FILM · 1973 · ITALY
The Stone Killer
29 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (29)
- #001
The film's American underworld settings include Skid Row in Los Angeles and Little Italy and Spanish Harlem in New York City.
- #002
In the novel, the main character is named Derek Torry, not Lou, and the entire story is set in the United Kingdom.
- #003
"Stone killer" is an underworld term for a professional hitman who kills without remorse or conscience.
- #004
It is the third of six films Charles Bronson made with director Michael Winner. Before this film they made Chato's Land (1972) and The Mechanic (1972), and they later collaborated on Death Wish (1974), Death Wish II (1982) and Death Wish 3 (1985).
- #005
Ralph Waite and John Ritter, who share a scene together and both play police officers, would reunite on the series The Waltons. The same applies to John Ritter and Norman Fell from Three's Company.
- #006
John Ritter and Charles Bronson died in 2003, almost two weeks apart. Bronson died on August 30 and Ritter on September 11.
- #007
It is the final theatrical film of actor Walter Burke.
- #008
Cristina Raines was reportedly to play Charles Bronson's daughter, but her scenes were cut because she does not appear in the film (her wiki page even states that she is in the film). Early on, however, his ex-wife mentions his daughter and says he does not want to see her. Raines would go on to star in the horror film The Sentinel, directed by the same director, Michael Winner.
- #009
Alongside the Dirty Harry similarities, Charles Bronson's Lou Torrey has some film noir elements in his character and story: he travels from place to place in a dangerous city (in fact two cities), investigating a series of surnames, most of which turn out to be false, but behind the smaller crimes that emerge he discovers a larger, more sinister plan. Torrey also wears the usual rubber-soled trench coat and hat.
- #010
Michael Winner used many creative camera angles in all his films, especially those with Charles Bronson, including the opening shot, which deliberately symbolizes beauty being replaced by urban decay: the first thing we see is an extreme close-up of a fresh green leaf falling from a tree, after which the camera quickly pulls back to the old streets where Bronson parks his car.
- #011
Actress Kelley Miles is the daughter of the legendary American actress Vera Miles.
- #012
The following year, Paul Koslo would play another enemy character opposite Charles Bronson in Mr. Majestyk.
- #013
Many of the actors would become known for starring in TV shows. John Ritter and Norman Fell for Three's Company. Martin Balsam for Archie Bunker's Place. Stuart Margolin for The Rockford Files. Ralph Waite for The Waltons. And Jack Colvin for The Incredible Hulk.
- #014
It is the second consecutive crime film directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson, titled after the code name for contract killers. The Mechanic was the first and The Stone Killer the second.
- #015
Most of the hit squad use Smith & Wesson Model 76 9 mm submachine guns. Some of these were purchased by Hollywood in the early 1970s. They resemble the Swedish K submachine gun in both appearance and function.
- #016
Paul Koslo appeared in two more Charles Bronson films: Mr. Majestyk and Love & Bullets.
- #017
It is the second of three consecutive police films directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson. In each, Bronson plays someone representing a different type of criminal character. In The Mechanic he is a hitman; here he is a police officer; and in Death Wish he is a vigilante.
- #018
The picture was first set up at United Artists.
- #019
Roy Budd's main title theme is sampled by Daniel Dumile (also known as MF Doom) in his Special Herbs mixes on the track "Wormwood," and also on two tracks on the King Geedorah (also known as MF Doom) album "Take Me to Your Leader."
- #020
The helicopter Lou takes to the desert is a 1961 Bell 47J-2 Ranger, registration N73202, serial number 1850. It was sold to a party in Australia in 1988, where it was registered as VH-NHR, and as of 2017 it was still registered there.
- #021
There are two main images used for posters, VHS, DVD and Blu-ray covers. The first, found on most VHS covers (and which has existed for many years), shows Bronson standing behind an African-American pusher in the opening post-credits sequence, during the initial arrest scene, when Bronson is new to Los Angeles. The other, now more popular and used on Blu-ray covers, shows Bronson standing on the fire escape of the rundown apartment building, his gun still aimed after shooting the young man, who is still lying with his feet forward and arms turned toward the ground: this occurs before the opening title sequence.
- #022
It is the second and, as of April 2017, last adaptation of a John Gardner novel. The first was The Liquidator (1965), released about eight years earlier.
- #023
Stuart Margolin, who plays the assassins' strategist, would go on to have an equally significant role in the later Death Wish films as the Arizona landowner who hires Charles Bronson's firm for a building development. His character makes the vigilante's work easier by giving Bronson's Paul Kersey a gun.
- #024
Gus Lipper is the name of the arrested hoodlum, and his surname 'Lipper' is mentioned ten times in the film even though he appears for less than 10 minutes. John Ritter, who plays the arresting police officer, contributed at least 6 of these mentions. And because Charles Tyner describes the young hoodlums to Charles Bronson in a way that would probably make it 'A Generation of Lippers,' we count the surname in the plural as well.
- #025
Along with the influence of Dirty Harry (and even Shaft), The Godfather (1972) was probably another influence given the significant gangster plot. Ironically, the Don's lead actor, Martin Balsam, appeared alongside Marlon Brando, The Godfather himself, in On the Waterfront (1954).
- #026
As of 2024, David Sheiner is the last surviving main cast member.
- #027
The film's title is a variation of one of the various nicknames applied to its star, Charles Bronson: 'Stone Face' or 'Old Stone Face.'.
- #028
Charles Bronson and Martin Balsam would reunite once more in Death Wish 3, another Michael Winner film. Bronson would also reunite with Stuart Margolin in Death Wish, another Michael Winner film. John Ritter would reunite Norman Fell for Three's Company and Ralph Waite on The Waltons. Paul Koslo would reunite with Bronson in Mr. Majestyk and Love and Bullets.
- #029
The hospital psychiatrist, while mentioning a Vietnamese Vietnam War veteran, delivers the typical Hollywood anti-war tirade about so-called 'baby killers.'.
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