Machine Gun McCain


Machine Gun McCain is a 1969 Italian crime film directed by Giuliano Montaldo. The film is based on the novel Candyleg by Ovid Demaris.

Cast

Machine Gun McCain was shot at both Incir-De Paolis and Dear Studios in Rome, as well as Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Director Giuliano Montaldo stated that both Machine Gun McCain and Grand Slam were made to establish him in the film industry before making the films he wanted to make. Montaldo stated that Cassavetes took the title role to finance his own films.

Release

Machine Gun McCain was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in Italy on 1 April 1969 where it was distributed by Euro International Film. It grossed a total of 803,751,000 Italian lire on its theatrical run in Italy. On its American release, the film was cut to 96 minutes.

Reception

In a contemporary review, the Monthly Film Bulletin described the film as "executed with minimal flair, and thudding rather heavily on the moralist/social documentary side of the fence" and that "apart from an over-use of the Techniscope zoom lens, there's no style to speak of." In a contemporary review, on reviewing the Blue Underground Blu-ray, Tom Charity described the film as "haphazardly scripted" but noted that it is "Cassavetes' participation alongside his soon-to be regular collaborator Falk and his wife Gena Rowlands that piques our curiosity" and that "Adroitly mixing stylish Roman interiors with colourful location work, fast-paced and featuring a ridiculously snappy Ennio Morricone dirge, 'The Ballad of Hank McCain',... adds up to an attractive footnote to Cassavetes' career".