User reviews

This is one of those films which stars a great movie actor, Gene Hackman. The premise is from the Adam Kennedy novel called " The Domino Princiiple. " Roy Tucker, (Gene Hackman) a Viet-Nam veteran who is serving time in prison for murder is visited by a strange, and apparently powerful man Richard Widmark) who offers to get him released if he will use his special abilities. Having nothing to lose, Tucker agrees, with a single condition, to have his wife Ellie (Candice Bergen) released as well. The organization grants his request and promises much more. After a few weeks, Tucker is given the secret assignment and he quickly realizes the job has no future for him or his wife. However, he also knows to fight the organization will not be easy. If you have already seen the earlier version called 'The Paralax View' you'll realize this is a less convincing version. Despite the fact, top notch director, Standly Kramer, Mickey Rooney, Edward Albert, Jay Novello and Eli Wallach, were all involved in this project, it fails to match the earlier movie with Warren Beatty. Still, with Hackman doing his best, it remains interesting. ***

Kramer, first as a producer and then a director, had been at the forefront in dealing with important social themes in Hollywood (THE DEFIANT ONES [1958], ON THE BEACH [1959], INHERIT THE WIND [1960] and JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG [1961] were his best films); by the late 60s, however, his particular brand of investigative style went out-of-date. In its place – largely in the wake of the Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations – the Kafkaesque political thriller became fashionable; unsurprisingly, Kramer decided to try his hand at this as well – but the end result proved middling at best.

He certainly had his heart in the right place by choosing Gene Hackman, one of the finest actors of his generation, for the lead role – having already appeared in such superb pieces of alienation and paranoia as Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION (1974) and Arthur Penn's NGHT MOVES (1975). His supporting cast looks impressive enough on paper, but they're given little to do: Candice Bergen (who's supposedly decorous here but is saddled with a highly unbecoming wig!), Richard Widmark (appropriately craggy in the role of a leading member of the secret organization), Mickey Rooney (amusingly cantankerous as Hackman's prison pal), Edward Albert (playing Widmark's young, ambitious and confrontational sidekick, thus making an interesting foil for the world-weary Hackman) and, in perhaps the least rewarding part of the lot, Eli Wallach (as Hackman's 'job' co-ordinator).

The film looks good but is bogged down by a rather icky central romance and the deliberate obliqueness of its narrative (starting with the hokey credit sequence). The effectively ironic revelation, then, is unfortunately followed by a number of other less convincing (not to say unwarranted) plot twists in quick succession – the last of which even rips off GET CARTER (1971)!

When prison inmate Gene Hackman gets a visit from the powerful but mysterious Richard Widmark, his entire life changes. Gene's in jail for murder, and all his appeals have fallen through. Dick has a proposition to get him out early: he just has to eliminate someone of importance once he's out. A favor for a favor. But, as the title implies, it's not as simple as it sounds. One favor leads to another, one mistake leads to another, and one twist leads to another.

I'd definitely recommend this mid-'70s thriller. The acting is very good (as you would expect from a Stanley Kramer movie), and the story is exciting and fast-paced. There's a fun bit of against-type casting in this movie. Candice Bergen plays Gene's lowlife, Southern wife, a far cry from the usually classy roles she had taken up to that point in her career. Edward Albert plays a really cold villain, which I would argue was a mistake. He could have continued to play nice, sensitive fellows like in Butterflies Are Free and no one would have objected. You'll also see Mickey Rooney and Eli Wallach in smaller roles.

