With any discussion on the best movies of Charles Bronson’s career it’s likely that many of the same titles will pop up: “Once Upon a Time in the West”, “The Magnificent Seven”, “The Great Escape”, “The Dirty Dozen”, “Death Wish”. I’m doubting that “The Stone Killer” gets mentioned much in those conversations. But what can I say, after 50 years it remains one of my favorites out of Bronson’s many crime genre forays.

“The Stone Killer” was one of six Bronson collaborations with director Michael Winner. It fell in between 1972’s “The Mechanic” and 1974’s “Death Wish”. Written for the screen by Gerald Wilson, the film is a loose adaptation of John Gardner’s 1969 novel “A Complete State of Death”. It’s one of several notably violent cop movies that came in the wake of the successful “Dirty Harry”. But this isn’t just another clone of that popular Clint Eastwood vehicle. If anything, it more closely resembles the poliziotteschi subgenre of crime movies that were popular in Italy at the time.

In Spanish Harlem, an 18-year-old is wanted for shooting and wounding a police officer during a liquor store robbery. He runs into an old apartment building as police officers gather outside. Detective Lou Torrey (Bronson) arrives and immediately goes in after him, chasing the suspect upstairs and out on a fire escape. The young man pulls a gun and Torrey shoots him dead. We’re quickly told that it’s the third teenager shot and killed by the New York Police Department in four weeks. This latest death leads to the Mayor receiving a flood of new complaints from angry citizens.

Quickly branded a “gun-happy cop” by the local media, Lou is forced to turn in his gun and badge. Frustrated with it all, he leaves New York and heads to Los Angeles where he takes an LAPD detective position offered by his old friend and new captain Les Daniels (Norman Fell). Paired with a racist partner named Mathews (Ralph Waite), Lou nabs a drug peddler named Armitage (Eddie Firestone) who’s wanted on a murder charge in New York. Lou is tasked with escorting Armitage back to New York to stand trial. But after arriving, Armitage is gunned down in the airport parking lot by a drive-by shooter.

As Lou starts investigating Armitage’s murder he finds clues pointing to it being a mob hit. Meanwhile, a New York mafia boss named Al Vescari (Martin Balsam) begins planning an ambitious serious of assassinations. His targets are fellow dons across the nation. It’s his long-awaited revenge for “The Night of Sicilian Vespers” – a mythologized mass killing of mob bosses orchestrated by Charles “Lucky” Luciano in 1931. Needless to say Don Vescari holds a grudge.

Don Vescari’s grand plan involves hiring Vietnam vets to carry out the killings rather than the using mob guys (hence the movie’s title). Lou begins connecting dots leading to a combustible third act where the mystery and police procedural elements give way to more action. Winner let’s loose with a couple of well executed set pieces that fit right in Bronson’s wheelhouse. It all leads to a fitting payoff that’s more than your predictable run-of-the-mill finish.

There are several great faces scattered throughout the movie and you can’t help but make some fun connections. Among the best is seeing John Ritter in an early role. He and Norman Fell were only a few years away from starring together in the extremely popular sitcom “Three’s Company”. And it’s a hoot seeing Ralph Waite, the righteous patriarch in the wholesome family series “The Waltons” play such a despicable louse.

But Bronson is the clear star of the show. While “The Stone Killer” doesn’t get much attention when it comes to his movies, he delivers a strong and well-rounded performance. Both Winner’s direction and Wilson’s script gives the tough-as-leather Bronson material that feeds his strengths. He doesn’t have a ton of dialogue, but he doesn’t need it either. Bronson has always been an actor who can carry a movie with his formidable presence. That’s certainly the case here.

VERDICT – 4 STARS