Add to FavouritesAbout this Broadcast
A family man takes the law into his own hands when his wife is murdered and his daughter is left psychologically traumatised by thugs. Setting out on a one-man crusade to rid the streets of crime, he becomes a hero to the people - and a thorn in the side of the authorities. Vigilante thriller, starring Charles Bronson, Hope Lange and Vincent Gardenia
1974
Movie/Drama
Police/Crime Drama
Thriller
Cast & Crew
Charles Bronson
(Actor)
.. Paul Kersey
Hope Lange
(Actor)
.. Joanna Kersey
Vincent Gardenia
(Actor)
.. Frank Ochoa
Steven Keats
(Actor)
.. Jack Toby
William Redfield
(Actor)
.. Sam Kreutzer
Stuart Margolin
(Actor)
.. Aimes Jainchill
Stephen Elliott
(Actor)
.. Police Commissioner
Kathleen Tolan
(Actor)
.. Carol Toby
Michael Winner
(Director)
More Information
Did You Know..
Charles Bronson
(Actor)
.. Paul Kersey
Born:
November 03, 1921
in
Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania
Best Known For:
The Death Wish movies.
Early-life:
Born Charles Dennis Buchinsky in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania on November 3, 1921, he was the 11th of 15 children and his father died when he was 10. Charles learned to speak English when he was a teenager, before that he spoke his parents' native Lithuanian and Russian. His first job was working in a coal mine. He did this until he signed up for military service during the Second World War. He served as an aerial gunner in the 760th Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron. He flew 25 missions and was awarded a Purple Heart medal for wounds he received in battle. After the war, Charles joined a theatrical group and shared an apartment in New York with aspiring actor Jack Klugman, who went on to make a name for himself in The Odd Couple and Quincy, MD.
Career:
In 1950, Bronson married and moved to Hollywood, where he took acting classes and began landing small roles. He made several TV guest appearances during the 1950s in the likes of The Doctor, Waterfront, Treasury Men in Action, The Sheriff of Cochise, and US Marshall. His profile increased when he was cast as one of the seven gunfighters in the movie The Magnificent Seven (1960). Prominent films after that included The Great Escape (1963), The Dirty Dozen (1967), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). In 1974, he made the film he is most associated with, Death Wish. It was a box-office hit and led to four sequels. After his health deteriorated, he retired from acting in 1998. He suffered from Alzheimer's in his final years and died of pneumonia on August 30, 2003, at the age of 81.
Quote:
"I look like a quarry someone has dynamited."
Trivia:
In 1954, he changed his surname from Buchinsky to Bronson because his agent thought a European surname might damage his career. He made six films with director Michael Winner and nine with director J Lee Thompson.
Hope Lange
(Actor)
.. Joanna Kersey
Vincent Gardenia
(Actor)
.. Frank Ochoa
Steven Keats
(Actor)
.. Jack Toby
William Redfield
(Actor)
.. Sam Kreutzer
Stuart Margolin
(Actor)
.. Aimes Jainchill
Stephen Elliott
(Actor)
.. Police Commissioner
Kathleen Tolan
(Actor)
.. Carol Toby
Michael Winner
(Director)
Born:
October 30, 1935
in
London
Best Known For:
Directing Death Wish, and his damning restaurant reviews.
Early-life:
Michael Robert Winner was born on October 30, 1935, in London. The son of a property tycoon, he went to a Quaker school in Letchworth, and at 14 was writing film reviews for the Kensington Post. He reluctantly read law at Cambridge, but soon came to enjoy his student days, becoming editor of the prestigious Varsity newspaper. He showed a flair for directing, and was taken on by the BBC before delivering low-budget offerings such as Shoot To Kill and Some Like It Cool.
Career:
Winner began writing screenplays in his 20s, but is best known for directing such movies as Hannibal Brooks, The Jokers, and The Mechanic. His Death Wish movies helped boost Charles Bronson's career. He won first prize at the Cologne Film Festival for his adaptation of Alan Ayckbourn's play A Chorus Of Disapproval, and hosted the TV series Michael Winner's True Crimes. He also directed acclaimed stage-play Madame Melville, starring Macaulay Culkin. His forays into journalism as an uncompromising culinary reviewer won him enemies and admirers in equal number, and in 2004 he published his autobiography, Winner Takes All. He died on January 21, 2013 at the age of 77.
Quote:
"Women like to be treasured for themselves. They don't get taken in by men with money. In fact, I did far better when I was an assistant director."
Trivia:
Winner's ex-partners included Jenny Seagrove and Vanessa Perry.