"The Domino Principle" has all but been forgotten today. Seeing it, it becomes clear why it hasn't become a cult movie to any degree. I will admit that it's not a terrible movie; in fact, it has some positive attributes. Gene Hackman is, as usual, solid. And Candice Bergen, who has been criticized many times for her bad performances in this time of her life, actually gives a decent performance. The movie also starts off fairly well, with quite a bit of mystery that slowly unpeels. But the movie ultimately unfolds TOO slowly. It takes forever for Hackman to get out of prison, and takes much longer for Hackman to understand what the mysterious organization wants from him. And we never really learn who the target is, and why he is targeted! I never would have guessed a famous filmmaker like Stanley Kramer was behind this movie, not just for its unusually slow pace but also for the fact that aside from some bad language and some violence, the movie feels exactly like a made-for-TV effort.

i thought that this was a very intriguing movie to say the least. Gene Hackman, Eli Wallach, Richard Widmark, Candace Bergen so you have a cavalcade of stars. our story follows a man in prison with no real hope of ever seeing the light of day until he is approached by a mysterious man claiming to work for a government organization, he tells our prisoner he can be let go out of prison,, free to walk, he must only do one thing.... kill the President. for some reason our main character brings along his cellmate who he really despises.. our bad guys quickly eliminate the loose end. our prisoner is given a new identity but really doesn't change his looks that much. he reluctantly agrees to go ahead and carry out the mysterious mans orders. here's where i will leave it so you can watch it and tell me what you think.

It's amazing how so many reviewers are blinded to great art by their own opinions of a movie's story. The Domino Principle is work of art with a great cast who give wonderful performances surrounded by beautiful music, cinematography, and film direction. Not to mention a good script and screenplay. Micky Rooney Gave an Oscar quality performance as did Gene Hackman. There are no slouchers in this film. No matter what you think of the plot you have to appreciate the quality of the work put into the making of this movie. If you don't then please stop writing reviews. 7.3/10.

Want to waste some time and some brain cells? That's the side effect of watching this very bad film. Gene Hackman is his usual commanding self. Candice Bergen is totally out of her element, and this miscasting could easily have earned her a "Golden Turkey" award. The plot edited down to 100 minutes is vague, confusing, and nothing but a time waster. With the supporting cast including Eli Wallach and Richard Widmark, you would reasonably expect more for them to work with. Unfortunately that is not the case. The entire movie is a "so what". You won't give a damn about what you are seeing on the screen, because nothing, and I mean nothing is explained. What you are left with is a pretty location, boring beyond belief, crappy film. - MERK

Vietnam veteran Gene Hackman (as Roy Tucker) is serving time in San Quentin for murder. Then, mysterious dark-suited Richard Widmark (as Tagge) arrives to spring Mr. Hackman from prison in return for his assassinating somebody very important. Hackman insists foul-mouthed cell-mate Mickey Rooney (as Oscar Spiventa) should also be released. On the outside, Hackman is eventually reunited with wigged-out wife Candice Bergen (as Eleanor "Ellie" Tucker). Handsome young Edward Albert (as Ross Pine) is part of the plan. Ever reliable Eli Wallach (as Tom "General" Reser) helps arranges stuff.

Very disappointing, "The Domino Principle" isn't what you're expecting from a Gene Hackman movie directed by Stanley Kramer. It seems to have suffered from re-writes during filming and/or extensive cutting. The opening monologue turns out to be pointless, along with much of what follows. It's impossible to determine what was intended.

The supporting cast must have been wondering what happened. Mr. Rooney ponders sexual exploits amusingly. "Instead of getting her period every 28 days, she had periods that lasted 28 days," is how Rooney describes one disinterested female; it's one of his cleaner observations. As we watch the plot unravel before our very eyes, Mr. Widmark sums it up as, "The bigger the stink, the more there is to cover up." Mr. Albert offers a good, albeit underdeveloped, characterization. In a noteworthy final appearance, watch for veteran Jay Novello as an immigration official who wants to see Hackman's passport.

**** The Domino Principle (3/23/77) Stanley Kramer ~ Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Edward Albert, Mickey Rooney

"The Domino Principle" is an unusual film since the leading man apparently hated it and found the plot confusing...and he let reporters know he felt this way. Well, although I agree that there are a few portions which are a tad confusing, I enjoyed the movie very much...even if it left many questions unanswered when the story concluded.

