99 and 44/100% Dead

99 and 44/100% Dead!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Frankenheimer
Written by	Robert Dillon
Produced by	Mickey Borofsky Joe Wizan
Starring	Richard Harris Edmond O'Brien Bradford Dillman
Cinematography	Ralph Woolsey
Edited by	Harold F. Kress
Music by	Henry Mancini
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	August 29, 1974 (1974-08-29)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

99 and 44/100% Dead!, released in the UK as Call Harry Crown, is a 1974 American action comedy film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Richard Harris.^[1] The title is a play on an advertising slogan for Ivory soap.

In the film, a professional contract killer is hired to take part in a conflict betweet two rival crime bosses. The mission gets personal when the killer's love interest is kidnapped by the rival gang.

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Plot

Harry Crown, a stylish professional hit man with a pair of Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistols with ivory grips, carried in a shoulder holster, is brought in by mob boss "Uncle Frank" Kelly when his operation is challenged by Big Eddie, a grinning, lisping rival.

Crown is caught in the crossfire, as is his romantic interest, Buffy, a third-grade schoolteacher. In his attempt to take over the rackets, Big Eddie has hired Marvin "The Claw" Zuckerman, a sadistic one-armed killer with a prosthetic attachment that includes machine guns and knives.

Buffy is abducted, causing Harry to ignore Uncle Frank's warnings not to take on Eddie's men in broad daylight. A showdown in a warehouse results in The Claw being overpowered and literally disarmed. Harry appears to be too late to save Buffy, but a gunshot rings out and Big Eddie falls to the ground, slain by Uncle Frank.

Cast

Richard Harris as Harry Crown
Edmond O'Brien as Uncle Frank Kelly
Bradford Dillman as Big Eddie
Chuck Connors as Marvin 'Claw' Zuckerman
Ann Turkel as Buffy
Constance Ford as Dolly
David Hall as Tony
Kathrine Baumann as Baby
Janis Heiden as Clara
Max Kleven as North
Karl Lukas as Guard
Tony Brubaker as Burt (as Anthony Brubaker)
Jerry Summers as Shoes
Roy Jenson as Jake

Release

In 1969 the film was reported to be directed by Sergio Leone and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Charles Bronson.^[2]

Principal photography began on August 10, 1973, in Seattle before moving to Los Angeles.^[2]

Frankenheimer later described the film as "a bit off center":

It's like 1970s pop art, the idea being, quickly, that our society is so violent that the person best qualified to cope with it is the professional killer. I hope what happens won't be what happened with The Manchurian Candidate — horrible reviews and then five years later it's on everyone's list. I don't want that to happen again.^[3]

In an interview two decades later, Frankenheimer himself thought the film a failure. He felt that he did not do his best work on it and in hindsight, shouldn't do this sort of satire.^[4]

On December 13, 2011 Shout! Factory released the film on DVD as part of a double feature with The Nickel Ride.

References

^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (2010). "New York Times: 99 and 44/100% Dead". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "99 and 44/100% Dead". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
^ Blume, Mary (September 1, 1974). "Fathering a 'Connection' Offspring". Los Angeles Times. p. m20.
^ Frankenheimer, John (1995). John Frankenheimer: A Conversation with Charles Champlin. Riverwood Press. p. 137. ISBN 9781880756133.