The Stone Killer

Infobox Film
name = The Stone Killer


caption =
director = Michael Winner
producer = Michael Winner
writer = John Gardner (Book: "A Complete State of Death")
Gerald Wilson
starring = Charles Bronson
Martin Balsam
Jack Colvin
Paul Koslo
Norman Fell
music = Roy Budd
cinematography = Richard Moore
editing =
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = August 8, 1973
runtime = 95 min.
country = United States
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:46956
imdb_id = 0070736

"The Stone Killer" is a 1973 film starring Charles Bronson directed by Michael Winner. It came out in between "The Mechanic" and "Death Wish", all three of which teamed up actor/director Bronson and Winner. Norman Fell and John Ritter appear as cops in this film, not too long before the TV series "Three's Company". Character actor Stuart Margolin plays a significant role; he also appeared in "Death Wish".

The plot involves a plot by a present day (1971) Mafia don (Martin Balsam) to avenge the killings of a group of Mafia dons back in the 1931 ("The Night of Sicilian Vespers") with a bold nation-wide counter-strike against most of the current Italian and Jewish syndicate heads using teams of Vietnam vets instead of Mafia hit men.

Bronson plays a gritty, independent detective who stumbles across the plot when a washed-up former hit man is killed under circumstances that make it clear that it was an inside job and that that Mafia was involved. He then slowly but surely uncovers the clues that point to a seemingly impossible plot. Who waits 40 years for revenge?

Bronson's character is vintage Bronson; he is forced to resign from the NYPD after he shoots and kills an "armed" teenager, but no gun is found. Later, after being hired by the LAPD he comes under scrutiny again after he runs over a suspect who has fired at him.

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