Tucker (Gene Hackman) is a guy who's been in prison for some time...and he has at least another 15 years to go on his sentence for murder. One day, a stranger comes to the prison to meet him and offer Tucker a deal. If Tucker would agree to do 'something' for them, this group of people would arrange for his escape. While the something isn't 100% clear, you know it involves him killing someone. As the story progresses, he learns that whoever is behind it wants no loose ends...and soon some of his contacts with this organization begin to die...and he wonders who is next.

This is a very paranoid style film...like other contemporary pictures like "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor". Some may find the movies too bleak (especially since some of them end in a very fashion)....but I found the story interesting and didn't mind all the vagueness of the plot. Overall, a very interesting film...not perfect but clearly much better than Hackman thought at the time he made it.

The odd man out (in quality), Stanley Kramer's The Domino Principle taps into the some of the same paranoiac conspiracy gunk that glops up our thinking to this day, and drives the same ground as The Parallax View, Executive Action, Enemy of the State, JFK, etc.

Should I go on?

And yet, I remember enjoying the book and the movie, not only because I was one of the unwashed masses way back when, believing in anything conspiratorial, but because it seemed out of the norm. I was raised on TV cop dramas, where everything was wrapped up in 52 minutes and I could count the times the bad guys won on one hand.

I won't give enough away to have to mark the spoiler box, but The Domino Principle, headed by Gene Hackman and followed by a really strong cast (except for Candice Bergen, who is utterly cringeworthy), has bad guys fighting worse guys--a concept foreign to my prime time sensibilities.

I remember liking the movie, but after thirty years, I'll be lying if I told you I can remember much about it.

With that in mind, I'd say rent it--if you can find it--and throw in Parallax and Executive for a triple-header of evil industrialists, mind-controllers, and sad, little heroes trying to avoid getting squashed.

Then return to the real world and repeat the following:

"Oswald acted alone."

Run-of-the-mill crime thriller resulting in a muddle , so-so flick in which lunkhead Gene Hackman is coerced in recruitment by a mysterious organization bent on politican assasin . Stars a Vietnam War veteran , named Tucker (Gene Hackman) , he is a doltish , chronic underachiever , and a real loser who's imprisoned for murder , along with his colleague Spiventa (Mickey Rooney) . The only thing Tucker to be aware of the Vietnam war was his skill with a rifle . But one day an elegant person (Richard Widmark) visits him in prison, a man he has never seen earlier , and informs him that he can walk out of prison as a free man if he will carry out a perilous assignment , no questions asked about this risked mission . As he is offered his freedom if he accepts to undertake a sinister , risked contract for a shady organization. Trust no one. No one.

An average , predictable thriller stars Gene Hackman as a tough convict sprung from the joint by a government organization to do some dirty work , working as a political assassination , including noisy action , double-crosses , romance and violence , but never have so many been wasted on so little . It is cloaked in mystery , though hardened thriller enthusiasts should have have little trouble in guessing pretty well what's going on. Even the always excellent Gene Hackman as a Viet vet can't do anything playing a confused convict busted out of prison with the intent to kill somebody . Along with Gene Hackman as an inmate Vietnam war appears the attractive Candice Bergen as a lower-middle-class housewife , but both of whom fail to convince on their respective roles . They are accompanied by a distinguished cast , these are following ones : Richard Widmark who contributes the best portrayal as a mysterious contractor , Edward Albert as a violent agent , Eli Wallach as a suspicious General and Michael Rooney offers his customarily pugnacious acting . And brief appearances from Neva Patterson , Majel Barrett, Ken Swofford, Joseph Perry and Jay Novello.

It contains an atmospheric and evocative cinematogaphy by two great cameramen : Fred J. Koenekamp and Ernest Laszlo . As well as thrilling and moving musical score by composer Billy Goldenberg . The motion picture was heavily-handed and regularly directed by Stanley Kramer and lack of intrigue and suspense make it less than it should be . Prestigious producer/director Stanley Kramer was consequently tagged as a "message film maker" and "Hollywood's Conscience" . Among his most popular films are : The pride and the Passion¨, ¨On the beach¨, ¨¨ Judgment at Nuremberg¨, ¨Ship of fools¨, ¨World is mad , mad ,mad¨ . And , of course , being ¨Guess Who's Coming to Dinner¨ his biggest hit ; however , ¨Oklahoma crude¨ and ¨The Domino Principle¨resulted to be flops at box office . The Domino Principle (1977)rating : 5/10 , very average and frustrating movie ; only for Gene Hackman's hardcore fans.

