User reviews

Just re-saw this "B" heist film. The plot was interesting, the acting was decent, and there are a host of washed-up former stars throughout. For fans of such films as Ocean's Eleven (both versions), The Anderson Tapes, The Killing, Assault on the Queenm,Heat, and Dayton's Devils, this is an enjoyable little film. Made on a shoe string budget; the texture of the film is fair, and the camera work makes it look like a high school production, but the over all look and feel of the movie is entertaining.

There is even a surprise ending which is comical. Richard Egan does a professional job, as does Jan Murray. However, Martha Hyer has aged badly and has lost her sexy looks from her role in the Carpetbaggers.

So, if you're a fan of caper and heist films, this is the movie for you.

This movie is about a theme you rarely see nowadays. A group of bad guys isolate a town and take it over. This gives rise to many questions about the possibility, but then each question takes valuable time to answer, making it more possible than you might think. The bad guys are robbers in this case, as opposed to a movie that would be made nowadays, in which every writer tries to outdo each other with cold blooded sadists. These characters could be the man shopping next to you at the grocery. That gives this movie an appeal lost in today's market. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and yet gives a serious enough account to be entertaining. The high hat characters were typical of the time, and actually more realistic than people give credit for, with their "City Hall" mentality. The other characters are well drawn. Good acting helps, too, and so does the atmosphere, in which each scene is well defined. A movie such as this will either sacrifice entertainment value for realism, or vice versa. This is fairly well balanced, but thankfully it leans more to entertainment value. The end twist comes a bit too fast for the modern writing style, but it is good natured and likable. Looks to be done on a small budget, and it comes through as a champion of the small budget movies.

It's sad that The Day Of The Wolves was not done by a major studio with some decent scripting and editing as part of the package. Had it been the film could have been a classic. It had the makings.

It's a combination of High Noon and the Phil Karlson noir classic Kansas City Confidential. Richard Egan as the local chief of police busts one of the kids of a city councilman and for his pains loses his job. He takes it philosophically.

At the same time Jan Murray as Preston Foster did in Kansas City Confidential recruits six professional criminals all unknown to each other and all use numbers when addressing each other and him. They also wear gloves at all times so no fingerprints can be detected.

Murray has an audacious military style operation planned to hit several locations in a small town on a pay day at the main employer which is a lumberyard. These heist commandos are trained down to perfection.

But when the operation goes down it's the former sheriff Egan who springs into action, purely from reflex. What happens after that is for you to see. Martha Hyer plays Mrs. Egan and she reacts the same way to his involvement the same way Grace Kelly did.

Shot completely on location in Arizona, The Day Of The Wolves shows many cheap touches, obviously because the film didn't have the budget. One thing that was terribly wrong. Egan has only a shotgun when he deals with the seven criminal commandos. No way in the world he was able to do what he did with only a shotgun which could not have been fired for distance the way it was. Maybe a bigger studio's writing and editing staff would have realized that.

Still it's not a bad TV film and it really could have been a lot better.

While budgetary constraints may be evident, the plot is what probably attracted a quality actor like Richard Egan. Definitely a must see for Tarantino fans, as it seems he watched it more than a few times. The film itself was ahead of its time in terms of plot, and if it were more available, would be a favorite among heist fans. Despite the budget/filming conditions, Egan gives a great performance, giving the writing a bit more than it deserves. All in all, a good watch.

