He's not as fast as he used to be... That's what makes him human. He's a bounty hunter... And that's what makes him dangerous and he is constantly putting his life on the line. With the arrival of civilization and the closing of the American frontier in the early 1900s, the "bounty hunter" became extinct. But someone forgot to tell Ralph "Papa" Thorson...", the last of his kind - a man born into an age to which he really does not belong. Among other things, insurance companies will not insure his life, and he will never receive any social security payments . Steve McQueen stars the life of bounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson, who traveling from one state to another in pursuit of fugitives as he has apprehended more than 5,000 criminals and bail jumpers . His schoolteacher girlfriend Dotty (Kathryn Harrold) is pregnant . A subplot involves an old enemy seeking vendetta (Tracey Walter) at Thorson . Based on real life of troubleshooter Ralph Thorson (performed three roles on this movie ,he acted as a technical consultant, had written the novel on which it was based, and played a small cameo), well portrayed by Steve McQueen in this movie, Ralph was killed by a car bomb in 1994.
Action-filled film contains an uneven plot with familiar drama , thrills ,car races , pursuits and many other things . Very good acting by Steve McQueen as Thorson , an old-fashioned guy who has a love of antiques , classical music and drives a 1950s convertible . Steve McQueen's final film , when he arrived at one of locations used for the film, he was checked into a really nice hotel with all the amenities available at the time, then he found out that the crew was staying in a cheaper motel nearby, he checked out of the hotel and stayed in the motel with the crew. Supporting cast is frankly good just like Elli Wallach , Ben Johnson , Tracey Walter , Al Ruscio , Levar Burton and many others . Highlights of the film are a pursuit in a cornfield, where driver in a tractor try to mow down and a chase through Chicago atop a fast-moving train. Atmospheric and gripping photography Fred Koenekamp , one of the main cameramen of the 60s and 70s , he photographed classics such as ¨Patton¨and ¨The towering inferno¨ . Mediocre musical score by Michael Legrand , in fact , producers of this picture were not satisfied with Michel Legrand's musical score which was too baroque for a thriller, they said ; finally,they came to an agreement with the French composer. Legrand's music was kept on US copies but a new musical score composed by Charles Bernstein was mixed with the soundtrack for copies released in Europe.
The motion picture was middlingly directed by Buzz Kulik . It was final theatrically released movie for director Buzz Kulik. Buzz was an expert filmmaker of TV movies and occasionally for cinema . He directed notorious series and TV films (The Lindberg kidnapping case , Pioneer woman , Brian's song , Riot , Rage of Angela) and adapted famous films for TV (From here to eternity with Natalie Wood , Women of valor) . Furthermore , he filmed some vehicles for notorious actors as Burt Reynods (Shamus) , Lee Marvin (Sergeant Ryker) , Steve McQueen (The hunter) and Pierce Brosnan (Around the world in 80 days) .
Action-filled film contains an uneven plot with familiar drama , thrills ,car races , pursuits and many other things . Very good acting by Steve McQueen as Thorson , an old-fashioned guy who has a love of antiques , classical music and drives a 1950s convertible . Steve McQueen's final film , when he arrived at one of locations used for the film, he was checked into a really nice hotel with all the amenities available at the time, then he found out that the crew was staying in a cheaper motel nearby, he checked out of the hotel and stayed in the motel with the crew. Supporting cast is frankly good just like Elli Wallach , Ben Johnson , Tracey Walter , Al Ruscio , Levar Burton and many others . Highlights of the film are a pursuit in a cornfield, where driver in a tractor try to mow down and a chase through Chicago atop a fast-moving train. Atmospheric and gripping photography Fred Koenekamp , one of the main cameramen of the 60s and 70s , he photographed classics such as ¨Patton¨and ¨The towering inferno¨ . Mediocre musical score by Michael Legrand , in fact , producers of this picture were not satisfied with Michel Legrand's musical score which was too baroque for a thriller, they said ; finally,they came to an agreement with the French composer. Legrand's music was kept on US copies but a new musical score composed by Charles Bernstein was mixed with the soundtrack for copies released in Europe.
The motion picture was middlingly directed by Buzz Kulik . It was final theatrically released movie for director Buzz Kulik. Buzz was an expert filmmaker of TV movies and occasionally for cinema . He directed notorious series and TV films (The Lindberg kidnapping case , Pioneer woman , Brian's song , Riot , Rage of Angela) and adapted famous films for TV (From here to eternity with Natalie Wood , Women of valor) . Furthermore , he filmed some vehicles for notorious actors as Burt Reynods (Shamus) , Lee Marvin (Sergeant Ryker) , Steve McQueen (The hunter) and Pierce Brosnan (Around the world in 80 days) .