History Film / Mitchell

''Mitchell'' is a 1975 action/crime film directed by Andrew V. [=McLaglen=] annd written by British novelist and television writer [[Series/TheSweeney Ian Kennedy Martin]], a remake of his script "Detective Waiting" for the Creator/{ITV} series ''Armchair Theatre''. The film stars Creator/JoeDonBaker as the [[ProtagonistTitle title character]]: an abrasive, unpopular, alcoholic, deeply unpleasant UsefulNotes/LosAngeles police detective.

''Mitchell'' is a 1975 action/crime film directed by Andrew V. [=McLaglen=] annd written by British novelist and television writer [[Series/TheSweeney Ian Kennedy Martin]], a remake of his script "Detective Waiting" for the Creator/ITV series ''Armchair Theatre''. The film stars Creator/JoeDonBaker as the [[ProtagonistTitle title character]]: an abrasive, unpopular, alcoholic, deeply unpleasant UsefulNotes/LosAngeles police detective.

''Mitchell'' is a 1975 action/crime film directed by Andrew V. [=McLaglen=] and starring Creator/JoeDonBaker as the [[ProtagonistTitle title character]]: an abrasive, unpopular, alcoholic, deeply unpleasant UsefulNotes/LosAngeles police detective.

* AffablyEvil: Cummings is ''immensely'' more likable than Mitchell, and even gives him some good advice on how to be nicer (It amounts to "Don't shoot people you want information from"). Then again, Cummings feels Mitchell is an asset, in more ways that one. For one, the fact Mitchell is staking him out despite doing nothing legally wrong tips Cummings on his compatriots drug smuggling, something he wants ''no'' part of. He leaks info to Mitchell, and later tries to use him to get Deaney and Mistretta out of the way. [[VillainBall Had he not tried to abscond with the drug money himself, he'd have successfully eliminated unwanted partners.]]

* AntiHero: Mitchell combines elements of the classic definition (lacks heroic traits like... competence) and the modern definition (does immoral things without remorse).

* BattleButler: Benton is presumably one of these to Cummings. While he does fight Mitchell on the boat at the end, he doesn't do a particularly good job of it. According to Cummings he isn't even a good ''butler''.

* TheMafia / TheSyndicate: Cummings works with them, but they make him do things against his will, like the drug shipment. Thanks to Cummings going to Mistretta to get him out of legal trouble in the past, he's forced to kowtow to their demands.

The film opens with the shooting of an unarmed home invader by wealthy union lawyer Walter Deaney (Creator/JohnSaxon). Though Deaney claims self-defense, Mitchell is doubtful but can't properly pursue the charge due to the FBI wanting Deaney for far worse. The police chief tries to keep Mitchell busy by getting him to stake out Mafia-affiliated businessman James Arthur Cummings (Martin Balsam), who is involved in trafficking stolen merchandise and later drugs. Meanwhile, Deaney sends Mitchell a high-priced prostitute named Greta (Creator/LindaEvans) to try and butter him up. After a disturbing sex scene involving beer and baby oil, he arrests her for having pot. Eventually Deaney tries to kill Mitchell, but dies in the attempt. Cummings, meanwhile, is trying to stop some rival Italian mobsters from bringing a shipment of heroin through his port. After a rather lengthy scene of Mitchell yelling at a child, Cummings manipulates Mitchell into believing he'll help him to catch the mobsters, while in reality planning to abscond with the heroin and set Mitchell up for the crime. But Mitchell gets wise and kills the Italian gangsters, then chases Cummings's boat. After a brief fight on the boat, he kills Cummings's "lousy" butler (Merlin Olsen) and finally Cummings himself. Returning home to find Greta waiting for him, Mitchell goes ahead and arrests her again for good measure (she's revealed to have been high on pot, thus letting the viewer understand why she was willing to sleep with Mitchell).