Who are they? They are his devotees, his disciples, unwitting stooges.believing they will be partakers in his grand plan for global rule. He will rule for a little while and they will be part of it. The dominos continue to fall... Things are in motion for the final reckoning. In the end the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will come to set things right. Count on it! +++

This movie is great. The cast is absolutely fantastic. It's in the fairway of "Three days of condor" or "Twilight's Last Gleaming" although the suspense doesn´t come that close. Anyway, this one will give you a lot of thinking about conspiracy, the dirty game of politics and the world of the secret services.

But here is my advice: please don't watch the german version. I don't have a clue why they cut it for at least 20 minutes. The running time of 80 minutes ist not comprehensible. Sometimes it is even ridiculous, for example when Hackman wears a different shirt from one scene to another and you don't even realize that he has changed places. You can imagine what the consequences for the plot and the suspense are... Totally crackbrained!

First I bought The Butterfly Effect, now The Domino Principle. In both movies the title makes a promise which is not kept in the least. The metaphor signifying that one falling stone brings all the others down has nothing to do with the story. The main character is rather a pawn in a game of chess, with no will of its own and part of an unknown scheme concocted by the player. Unfortunately the viewers do not learn much about the scheme either and everything simmers down to blind anti-government paranoia.

The acting is better than the story, and there are a few great helicopter scenes. This is possibly the last time Richard Widmark used his insane Tommy Udo laughter in a movie. Eli Wallach has not enough screen time to be more than reliable. One of the reasons to watch this is Mickey Rooney. His performance is a sheer delight. He plays Gene Hackman's sidekick in prison and steals every scene he's in. What a great character actor this former child star became!

For the opening credits of this movie they seem to have used several childhood photos of Gene Hackman, apart from a number of dominoes.

It seemed better when I'd watched it in far off 1985 in my teenager years, now revisiting it in Youtube I understand why it never came out in any format, The Domino Principle is a bad feature, starts well and will slowing down the hill in every single sequence, the plot is too confusing, a lame screenplay hinders the reading, attached with inconceivable handling of the main character that will use in an upcoming future.

The story summed up over a former soldier from Vietnam war Tucker (Gene Hackman) is in San Quentin sentenced by murder, when appears someone called Mr. Tagge (Richard Widmark) linked on a covert worldwide Organization offering a mutual interest deal over his freedom exchange killing somebody crucial in political circles, actually Tucker is a superb sniper, he accepts as long as his old pal inmate Spiventa (Mickey Rooney) hangs out with and his wife Ellie (Candice Bergen) back, among some arguing it's granted by Tagge, however Spiventa is killed on the escape by Organization, it enrages Tucker deep, although on meeting Ellie on a paradisiacal island he calm down a little, then come up his assignment on American ground to killing someone of key importance.

Sadly Stanley Kramer despite its background wasn't able to change many mistakes by a stillborn screenplay, for instance it was the very first deal where the prize comes first, alluding Tucker making a second honey moon with his beauty wife on a quietly seashore spot surround by expensive lodging, worst the outcome no make sense whatsoever in any aspect over the fine premise, it's explained such picture is obscure by large majority of cinephiles and possible never it'll come out officially.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 1985 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 6.25.

