Trackdown (1976)

Absolutely brilliant

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Jim Calhoun (Mitchum) is a Montana cattle rancher who doesn't take any guff. When his sister Betsy (Lamm) decides to follow in the footsteps of so many that came before her and moves to L.A. seeking fame and fortune, tragedy befalls her. The wide-eyed and innocent Betsy falls afoul of an evil gang and is forced into prostitution. A guy named Chucho (Estrada) falls for Betsy, and while initially associated with the gang, severs ties when Betsy goes missing. Soon Jim Calhoun is in the big city, a big, burly fish out of water, also searching for his beloved sister. Joining the search party is social worker Lynn (Crosby). But super-evil baddie Johnny Dee (Cannon) is going to make life especially hard for the well-meaning trio, who, despite all their social differences, have banded together to save Betsy from a life of squalor. Will Calhoun and his friends succeed in their TRACKDOWN? Trackdown is a quality example of the "disgruntled man searching for his wife/sister/daughter" movie exemplified by the likes of Hardcore (1979), Broken Angel (1988), and, most recently, Taken (2008). While there are other examples, Trackdown predates the aforementioned three titles, and, as you might expect, is dripping with 70's style. Thank goodness for movies like Trackdown, which show L.A. back in the day in all its gritty glory. While the surface is loaded with rotary phones, wide ties, and bellbottoms, the underlying message seems to be that the city is filled with harsh realities and uncaring people, and scavengers will take advantage of you if you don't have a support system of people who care.One of those people happens to be Erik Estrada. His youthful energy pours through in this early role, and he has some stylish shirts and a killer van to boot. He even takes Betsy to a very interesting dance club with a live band at one point. Director Heffron was going for realism for the most part, which pays off today in the sense of it being a fascinating time capsule. But the true rewards of this realistic approach is that there is no treacly sentimentalism or preachy messages, just Jim Mitchum with a shotgun dispensing Montana justice. Now that's a trackdown we can get behind.It's hard to pick a favorite Mitchum: Jim, Chris or Robert. Each time we think we have a fave, along comes a Code Name: Zebra (1987) or a mega-winner like the awesome Final Score (1986). But for the purposes of today's review, Jim is in the driver's seat, and we couldn't be happier. Jim Calhoun brings a dose of reality to those L.A. airheads, in the form of some good beat-em-ups and an extremely well-directed action setpiece in an elevator shaft. While Cathy Lee Crosby and Anne Archer provide nice cast additions, Mitchum makes you root for Calhoun. Featuring the end credits song "Runaway Girl" by none other than Kenny Rogers, we feel Trackdown is worth tracking down.

Robert Mitchums' eldest son James shows off that trademark Mitchum cool in this mostly routinely written but capably directed little B movie. Whatever it may lack in nuance it makes up for with a pretty solid fun factor. There *is* one sequence that does stand out, and that's a climactic bit of action involving elevators. Otherwise, this is reasonably engaging stuff, written by Paul F. Edwards (based on a story by Ivan Nagy), and directed by Richard T. Heffron ("Futureworld").Mitchum is good in a low key portrayal of Montana rancher Jim Calhoun, who travels to L.A. in search of his kid sister Betsy (lovely and appealing Karen Lamm ("The Unseen")), who's run away. Soon after she arrived in the city, some lowlifes took advantage of her, and she gets mixed up in a world of prostitution and drugs. At first, Jim is forced to deal with one useless person after another who either can't or won't help. But he does get assistance from Chucho (Erik Estrada), who was one of the young punks that targeted her, but experienced a change of heart. And social worker Lynn (Cathy Lee Crosby) also helps out.One good thing about "Trackdown" is that it does move forward quite well, maintaining viewer interest consistently. It's got fine cinematography (by Gene Polito) and a nice music score (by Charles Bernstein) going for it. A decent supporting cast also helps matters; young and beautiful Anne Archer is delightful as Barbara, a call girl who shows sympathy towards Betsy, and Vince Cannon is appropriately scummy as nasty mafioso Johnny Dee. The late, great Ray Sharkey plays the small role of Flash and Tony Burton ("Assault on Precinct 13" '76, the "Rocky" series) can be seen as a transvestite.The character of Jim is worth rooting for, and the story leads towards a final confrontation that packs a good visceral punch. Fans of the action genre will likely see this as an effective diversion.Seven out of 10.

I want this movie so bad. This was the best movie that I have ever seen and I've seen a lot of good movies. I saw it for the first time while my husband and I were stationed in Germany, the same year it came out. I've never seen it again. Not even as a classic on TV. Can't buy it on VHS or DVD, and believe me, I've been trying to track this movie down for over 25 years. I tried to order it recently, but it was not the same movie, different characters, different plot, but the same title. The performance of Anne Archer, Erik Estrada, not to mention James Mitchem was magnificent. I fell in love with Anne Archer, not only was she classy as prostitute, she befriended the young girl, and tried to help her as much as she could. My sister saw this movie in 1999 on TV, while visiting Aurora, CO. It was on the Turner Classics Network I believe.Please find this movie. A movie this good should have been put on video immediately.

I saw this movie as a sneak preview at the Shores Theater in Miami Shores, Florida. It's a "B" film sure, but it's surprising well-acted, brutally realistic, and extremely well-acted. In a nut-shell, an attractive blonde (played by the late Karen Lamm)leaves her country home to go to the big city and meets me a tragic ending. She is forced to become a call-girl and then is savagely beaten to death by a trick. The killer is never caught or brought to justice ala Death Wish I. Even Anne Archer in a fine early supporting role is killed off in a "surprise". Jim Mitchum shines in his best role. Seems if he had been cast in similar roles he may have gone on to have become another Clint Eastwood. And Cathy Lee Crosby and Erik Estrada, both in their youthful prime, give solid performances. You should "trackdown" Trackdown and see it. 8 out of 10.