The film opens with the shooting of an unarmed home invader by wealthy union lawyer Walter Deaney (Creator/JohnSaxon). Though Deaney claims self-defense, Mitchell is doubtful but can't properly pursue the charge due to the FBI wanting Deaney for far worse. The police chief tries to keep Mitchell busy by getting him to stake out Mafia-affiliated businessman James Arthur Cummings (Martin Balsam), who is involved in trafficking stolen merchandise and later drugs. Meanwhile, Deaney sends Mitchell a high-priced prostitute named Greta (Linda Evans) to try and butter him up. After a disturbing sex scene involving beer and baby oil, he arrests her for having pot. Eventually Deaney tries to kill Mitchell, but dies in the attempt. Cummings, meanwhile, is trying to stop some rival Italian mobsters from bringing a shipment of heroin through his port. After a rather lengthy scene of Mitchell yelling at a child, Cummings manipulates Mitchell into believing he'll help him to catch the mobsters, while in reality planning to abscond with the heroin and set Mitchell up for the crime. But Mitchell gets wise and kills the Italian gangsters, then chases Cummings's boat. After a brief fight on the boat, he kills Cummings's "lousy" butler (Merlin Olsen) and finally Cummings himself. Returning home to find Greta waiting for him, Mitchell goes ahead and arrests her again for good measure (she's revealed to have been high on pot, thus letting the viewer understand why she was willing to sleep with Mitchell).

* CowboyCop: At the very least, Mitchell ''thinks'' he fits this role, but he doesn't display the usual competence you'd expect from one. Whether it was a deliberate attempt to [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruct]] this trope, or just a poorly-done straight example, isn't clear.

* DrugsAreBad: Mitchell doesn't seem to care if Greta's a prostitute (at least as long as she doesn't try to charge ''him''), but as soon as she pulls out a joint, he hauls her in for Possession. ''Twice''. However, the first time he busted her was because she called him a dirty cop, ''daring'' him to arrest her for possession. The second time is PlayedForLaughs.

''Mitchell'' is a 1975 action/crime film directed by Andrew V. [=McLaglen=] and starring Creator/JoeDonBaker as the [[ProtagonistTitle title character]], an abrasive, unpopular, alcoholic UsefulNotes/LosAngeles police detective.

The film opens with the shooting of an unarmed home invader by wealthy union lawyer Walter Deaney (Creator/JohnSaxon). Though Deaney claims self-defense, Mitchell is doubtful but can't properly pursue the charge due to the FBI wanting Deaney for far worse. The police chief tries to keep Mitchell busy by getting him to stake out Mafia-affiliated businessman James Arthur Cummings (Martin Balsam), who is involved in trafficking stolen merchandise and later drugs. Meanwhile, Deaney sends Mitchell a high-priced prostitute named Greta (Linda Evans) to try and butter him up. After a disturbing sex scene involving beer and baby oil, he arrests her for having pot. Eventually Deaney tries to kill Mitchell, but dies in the attempt. Cummings, meanwhile, is trying to stop some rival Italian mobsters from bringing a shipment of heroin through his port. After a rather lengthy scene of Mitchell yelling at a child, Cummings manipulates Mitchell into believing he'll help him to catch the mobsters, while in reality planning to abscond with the heroin and set Mitchell up for the crime. But Mitchell gets wise and kills the Italian gangsters, then chases Cummings's boat. After a brief fight on the boat, he kills Cummings's "lousy" butler (Merlin Olsen) and finally Cummings himself. Returning home to find Greta waiting for him, Mitchell goes ahead and arrests her again for good measure (as she has been revealed to be high on pot, the viewer suddenly understands why she was willing to sleep with Mitchell).

Initially released by Creator/AlliedArtists, the film was later recut for television by Creator/{{Lorimar}} to remove all of the nudity, profanity, and violence, with some scenes obviously having been shot twice during production to remove swearing. It was the Lorimar cut that appeared on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' in 1993, now further recut for the length of the program and actually losing the resolution to the Deaney subplot in the process. The episode went on to be extremely popular largely for its jokes focusing on the unpleasantness of the Mitchell character. It also featured the departure of original host Joel Hodgson, thus guaranteeing its visibility among other episodes of the show. Not surprisingly, it is this version of ''Mitchell'' that most people are familiar with.