"The Day of the Wolves" has attracted a small cult among die-hard aficionados of the crime syndicate genre, yet the central concept of a large-scale robbery pulled off by an anonymous boss (and his specifically-invited cohorts, who don't know their leader nor each other) isn't too original--it reminds one right away of "The Thomas Crown Affair", and probably a few other titles besides. The low-budget yarn begins with one man killing a restaurant manager, another robbing a bank while disguised as a postman (!), and still another robbing a hilltop residence; these three crooks, as well as three other men, are then brought to a secret hideout where their new leader (Jan Murray, playing "No.1") lays out his plan: to overtake a small town after knocking out the phones and electricity, each man standing to gain $50,000 G's. Richard Egan plays the chief of police--recently dismissed by his own city council!--who is the only town resident brave enough to take on the bad guys. "Wolves" must have been more fun to make than it is to watch. Apparently, the population of Lake Havasu City got involved in the production, and the results have that stilted, tentative feel of an amateur project wherein everybody pitches in without actually possessing noticeable film-making talent. Egan, though looking weathered, does his best without embarrassing himself; as his child-hugging spouse, Martha Hyer isn't as fortunate. Surprisingly, Murray really delivers the goods as the brains of the outfit, and there's a nifty ending with him on TV. Sean Bonniwell's score, which sounds like stoned-out jazz, dates the picture more than anything else, though the opening theme song is a gone gasser. "Nameless men have heard the cry of silent, pounding hoofs," we're told, "While nameless men like you and I will never hear the wolves!" Huh?? ** from ****

In an isolated desert town, sheriff Richard Egan chews out some pot-smokin' joy-ridin' kids. Their parents are on the town council, so Egan is given his walking papers. Meanwhile, seven men with beards fly into Phoenix. Six of them get into separate cars with instructions to put on blindfolds, sunglasses, and gloves. They are each driven to a location, where they are told by Jan Murray (also in a bushy beard) that they will not be using their names, but numbers to speak to each other. They train to pull off the perfect crime: they're going to hit Eagan's town, clear out the cash in the businesses and two banks.

It's a clever caper film by Ferdy Grofe Jr. In writing, and the actors are all at least competent. It's also so cheaply done that it can't excel. It seems to have impressed Quentin Tarrantino. He used a lot of the set-up (sans beards) as the start of Reservoir Dogs. With Martha Hyer (in her last big-screen appearance), John Lupton, Percy Helton, and Herb Vigran.

I remember seeing this flick in the late '70's on the late, late movie. At the time I recall thinking it had the lowest production values I'd ever seen. Of course, I didn't know what production values were then and I hadn't yet seen " Werewolves on Wheels" or a host of other films . Even though it was such a cheapie I enjoyed the plot--Most especially the surprise ending. That movie had stuck in my mind because of the low budget and when I saw "reservoir Dogs" for the first time it seemed familiar. I finally remembered the name of the film that gave me that eerie feeling of having seen a flick before and now IMDb gives me a forum where I can comment on it. Tarantino has seen every cheapie flick ever made and it's obvious that he loves to do his little homages in his films. It seems clear to me that he remembered "day of the Wolves" and, like me, saw that there was a good story hidden behind those terrible production values. It's so great to have a director who loves all those outre loser movies that came out which had a little gem hiding in the crap. It's really great that he can pay his homages to those films and make it work. Watch "day of the wolves", if you can ever find it, and you'll most likely see what I saw in the comparison. Thanks, Quentin.

Low-budget doesn't begin to describe the cheesy production values of this independent heist movie. The piped-in music, limited camera angles, and production glitches remind me of a porno movie. But, the plot is ingenious -- as gripping as I've seen in a crime movie in 30 years. And, although some of the dialogue is ridiculous in the scenes between townspeople in the first third of the film, all of the dialogue, amongst the criminals and among the law officers once the crime is on, is gritty and realistic. A few story twists help the proceedings along to a most satisfactory conclusion.

I first saw this as a kid- and have longed to see it again/own it/etc. It is a 10+ as far as plot goes, and although the production is as bad as any B-horror movie you'll ever see it almost adds to the mood of the film. Great action w/cool music, costumes, etc. And a twist of an ending rarely matched in modern screen-writing. A must-see for every movie fan.

Once you get past the $1.98 production values, this one is a true treat for the mind. The gang's plot and execution are mind-boggling, and Jan Murray plays one of the most vicious criminal masterminds ever. The desert is used to good advantage, and Richard Egan's poor-man's Will Kane is well executed. See it.

This is a sleeper of a movie. Long lost for nearly 20 years, I had a hell of a time finding this one. If you can find a copy it's worth watching. Uses waycool catchy guitar theme music throughout. Cool dudes playing the bad guys. Neato uniforms and vehicles (love the station wagon scenes!!!!).

