Charley Varrick

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  • Official Trailer

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Don Siegel

Producer:

Don Siegel

Writer:

Dean Riesner, Howard A. Rodman

Release Date:

Sep 19, 1973

Runtime:

1hr 51m

Synopsis

A man, his wife, and their friend stage a bloody bank robbery without realizing that they are stealing from the Mob.

Cast

  • Walter Matthau
  • Joe Don Baker
  • Felicia Farr
  • Andy Robinson
  • John Vernon
  • Sheree North
  • Norman Fell
  • Benson Fong
  • Woodrow Parfrey
  • William Schallert

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.9
23.6K
13.5K
7.2K
RATINGS 58 FANS
3.9
  • Oct 12, 2014

    i like how unsentimental this is, not just about its violence but with its actual narrative, which with its loose structure frequently comes across less as a thriller than as a collection of occupational hazards endured by everyone at every level of a criminal enterprise.…

    480 Likes
    matt lynch
    matt lynch
    Jul 7, 2021

    Charley Varrick is a man so irredeemable in character that Clint Eastwood had to give playing him a pass.  Walter Matthau was more than willing to take up the job.  The leading role in Don Siegel’s heist-gone-rotten flick isn’t so much evil, as he is stuck in a habit of…

    228 Likes
    theriverjordan
    theriverjordan
    May 24, 2025

    Can’t put it better than Justin Decloux, who commented on the way out of the theatre: “What a picture! You’re looking at Walter Matthau, and when you’re not looking at him you’re looking at John Vernon, and when you’re not looking at him you’re looking at Joe Don Baker!”

    220 Likes
    Will Sloan
    Will Sloan
  •
    Nov 9, 2014

    Having just spent an entire day watching Walter Matthau movies, I can confirm that he can make a womanizing dentist likeable, a drunken deadbeat little league coach lovable, and an incorrigible shyster ambulance-chasing attorney downright adorable. But he can also pull…

    190 Likes
    Joe
    Joe
    Mar 27, 2026

    “i'm not a big operator. i'm just trying to make a living.” This one grew on me quickly. I went in expecting a solid ’70s heist movie with all the grit and right ingredients, a clean setup and that familiar rhythm of things going off track. Maybe it was Walter Matthau in…

    174 Likes
    Tim Fehrenbach
    Tim Fehrenbach
    Mar 21, 2021

    After a bank job goes sideways, Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker face off against each other in this clash of cinematic titans. You could only make a movie like this in the seventies: Need a cool, sexy leading man? Get Matthau. The relentless mafia hit man pursuing him? Joe…

    174 Likes
    Will Menaker
    Will Menaker
  •
    Nov 9, 2014

    aka No Country for Grumpy Old Men "There's always a bigger fish." - Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars Episode I "Last of the independents... I like that, has a ring of finality to it." - Joe Don Baker, terrifying executioner of Darwinian capitalism. A framed photo of John…

    141 Likes
    laird
    laird

    Charley Varrick, with its perfect blend of nervous action, sharp humor and cynicism is one of the best thrillers of the 1970s and Don Siegel's masterpiece along with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. A model of inspiration for several heist movies in the years to come,…

    137 Likes
    𝙿𝚊𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝙶𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚗 | 🇮🇹
    𝙿𝚊𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝙶𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚗 | 🇮🇹
    May 24, 2025

    God Joe Don Baker. God Walter Matthau. God Jon Vernon. God Don Siegel. God Laolo Schiffrin. I love it when a plan comes together.

    126 Likes
    Justin Decloux
    Justin Decloux

Queue Community Reviews

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Top Reviews
  • James New
    James New liked
    Charley Varrick

    Really unusual and very enjoyable crime thriller. Charley himself is a very complicated and charismatic character you can’t help but root for him. It’s structured very well and the idea itself it just great. Really fun watch

    2Y

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Metacritic

76
metacritic
Based on 12 Critics
tbd

USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
75

Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson -- the '70s' three reigning American action movie superstars -- had their thunder stolen when top action director Siegel cast rumpled, baleful-eyed comic sourpuss Walter Matthau in this classic '70s thriller. [09 May 1999, p.C9]

Metacritic review by Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
70

Siegel has decorated the movie with a lot of colorful bit characters including a chatty, sex‐obsessed old woman, but the action sequences give the film its content as well as style.

Metacritic review by Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
The New York Times
50

It's noisy and brutal, with sentimental flourishes.

Pauline Kael
The New Yorker

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Charley Varrick (1973) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as PG (Parental Guidance Suggested). It's generally considered a family-friendly movie.
How long is Charley Varrick (1973)?
The movie is 1hr 51min long.
What's Charley Varrick (1973) about?
A man, his wife, and their friend stage a bloody bank robbery without realizing that they are stealing from the Mob.
Who's the cast of Charley Varrick (1973)?
  • Walter Matthau as Charley Varrick
  • Joe Don Baker as Molly
  • Felicia Farr as Sybil Fort
  • Andy Robinson as Harman Sullivan
  • John Vernon as Maynard Boyle
  • Sheree North as Jewell Everett
  • Norman Fell as Mr. Garfinkle
  • Benson Fong as Honest John
  • Woodrow Parfrey as Harold Young
  • William Schallert as San Miguel Sheriff Bill Horton
Who's the director behind Charley Varrick (1973)?
Don Siegel directed Charley Varrick (1973).
Who produced Charley Varrick (1973)?
Don Siegel produced Charley Varrick (1973).
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