The film opens with the shooting of an unarmed home invader by Walter Deaney (Creator/JohnSaxon). Though Deaney claims self-defense, Mitchell is doubtful but can't properly pursue the charge due to the FBI wanting Deaney for far worse. The police chief tries to keep Mitchell busy by getting him to stake out a man named Cummings (Martin Balsam) who's involved in trafficking stolen merchandise and later drugs. Deaney also sends Mitchell a hooker named Greta (Linda Evans) to try and butter him up. After a disturbing sex scene involving beer and baby oil, he arrests her for having pot. Eventually Deaney tries to kill Mitchell, but dies in the attempt. Cummings is meanwhile trying to stop some Italian mobsters from bringing a shipment of heroin through his port. After a rather long scene of Mitchell yelling at a child, Cummings manipulates Mitchell into believing he'll help him catch the mobsters but in reality Cummings just plans to steal the real heroin and set up Mitchell. Mitchell gets wise and kills the Italian gangsters, then chases Cummings's boat. After a brief fight on the boat, he kills Cummings's "lousy" butler (Merlin Olsen) and finally Cummings himself. He returns home to find Greta waiting for him and he goes ahead and arrests her again for good measure (as she's been revealed to be high on pot, the viewer suddenly understands why she was willing to sleep with Mitchell).

* IdiotBall: TheMafia, in general. They plan to traffick drugs through Cummings, but don't bother to tell him this before he learns it ''from the cops''. This would be idiotic enough on its own, but then they want Cummings to go through with the deal even with a loose cannon cop (Mitchell) staking him out practically on his driveway! In the end, it's little wonder that Cummings tries to double-cross ''everyone''.

* {{Determinator}}: One of Mitchell's more endearing qualities.

* {{Jerkass}}: Everyone in the movie thinks Mitchell is an asshole. '''Even the villain'''.

** The glance the other two cops give each other implies they know Deaney's story is BS, but since the FBI was already investigating him they figured it was best just to drop it.
*** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: However, Mitchell is more of a KnightErrant in the film, and [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight is determined to see justice done.]]
* TheMafia/ TheSyndicate: Cummings works with them, but they make him do things against his will, like the drug shipment.
* MaleGaze: Inadvertently subverted by the boot-to-face upward sweep of Linda Evans when she first arrives at Mitchell's place. She's wearing a bulky fur coat that hides her figure.

* TheMafia: Thanks to Cummings going to Mistretta to get him out of legal trouble in the past, he's forced to kowtow to the drug kingpin.

* StopCopyingMe: Done to the point that it drives Mitchell insane.

* HollywoodLaw: It is extremely unlikely that Deaney would have ever been brought up on murder charges even if he had told the police the exact circumstances under which he shot the burglar. California law creates a presumption that a person is reasonably afraid of death or of great bodily harm if someone breaks into their house unlawfully and forcibly. Shooting an intruder in your home, even if he is running away, is self-defense. Even though the burglar was running away from Deaney when Deaney shot him, his exit path through the house took him through the room where Deaney kept his guns. In other words, if Deaney had said, "I was afraid he was running to get one of my guns," a prosecutor would bear the burden of not just trying to prove that the burglar wasn't trying to do that, but that Deaney didn't *THINK* he was trying to do that.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Aside from TheSeventies fashions, the very presence of Merlin Olson tips off the period. Olson was one of a few NFL players who were trying their hand at acting; at the time, he was best known . Olson would finally find his acting chops playing Jonathan Garvey in ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie''.

* AffablyEvil: Cummings is ''immensely'' more likable than Mitchell, and even gives him some good advice on how to be nicer (It amounts to "Don't shoot people you want information from"). Then again, Cummings feels Mitchell is an asset, in more ways that one. For one, the fact Mitchell is staking him out despite doing nothing legally wrong tips Cummings on his compatriots drug smuggling, something he wants ''no'' part of. He leaks info to Mitchell, and later tries to use him to get Deaney and Listrata out of the way. [[VillainBall Had he not tried to abscond with the drug money himself, he'd have successfully eliminated unwanted partners.]]

* AffablyEvil: Cummings is ''immensely'' more likable than Mitchell, and even gives him some good advice on how to be nicer (It amounts to "Don't shoot people you want information from").