Makes you wonder why someone hasn't tried to pull this job off yet?

Number 8

Made on a tiny budget (something like $185k), this movie rocks, in every sense, especially the Music Machine's Sean Bonniwell rock score. Based out of Lake Havasu City, the film manages to completely avoid including the London Bridge in any scene, which was opened about five months after this movie wrapped production.

Egan shows his credentials as a great actor by effortlessly dominating the film, aided by a taught, well-written screenplay and great action direction by indie filmmaker Ferde Grofe Jr.

Sean Bonniwell's score is an excellent and punchy rock score that lifts the movie to a new level, produced at Original Sound Studios on Sunset and using the band Green.

I'm biased about how great this little film is - I made a documentary and wrote a book about it, but it's a film that deserves a look. A 2021 review here suggests that the film wasn't made on 35mm - it certainly was, but the versions in circulation are usually lousy condition 16mm prints.

Several members of the crew went onto greater things following this film (Peter MacGregor Scott produced Batman and Fugitive movies, Calmar Roberts and Michael Scott both worked on notable films into the 2000's.

This is one of the most cerebral movies I have ever seen. If you loved Pi, give this one a try. Jan Murray gives one of the most compelling performances of all time. The entire supporting cast is terrific, especially noteworthy since the production budget for the whole thing was about $200. Just watch it unfold and happen to you.

Quentin Tarantino may have seen ALSO this one : the gang boss does not want his men can identify themselves, and he wants them to choose (or he chooses for them : memory is not sure about that) names of numbers or colors or anything else. Remind you something ? It is clearly one source of one of the good ideas of Tarantino in RESERVOIR DOGS. Tarantino has seen many movies : he makes homage to the famous first dialogue line of DEATH TRAP / EATEN ALIVE / STARLIGHT SLAUGTHER (USA 1976) directed by Tobe Hooper in KILL BILL, and to many others movies he has seen in his own movies. He liked what we liked in the 60's & the 70's. And because of his "history of movies" memories, we can even re-discover such movies as this quite funny DAY OF THE WOLVES ! As Latin proverb says : NIHIL NOVI SUB SOLE (Nothing new under the sun) !

I watched it again a few miutes ago and I can't prevent myself to think about a western scheme, where the dismissed sheriff wil do anything to save his town from a bunch of outlaws. Yes, a scheme which we already have seen dozen times before, a kind of DIE HARD DNA. And also a cult movie for the likes of QT. Look for RESERVOIR DOGS, as e also could do with TAKING OF PELHAM 123. The ending is so surprising too.

This movie was filmed back in 1971 in Lake Havasu City, Az. I really liked the movie, but unfortunately I knew a lot of the local people that they used in the film, & the layout of the town. So the "towns people" laughed at how it was made and their family or friends that were in it. They didn't stop to think of how possible it was for this to really happen. I've been waiting for someone like yourselves to give their thoughts on it. Now I can show the people who were here at that time, that it truly was a good movie. Thanks

Like my summary suggests, this IS the worst film ever made. The acting is wooden, the plot is paper thin, and the budget...well, budget implies that there was money to make this film, and quite frankly, I don' think that they had one. It must have taken the director an hour to write tops, and the only reason that I have seen it is because I couldn't be bothered to do my Geography coursework and found it on the smallest of channels available, one that shows the "Classic", b/w beverly hillbillies shows - prior to singing on the theme tune. The other review did not talk about the plot, so let me explain:

7bearded men (who look suspiciously like Fidle Castro) rob the town for all its worth, can the former sheriff save the day? Cheapest of stunts, dramatic dying scenes (its like this will be their "BIG BREAK" and poor direction makes this film drag on. But it is because of all of these things, that the film is so funny to watch. It is truly awful, but worth a watch, because you will appreciate other films - you may even begin to like George Lazenby as Bond.

This film is shocking, but watch it, you will laugh your head off if you take the piss out of it. The ending, is particularly memorable.