The Mechanic

Arthur Bishop works as a professional killer for a criminal organization, taking assignments that are meant to look like accidents. When his superiors order him to eliminate Harry McKenna, an older man who once mentored him, Bishop carries out the job without much hesitation. He then takes on Harry's son Steve as a pupil, training the young man in the methods of scientific, carefully staged murder. Steve is driven by a desire to find and kill whoever was responsible for his father's death, and as his skills grow, the arrangement between the two men becomes increasingly difficult to sustain.

Michael Winner directed the film, the third of the thirteen features he made in chronological order, following Chato's Land and preceding The Nightcomers. Lewis John Carlino wrote the screenplay, and Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff produced. Charles Bronson plays Bishop, with Jan-Michael Vincent as Steve, Keenan Wynn as Harry, and Jill Ireland among the cast. Made for about 3 million dollars, the film drew a critics' rating of 5.7 out of 10 from twelve reviews, while audiences were more favorable: on IMDb it holds 7.4 from 51 votes, and on TMDB 6.7 from 361 votes.