Movie Loner

One Saturday night, when I was 10 years old, my parents took me and by brother to the Drive-In. For those of you not familiar with the Drive-In experience, you would park your car in front of a giant outdoor screen, attach a speaker to your door frame, and enjoy a couple flicks while munching stale popcorn and drinking flat soda. Anyway, on this particular Saturday night the double feature was The Road Warrior and Sharky’s Machine. The former is considered one of the great action films of all time, the latter just another cop movie starring Burt Reynolds. I love The Road Warrior, but it was Sharky’s Machine that really stuck with me.

Tough-guy narcotics cop Tom Sharky (Reynolds) just got transferred to vice after a bust-gone-bad. Banished to the bowels of the Atlanta Police Department, Sharky has a future of hookers and weirdos to look forward to. His first case lands him on a surveillance detail spying on a high-class call girl named Dominoe (Rachel Ward). Joining Sharky is a ragtag team that includes the loud, disgruntled Lt. Friscoe, nervous family man Nosh, grizzled veteran Papa, and soft-spoken Arch. Together they set their sights on bringing down a cruel super-pimp named Victor who has dealings with a corrupt politician.

Dominoe’s desire to free herself from Victor’s cold grasp lands her on the hit list of Victor’s brother Billy Score, a drug addicted psychopath responsible for tying up loose ends. Sharky’s round-the-clock peep show turns into a growing obsession for the sultry Dominoe. Victor and Billy’s efforts to dispose of Dominoe fall short, forcing Sharky to take her into hiding. As Sharky and Dominoe grow closer, a mole in the department threatens everyone on Sharky’s team, including Sharky. A bloody high-rise confrontation caps this taught police thriller.

Admittedly, the story is a little weak. It’s never really clear what Victor wants and why he’s killing people. However, there are plenty of interesting characters and action to sustain the plot. Reynolds direction doesn’t lack style; sweeping aerial shots of Atlanta’s skyline and moody set-pieces are prevalent. A solid cast of character actors features Charles Durning, Brian Keith, Bernie Casey and Henry Silva. Then there is Rachel Ward, the object of my first boyhood crush. My infatuation with her would continue in The Thorn Birds, Against All Odds, and After Dark, My Sweet. Damn, she has one helluva sexy voice. I’ve never been a huge Burt Reynolds fan but Sharky’s Machine is one movie I can watch over and over again.