is a stretch.
But as we already know, the books are always superior to the films
AHEM! We do not all know that, in fact, that laughable myth has been disproved by this very blog!
http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/sci-fi/frames-o-reference-better-than-the-movie-part-3/
I suggest you read Bank Shot then watch the film, actually most of Westlakes books that have been made into movies are definitely lacking. Check out Jimmy The Kid starring Gary Coleman?! They butchered that book making it into a kids like film. Except for two Richard Stark’s The Outfit and the avant garde like Point Blank. I’ve also gone on record saying that the original Pelham 123 ending is a vast improvement over the book. I have not seen the remake and here’s a bold statement I probably never will. I’ll stick with Matthau and Shaw. While the book No Beast So Fierce is just kick ass the movie Straight Time makes some minor changes but totally holds up next to its source material.
But there are way to many films made from books which have nothing to do with the source material. Namely the James Bond series- The Spy Who Loved Me deals with a insurance fire at a out of the way motel in New York state not a giant underwater base. Moonraker deals with a missle set to blow up London not a space station with Star Wars like phasers on shuttles. Octopussy takes one short story that of a auction for a Fabergé Egg. While the actual story deals with a man looking over his life knowing that his time has come to an end when a man named Bond turns up.
Then there is the Matt Helm films which are just a mess. Since the books are extremely dark and the idea of Dean Martin doing the events of Death Of A Citizen would be jaw dropping. But what is truly funny is that Martin in real life was very Helm like in his coldness.