Gene Hackman is one of those extremely rare actors whose presence can turn films that would otherwise be complete garbage into something at least watchable. One example of this ability can be found in The Domino Principle, a 1977 thriller directed by Stanley Kramer.
The film is based on the eponymous novel by Adam Kennedy, who also wrote the screenplay. Hackman plays the protagonist, Vietnam War veteran Roy Tucker, and the plot begins with him in San Quentin serving a long prison sentence for the murder of his wife’s first husband. One day he is approached by Tagge (played by Richard Widmark), a representative of a mysterious and apparently very powerful organisation that offers to set him free and provide him with money in exchange for a still‑unspecified service in the near future. Tucker suspects he has been chosen because of his wartime skills with weapons and ability to kill, and that the job must be “wet”. Facing little choice, he accepts the offer, but soon finds that the organisation does not tolerate any deviation from its plan, even if it means brutally murdering Tucker’s friends and acquaintances whom he might have told about the scheme. Tucker finds some comfort in being sent to a luxurious villa in Costa Rica, where he is finally reunited with his wife Ellie (played by Candace Bergen). Afterwards he is sent to Southern California, where he finally realises what he is supposed to do for his deadly benefactors. This makes him have second thoughts about their plan.
Stanley Kramer built his reputation in the 1950s and 1960s with dramatic films carrying strong and explicit political messages about world peace, civil rights and social justice. It seemed natural for Kramer to tackle an issue that still bothered Hollywood leftists and the American public in general during the 1970s – the many unanswered questions related to the assassinations of JFK, his brother and Martin Luther King, and the idea that these were connected to invisible but powerful forces manipulating society, often through conveniently expendable individuals much like the film’s protagonist. Kramer tries very hard to deliver this message, doing so explicitly in a bizarre prologue in which a narrator explains what the film is about. What follows, however, is a thriller that could most charitably be called “mediocre”. The plot is confusing and often makes little sense, with most of the characters, including the protagonist, acting stupidly and unprofessionally, while the all‑powerful and supposedly discreet organisation ties up its loose ends in the most spectacular and attention‑drawing ways possible. The Domino Principle is at its worst at the very end, delivering a surprise twist that belongs more to soap operas than to serious political thrillers.
Not even Hackman – or a more talented actor – could have made this film good, but his performance as a reluctant man torn between violent impulses, common sense and clever psychological manipulation makes The Domino Principle somewhat watchable. Decent work is also done by Widmark, who at the time specialised in playing government and pseudo‑government villains, and who here lends a degree of humanity to what would otherwise be a faceless machine. Edward Albert is also passable as Tagge’s younger, more ambitious and menacing colleague. The same cannot be said for Mickey Rooney, who is wasted in the role of Tucker’s old cellmate, and even less for Candace Bergen, who wears a cheap wig in order to look “ordinary” and lacks any chemistry with Hackman. Anyone apart from Hackman’s most loyal fans, or those interested in how 1960s conspiracy theories reflected on film‑makers past their prime, should avoid this film.
RATING: 4/10 (++)
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