The Outside Man

A contract on the life of Kovacs, a major California mobster, is given to Lucien, a hitman in France. Flying to Los Angeles, he checks into a hotel and drives out to the victim's luxurious home. Finding the man alone, he shoots him dead and makes his getaway. Back at the hotel, he discovers that his room has been stripped, including his passport and plane ticket. Emerging, he finds that he is being trailed by a hitman, who keeps trying to shoot him. To evade his pursuer, he takes a woman hostage and holes up in her apartment. On the TV news he sees the report of Kovacs' murder, but the description of the suspect does not fit him at all.

With only a gun and some money, and being pursued, he cannot survive long. He calls up his boss in Paris, Antoine, who tells him to find an old friend, Nancy, who works in a topless bar. She hides him and organises a passport. When Lucien's pursuer, Lenny, finds the two of them in a motel, Lucien captures him and explains the situation. Lucien was hired to eliminate Kovacs and Lenny was hired to eliminate Lucien, but who hired them? The answer is clear: it was Kovacs' son, who has inherited his father's profitable empire and his trophy wife. The two agree to tackle young Kovacs, but fall out and Lenny is killed. Antoine arrives from Paris to attend old Kovacs' funeral, which ends in a shoot-out. Antoine kills young Kovacs, but is then shot dead by the police. Lucien gets away, but dies of gunshot wounds.

• Jean-Louis Trintignant as Lucien Bellon
• Ann-Margret as Nancy Robson
• Angie Dickinson as Jackie Kovacs
• Roy Scheider as Lenny
• Georgia Engel as Mrs. Barnes
• Felice Orlandi as Anderson
• Carlo De Mejo as Karl
• Michel Constantin as Antoine
• Umberto Orsini as Alex
• Ted de Corsia as Victor
• Jackie Earle Haley as Eric
• John Hillerman as Department Store Manager
• Jon Korkes as First Hawk
• Connie Kreski as Rosie
• Ben Piazza as Desk Clerk
• Alex Rocco as Miller
• Talia Shire as Make-up Girl

• The Outside Man at IMDb
• The Outside Man at the TCM Movie Database
• The Outside Man at AllMovie