If the recent Amazon MGM Studios release Play Dirty seemed familiar, there is a good reason. The film begins with Mark Wahlberg as a professional thief known only as “Parker.” Parker is double-crossed following a robbery and left for dead. A similar opening act occurred in the 1999 film Payback, starring Mel Gibson as “Porter.” The same thing happens in the 2013 film Parker, with Jason Statham in the title role.
The 1967 film Point Blank, with Lee Marvin as “Walker,” also featured primarily the same plotlines as Payback.
This isn’t a coincidence.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Both Point Blank and Payback are based on the 1962 novel The Hunter, by author Donald E. Westlake. Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark. The Hunter was originally intended as a one-off story about a ruthless career criminal that had almost no traditional redeeming qualities. Yet the character was still somehow engaging to readers. The impact of The Hunter was powerful enough that the publisher changed the ending to launch a series of books.
Thus was born the man known in 24 books as “Parker.”
What We Know About Parker
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Westlake, who passed away in 2008, was deliberately vague about Parker’s background–even his general appearance. However Parker always seemed to be around 40 years old even throughout the series’ 45-year span. In one novel, Parker even underwent plastic surgery to evade “the Outfit,” the gambling syndicate with which he was often at odds.
Throughout the novels, Parker took on numerous pseudonyms, and even his name is believed to be an alias.
Each novel was divided into multiple sections, including flashbacks and shifts in perspective to other characters. A common theme across many of the books is that Parker is betrayed, often injured and left for dead (across several occasions).
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Yet, each time Parker survived, he’d have his retribution. Perhaps that is why the readers kept coming back for more in spite of the formulaic plot lines.
Name is Parker, Just Parker – Or Walker, Porter, and Others!
In the books, the protagonist used a number of aliases, but in the movies, he’s almost always known by names other than Parker. This wasn’t an attempt to add mystery to the character, or even to confuse the audience. At issue was Westlake’s refusal to allow the use of the name “Parker” unless the producers committed to a series based on the novels.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Since that’s not really how Hollywood works, it wasn’t until after Westlake passed that his widow allowed Jason Statham to star as the titular character in Parker. It failed to launch a franchise, and it almost seemed as if Parker was dead for good.
That is, until Amazon Studios optioned the entire Parker property, which could result in a shared universe of films and TV shows. Yet Play Dirty was an original story that drew only on elements from the series, including the opening act double-cross.
There is a chance we could see a future for Parker, and possibly even one with Mark Wahlberg as the professional criminal. Just keep in mind that more actors have played a version of Parker than have starred as James Bond!
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
The first to play it dirty was in the now largely forgotten Made in U.S.A., which was based on the sixth book in the series, The Jugger. This film was directed by Jean-Luc Godard, the pioneer of French New Wave cinema. Released in France in 1966, the film was noteworthy for gender swapping the lead, with Danish-French actress Anna Karina starring as the Parker character. As Godard had failed to secure the rights, Westlake sued, and the film wasn’t released in the United States for four decades, but is now available on DVD via the Criterion Collection.
The First Parker
Therefore, the first accurate Parker adaptation was the aforementioned 1967 film Point Blank, starring Lee Marvin and directed by John Boorman. An often-told story is that Boorman and Marvin didn’t care for the original script but loved the main character–named Walker. Although it was based on Westlake’s first novel, The Hunter, the script was reworked heavily. It employed some of the European arthouse film techniques, including montages, a fractured narrative, and jarring cuts. It was a minor box-office success, but it helped influence the wave of gritty action dramas to come.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Among the biggest critics was Lee Marvin. He viewed the film over a decade later and was apparently disturbed by its violence.
However, Westlake, who had been critical of the script but liked the film, reportedly allowed Boorman to use the Parker name in subsequent films. Yet Boorman never made a follow-up. Instead, MGM cast former football player Jim Brown in The Split, a film based on the novel The Seventh. Arriving ahead of the blaxploitation films of the early 1970s, The Split was still noted for its groundbreaking cast. It also had the distinction of being the first film rated R under the then-new MPAA rating system.
Gun Play
It is also noteworthy that Marvin’s Walker in Point Blank carried a Smith & Wesson Model 29, with Point Blank being the first film to feature the hand cannon. This was also four years before Clint Eastwood made the .44 Magnum infamous in Dirty Harry.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
The Hunter also served as inspiration for the 1992 Hong Kong action film Full Contact, directed by Ringo Lam. This film starred Chow Yun-Fat in the Parker role. Although Chow Yun-Fat never carried a Model 29, another character did–possibly a nod to Point Blank.
Enter Porter
The 1999 film Payback, starring Mel Gibson, was noted for a troubled production that led to director Brian Helgeland being removed after principal photography was completed. A new ending was created, and the film was marketed as an action romp with dark-comedy elements, far removed from Westlake’s work. It received mixed reviews, but that wasn’t the end of the story.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
In 2006, Helgeland subsequently released a director’s cut, Payback – Straight Up. This version is a darker, grittier neo-noir film that more closely follows the novel. Many fans and critics consider this to be the superior version.
In both films, Porter (Gibson) carries a Model 29-2 with a 4-inch barrel. Once again, it’s likely a tribute to the revolver Marvin carried. That particular gun was sold from Stembridge Gun Rentals’ inventory in 1999 and later sold again at auction in 2007. It is believed to be in a private collection now.
Anna Karina, Lee Marvin, Jim Brown, Chow Yun-Fat, Mel Gibson, Michel Constatin, Robert Duvall, Peter Coyote, and a few others have starred as versions of Parker.
Now It’s Parker
Nearly 15 years passed after Payback was released. Although the troubled production and the failure to connect with critics were factors, Westlake was a vocal critic of the film. He acknowledged that the 1999 version of Payback captured his character’s level of obsession. But Westlake felt it failed to be utterly true to Parker.
Westlake had been the harshest critic of the adaptations. Part of the issue may have been that the films have increasingly been like nearly all the James Bond movies made after Thunderball. Beyond the title and a few characters, the plotlines are entirely different.
Parker may not have gone to space (as Bond notoriously did). Regardless, the films often did little more than exploit the character’s archetype. That only changed with the 2013 film Parker, which closely followed the plot of Flashfire, the 19th book in the series. However, critics still found it lacking as an adaptation, even though Statham seemed well-suited for the role. The issue could be that the British actor had spent much of his career starring in low-budget, often ill-conceived action films. Parker was just the latest example.
Yet another decade passed until Play Dirty arrived this fall, starring Wahlberg as the professional thief. It debuted to mixed reviews. Likely that was due to the film trying to blur the line between gritty noir thriller and light-hearted caper.
Amazon has a mixed track record with adaptations. On the one hand, its Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan could rightfully be described as the worst take on the Clancyverse. Yet Amazon also nailed the Bosch and Jack Reacher series. Perhaps, there is hope that Amazon can start again and will still get Parker right. The character has certainly come back from worse!
