Breaking Point

Plot synopsis:
Harry Morgan (John Garfield), is a sport-fishing boat captain whose business is on the skids and whose family is feeling the economic pinch. He begins to work with a shady lawyer, Duncan (Wallace Ford), who persuades him to run illegal immigrants into California. Harry also begins a flirtation with Leona Charles (Patricia Neal). When his plan with Duncan goes wrong, Harry comes even more under the influence of the lawyer, who blackmails him into helping the escape of a gang of crooks, who pull a racetrack heist, by using his fishing boat to get away from authorities. Harry convinces himself that his illegal activities will financially help his family. His wife, Lucy (Phyllis Thaxter), suspects Harry is breaking the law and urges him to stop for the sake of the family. Harry refuses and walks out.
As Harry waits for Duncan and the crooks on his boat, Harry's partner, Wesley Park (Juano Hernandez), arrives. Not wanting Wesley around when the crooks arrive, Harry tries to send him on an errand. The crooks arrive before Wesley leaves, and kill him. Harry is horrified, but is forced at gunpoint to transport the crooks out to open sea without drawing the attention of the Coast Guard. Harry also learns that Duncan was killed during the escape from the heist. Wesley's body is dumped overboard along with Harry's only firearm. Harry uses a ploy to access a gun and kills all the crooks in a dramatic shoot out.
Harry, however, is critically wounded. Authorities find his boat the next day and tow it to port. Lucy rushes to Harry's side and tries to convince Harry to allow his arm to be amputated to save his life. Harry reaffirms his love for Lucy and is taken to the hospital. In the final scene, Wesley's son, who was briefly introduced earlier in the film, stands alone on the dock looking around for his father.

Tags: violence, murder

Review:
1976 Classic with Svenson carring a big stick again..
Bo Svenson witness a beating, which turned into a murder and now he is in the witness protection program headed by Robert Culp.
He was "tricked" into testify against John Colicos's oganization, which backfires when the system fails and now Colicos wants Svenson dead.
Good action at times, sloppy editing (one scene we have Svenson leaving, then quickly cuts to a middle of a car chase), cheap but a early (for its time) electronic syntherizer music, and the film has that slow Canadian 70's film feel to it that sort of put you to sleep.
Supporting cast like Stephen Young or even Culp has little to do, and minus one sort of rape scene with nudity, and some foul language, the film is easy to cut for T.V, as the violence is rather mild.
This movie actually opened wide for 20th century fox, but is not on video (except Canada), but seems to be a cable classic recently.
Being a Svenson fan, it's great to see the film again, but something tells me the film was originally longer.
I think its Svensons BEST non "Walking Tall" film, and Svenson does pick up a Bufford Pusser 2x4 wood as he hits one of the bad guy behind the tent in the last 10 minutes.
Recommened to 70's action fans.
And for a panavision film, the director didnt utilize the format well, as practically every shot is kept in the middle, as to not lose any image when viewed on TV!!.
Points that break.
Breaking Point: Bob Clark's lost vigilante epic finally gets a shameful full frame release from the ornery bastards at Fox, most likely in an attempt to cash in on the man's fatal car wreck.
Bo Svenson, a full and lanky vertical 7'8", is taking his stepson home from an intense sports game when he sees two gangsters beating a poor man right outside his home.
He interferes like a true neighbor would, bludgeoning the attackers with his gargantuan fists.
Predictably, after the Bo's testimony, the mob sends out torpedoes to rub him out in some truly baffling hit-man reasoning and logic like throwing a Molotov cocktail at a man standing right next to a river.
There's nothing here that distinguishes itself from any other Death Wish clone or Walking Tall entry, with minuscule action scenes peppered throughout the final third.
If you're lucky enough to stay awake that long, you'll be treated to a magnum facial, a 2x4 used as a spear and Svenson flipping a house over a cliff.
Robert Culp plays a weary police officer that's half Boggs and half, well, nothing.
Love the music credit which actually lists a computer for the synthetic score!.
Man takes on mob.
Not too bad not too good.
Bo Svenson is cool but the "action" is pretty cheesy and the bad guys are sappy.
I don't know whether a lot of what I found to be humorous about the movie was meant to be funny...
but what the heck.
Svenson's character outsmarts his pursuers with a number of neat tricks, like pretending his finger is a gun even though he is carrying a gun.
I love the fact that Svenson pushes a house over a cliff and the house explodes when it hits the ground...
great stuff.
There is also a nice Malatov cocktail incident that results is a gratuitous flaming man stunt and one of the weakest car chases ever.
I recommend this movie if you are a fan of 70's action and are in the mood for a good laugh..
Completely average.
Completely average vigilante flick, following loosely in the footsteps of Death Wish (1974).
The only negligible action takes place near the end, by that time, we don't care.Has reliable actors in it such as Robert Culp (The Outer Limits (1963–1965), the classic "Demon with a Glass Hand", The Greatest American Hero) as Frank Sirrianni, John Colicos (he played the Klingon Commander Kor in Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy" (1967), Battlestar Galactica) as Vincent Karbone, Belinda J.
Montgomery (Doogie Howser, M.D.) and Bo Svenson (Walking Tall, Part 2, The Inglorious Bastards).Also recommended: Vigilante (1983) Death Wish II (1982) Rolling Thunder (1977).
The Breaking Point is your patience.
This is a glum little on-the-run-from-the-mob story not worth your time.
It's filmed in Canada and is no advertisement for our northern neighbor.
Grimy locations and grainy photography makes this film hard to watch, and the writing leaves us nobody to care about.
Sure, it's always a pleasure to see the hero (Svenson) get pushed to the wall by the cocky bad guys and then take their arrogance and stuff it back in their faces.
But what took Svenson so long, and why is it so darn easy when he does?
The mafioso, lead by Colicos, act like idiots (even scared off by Svenson pointing his finger at them like it's a gun!) Then there is the obligatory car tumble leading to an explosion...
followed later by the topper: A house tumbling over and exploding!
Not sure what would make the small home/office burst into flames but it provides the last moment of the film, our hero Bo sitting atop his convenient bulldozer in glum triumph.
Of course it's hard to tell what you're seeing since this film looks like it was filmed through the moist gauze of someone's armpit sweat.
And the soundtrack is just as oft-putting, consisting of that dreadful 70's horror movie-like synthesizer drivel.
But Svenson at least tries, and at his size he can't help but fill the screen (and makes sure to wear tight jeans---a common sight for our male heroes back in the mid-seventies).
Bob Clark went on to do 'Porky's' and 'A Christmas Story' but there's no humor to be found here.