CHARLES BRONSON IN THE MODERN NOIR TEMPLATE OF 'ST. IVES'

ST. IVES Stars: Charles Bronson, John Houseman, Jacqueline Bisset Year: 1976 Rating: ***1/2

The second of two Charles Bronson vehicles after DEATH WISH where Jeff Goldblum plays a member of a gang trio, this time as Hood #3 instead of Freak #1 for ST. IVES, a deliberately nostalgic gumshoe throwback liken to THE BIG SLEEP (ignited by the popularity of CHINATOWN) with Bronson as the snoopy, rough yet vulnerable Humphrey Bogart type, only a crime writer instead of private eye...

And, given a broad task by millionaire John Houseman to find some important papers within 1970's Downtown Los Angeles, Bronson's titular Ives roams from one location to another in the typical Noir fashion...

From J. Lee Thompson's ST. IVES

Which includes a string of last names from a woodwork of characters including stern cops, enigmatic lowlifes, shady businessmen and, with focused direction by Bronson collaborator J. Lee Thompson (this being their first), ST. IVES makes for semi-intriguing tough guy entertainment...

But is overall too mainstream for the niche gumshoe-genre's offbeat milieu, resembling more of a TV-movie/pilot (with glamorous rich girl Jacqueline Bisset thrown in for aesthetic) than the grainy b-movies from which it's inspired.

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES

Jeff Goldblum in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson and Jeff Goldblum in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES with Harry Guardino

Cops Dana Elcar and Harry Guardino with hooker Lynn Borden in ST. IVES

Jacqueline Bisset in ST. IVES

Jacqueline Bisset in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson and Jacqueline Bisset in ST. IVES

Jeff Goldblum in ST. IVES with Mark Thomas

Jeff Goldblum as Freak 1 in DEATH WISH with Christopher Logan

Jeff Goldblum as Hood *3 in ST IVES

Jeff Goldblum in ST IVES

Charles Bronson in ST IVES

Japanese Poster for ST IVES

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES

Charles Bronson in ST. IVES