Sharky's Machine

Sharky's Machine
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Burt Reynolds
Written by	William Diehl Gerald Di Pego
Produced by	Hank Moonjean
Starring	Burt Reynolds Vittorio Gassman Rachel Ward Carol Locatell Brian Keith
Cinematography	William A. Fraker
Edited by	William D. Gordean Dennis Virkler
Distributed by	Orion Pictures Warner Bros.
Release date	December 18, 1981
Running time	122 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$35,856,053

Sharky's Machine is a 1981 motion picture directed by Burt Reynolds, who stars in the title role. The movie is an adaptation of William Diehl's first novel Sharky's Machine (1978), with a screenplay by Gerald Di Pego.

Diehl, who was age 50 when he wrote the novel, saw the movie shot on location in and around his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Its cast included Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Rachel Ward, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, and Richard Libertini.

It has been the most successful box-office release of a film directed by Reynolds.

Plot

Tom Sharky is a narcotics cop in Atlanta who is working on a transaction with a drug dealer. Another member of the force, Smiley, shows up unexpectedly during the sting, causing the drug dealer to run and Sharky to give chase, ultimately shooting the suspect on a MARTA bus only after the wounding of the bus driver. In the aftermath, Sharky is demoted to vice-squad, which is considered the least desirable assignment in the police department.

In the depths of the vice-squad division, led by Friscoe, the arrest of small-time hooker Mabel results in the accidental discovery of a high-class prostitution ring that includes a beautiful escort named Dominoe who charges $1,000 a night. Sharky and his new partners begin a surveillance of her apartment and discover that Dominoe is having a relationship with Hotchkins, a candidate running for governor.

With a team of downtrodden fellow investigators that includes Papa, Arch, and Nosh, referred to by Friscoe sarcastically as Sharky's "machine," he sets out to find where the trail leads. During one of the stakeouts, a mysterious crime kingpin known as Victor comes to Dominoe's apartment. He has been controlling her life since Dominoe was a young girl, but now she wants out. Victor agrees but forces her to have sex with him one last time.

The next day, Sharky witnesses (what appears to be) Dominoe blown away by a shotgun blast through her front door, killing her and disfiguring her face beyond recognition. Sharky has privately been developing feelings for her while viewing through binoculars and listening to her bugged conversations. The man who shot her, known as Billy Score, is a drug addict and Victor's brother. He answers to Victor, as does Hotchkins, who is in love with Dominoe but remains a powerless political stooge under Victor's rule.

Dominoe suddenly turns up to Sharky's surprise, and is told that her friend Tiffany used her apartment and is the one who was mistakenly shot by Billy Score. Dominoe is convinced that if Victor wants her dead, she is going to be dead, but reluctantly leaves with Sharky to be hidden away at his childhood home in the West End neighborhood. Meanwhile, Nosh informs Sharky that most of the surveillance tapes have disappeared from the police station, leaving both of them wondering if the investigation has been compromised. Nosh is then confronted by Billy Score, who kills him offscreen.

Sharky confronts Victor at his penthouse apartment in the Westin Peachtree Plaza and vows to bring him to justice. Victor smugly knows that Dominoe is dead and cannot testify against him, but is stunned to be told by Sharky that she is still alive.

While attempting to find Nosh at his home, two men spring an attack on Sharky and he is knocked cold. He awakens on a boat, where he is held captive and tortured by Smiley, who turns out to be working for Victor. Smiley informs him of the killing of Sharky's old narcotics division boss JoJo (who was run over by a car), and reveals that Nosh is dead as well. He cuts off two of Sharky's fingers while demanding to know where Dominoe can be found. Sharky attacks and shoots Smiley, and he manages to escape. Later, Sharky turns up with Dominoe at a Hotchkins political rally, to the candidate's considerable shock. Hotchkins is placed under arrest, and Victor finds out about it on the evening newscasts.

Billy Score, in an agitated state, shoots and kills Victor. Almost immediately, Sharky and other police officers arrive at Victor's penthouse in an attempt to catch Billy. He is pursued through the upper floors of the Westin, where like a ghostly apparition he appears and disappears, killing Papa and seriously wounding Arch. Billy ultimately is gunned down by Sharky, crashing through a window and plummeting to his death nearly 700 feet below. In the end, Sharky returns to his childhood home, where Dominoe is now living with him.

Cast

• Burt Reynolds as Sharky
• Charles Durning as Friscoe
• Vittorio Gassman as Victor
• Brian Keith as Papa
• Bernie Casey as Arch
• Rachel Ward as Dominoe
• Darryl Hickman as Smiley
• Earl Holliman as Hotchkins
• Henry Silva as Billy Score
• Richard Libertini as Nosh
• John Fiedler as Twigs
• Hari Rhodes as Highball
• Joseph Mascolo as JoJo
• Carol Locatell as Mabel

Production

At 220 feet, the stunt from Atlanta's Hyatt Regency Hotel (doubling for the Westin Peachtree Plaza) still holds up as the highest free-fall stunt ever performed from a building for a commercially-released film. The stuntman was the legendary Dar Robinson. Despite it being a record-setting fall, only the briefest moment of the beginning of the fall is used in the movie. The bulk of the fall from the skyscraper as shown on film is clearly of a dummy. The famous wrestler El Mongol played the part of the limo driver in the film.

Music From The Original Soundtrack

TRACKS:

1. Street Life - Randy Crawford;
2. Dope Bust - Flora Purim and Buddy De Franco;
3. Route 66 - The Manhattan Transfer
4. My Funny Valentine - Chet Baker;
5. High Energy - Doc Severinsen;
6. Love Theme From Sharky's Machine - Sarah Vaughan;
7. 8 To 5 I Lose - Joe Williams;
8. My Funny Valentine - Julie London;
9. Sexercise - Doc Severinsen;
10. Let's Keep Dancing - Peggy Lee;
11. Sharky's Theme - Eddie Harris;
12. Before You - Sarah Vaughan and Joe Williams.

Remake

A remake of the film is in production, directed by Phil Joanou and produced by Mark Wahlberg.

External links

• Sharky's Machine at IMDb
• Sharky's Machine at AllMovie
• Sharky's Machine at Rotten Tomatoes