Heavy-handed action-melodrama from producer-director Stanley Kramer involves incarcerated war veteran Gene Hackman, doing 15 years for murder in San Quentin, who is freed from jail by the operatives of a mysterious organization; seems they need a hit-man to assassinate a national figure at his beach-side retreat, and are offering Hackman a second honeymoon with his wife in South America to complete the job. Globe-trotting pastiche of a number of hot topics from the 1970s has a good cast but no sting in the set-up; there's no suspense or sense of paranoia in this narrative, and some of the crass dialogue is downright vile--and for what purpose? The overstuffed plot culminates in a number of story twists, none of which seems credible. Hackman is assuredly skeptical and adept, holding some of this scattershot movie together, but Kramer eventually sinks it with his 'controversial' handling. The filmmaker proves to be all thumbs in the Kafkaesque arena. * from ****

I started watching this film as I was reading the reviews. I was about ready to try something else when Gene Hackman's face appeared on the screen. I figured it can't be that bad with him in it. And you know what? It wasn't bad at all. I think it's a solid 7/10. It's more of a slow burn and that's fine with me. It doesn't just give it to you all right away. The cast is also great and helps this story along. As always Gene Hackman is a fantastic leading character. The great Eli Wallach never disappoints. It was interesting to see Edward Albert (actor Eddie Albert's son) as a cold company man. If you're a fan of CIA spy thrillers and conspiracy plots, this is well with the watch.

I actually did enjoy this movie and the premise, Richard Widmark and Eli Wallach were very good. The main problem with this movie is Gene Hackmans character and performance. Don't get me wrong. Gene Hackman is a terrific actor but even he said his performance was not good, to me he seemed bored. But the main issue was his character kept making choices that just made me facepalm and that were so obviously bad which is pretty bad writing. Which was pretty aggravating because all in all it was a very decent film to pass the time, not spectacular but passable. Mickey Rooney also did a terrific job in this film I loved his role. Decent film as long as you go into it knowing it's flawed.

Following the String of Political Assassinations, "Truth Seeker" Movements, and the Counter-Culture "Revolution", "Watergate", and Vietnam...and with a Little Help by the Enormous Popularity of the "James Bond" Spy Series and its Friends...

Movies of the 1970's Saw an Emerging "Sub-Genre", Loosely Titled "Conspiracy Thrillers".

This is One of Those Movies.

Not All in the "Sub-Genre" were Good Films, but All had the Zeitgeist of the "New" and were Trending on the the Film-Buff "Radar".

Deception and Lies, Propaganda and Mind-Control, Cover-Ups and Above the Law Injustices were Making Headlines and Exposing the Behind-the-Scenes "Puppet-Masters".

President Nixon's White House Attorney, John Dean, in His Watergate Testimony, Infamously Included a Declaration that Could be Applied Across the Board as a Statement of Fact...

"There's a Cancer on the Presidency and it's Growing."

These Thrillers were in the Most-Part, "Noble" Attempts to Inform, Educate,

or at the Very Least Constructively Criticize the Flaws in Our Institutions that Need Addressing, and Perhaps Reform.

This is one of the Lesser Attempts at Such a Thing, and One Wonders Why it was Not More Successful than Other Similar "Kafkaesque" Types.

Especially Considering the Director...

9 Time Oscar Nominated "Stanley Kramer",

with the Cast...Gene Hackman, Richard Widmark, Mickey Rooney, Candice Bergen, Edward Albert, and Eli Wallach.

Despite and Opening that Looks Like a "Paranoid Delusional Outcry" in Black and White of the Mayhem in a World Gone Mad.

A WARNING that there Really is a ..."Man Behind the Curtain"...BEWARE

Then Switching to a Regular Narrative Form, the Film UN-Reels with an UN-Real, Flat Looking, Formula that Feels Like a Let-Down and was Drawn From Better Movies.

It's a Stale Re-Telling and Lack-Luster Affair that Never Kicks-In to an Entertaining, Spooky Story of Spooks, and the Spooks Behind the Spooks.

It Becomes Redundant and an Uninspired Movie that Should Inspire a "Wake-Up" of the Masses it's Trying to "Wake Up".

Most Critics and Movie-Goers were Unimpressed and Fell Asleep and the Film Fell into Indifference to this Day.

Not Bad, but Considering it's"Message", Very Disappointing.