The 'Human' Factor

George Kennedy gets to be pretty badass in this routine but entertaining revenge thriller, playing John Kinsdale, an American computer programmer working for NATO in Italy. One night, he comes home from work to find that his whole family has been savagely executed. He's grief-stricken but also determined to mete out bloody vengeance. The people responsible are a left-wing terrorist group whose modus operandi is targeting American families living in Rome.

The final project for the filmmaker Edward Dmytryk, whose classic credits include "The Caine Mutiny" and "Crossfire", "The 'Human' Factor" still is relevant in some ways, especially for any person who has lost loved ones as a result of a terrorist act. Back then, the plot (concocted by Peter Powell and co-star Thomas Hunter) was somewhat unique for heavy reliance on the technology of the day. The script also heavily relies on viewer acceptance of what the computers in this film are able to accomplish. In 1975, computers were still fairly exotic and mysterious things to some people, and screenwriters could have them figure out any number of things. The computer intelligence here even takes the time to determine what Kinsdales' chances of success are in his mission of vengeance.

The Italian setting helps quite a bit in the telling of this competently made, and viscerally effective, picture. Kennedy is a classic type of hero who can shoot scores of bad guys without having to reload his gun, who can run the cops a good chase, and who keeps fighting even after being struck by gunfire himself. This is one of his most amusing roles, to be sure.

Other aspects of value include the Ennio Morricone soundtrack (at times, it bears the faintest resemblance to his "Once Upon a Time in the West" score) and the excellent international cast: Sir John Mills, Raf Vallone, Barry Sullivan, Rita Tushingham, Shane Rimmer, Haydee Politoff, Arthur Franz. Producer Frank Avianca plays the role of the terrorist Kamal; that's a 12 year old Danny Huston (in his film debut) cast as one of Kinsdales' sons.

The silly and not terribly plausible script never does bother to really explain what the villains hope to accomplish with their killings, but Dmytryk keeps the pace fairly consistent and basically made a watchable enough film for people who love a fun revenge yarn.

Seven out of 10.

"The Human Factor" is a typical revenge movie in the wake of "Dirty Harry", "Death Wish" and "Straw Dogs" with an American special agent and computer specialist in Italy losing his family by a terrorist's assault at his home and taking bloody revenge.

This British-Italian co-production from 1975 contains many typical subplots of the seventies - conspiracy movies, secret agent films, left-winged political terrorism, high-tech-computers and revenge dramas. George Kennedy plays the hero and does a good job as hard-edged, desperate family father turning to a merciless killer, although he is no Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson. Especially in a long hunting scene overweight Kennedy seems to be very out of breath...

The scripts lacks a bit of logic sometimes, as the real motivation of the terrorist group is never really explained, but all in all the film keeps the action, thrills and suspense always going and adds some very scary moments and furious action sequences, especially the big showdown in a supermarket. Ennio Morricone's sound tracks puts even more thrills and atmosphere to this dark political thriller that can be seen as a "sleeper" for fans of seventies' hardcore action cinema. Recommended!

When I first saw this movie, I was only 9 years old. The movies idea, losing one's entire family to terrorists, haunted me for years. George Kennedy's strong portrayl of a father who is obsessed about tracking down the killers of his family, can easily be outdone by newer more daring plots. For it's time though, The Human Factor was 'on the edge of your seat' suspense that left you with a weary, empty feeling when the movie was over. Although dated, I feel it can still create an emotional response for someone who looks for more than special effects in a picture. Too bad it is out of print.

A British suspense-thriller; A story about a middle-aged NATO electronics expert who aims to track down the killers of his family, aided by a colleague and access to an early version of the internet. This film, based on a novel by Simon Quinn, has a theme about how blood vengeance consumes to the point of self-destruction. The film has conviction and carries a modicum of suspense. George Kennedy's arresting performance as a middle-aged nerd, an everyman, hulking around Campania and Lazio like an out-of-control ox, lends a touch of realism to his scenes of lex talionis but it means the emotional cards fail to stack fully in his favour. Ennio Morricone's score responds with just the right emotional tone throughout.

This is the last film made by the famous director Ed Dmytryk before his death. However, he must have been failing more than in health, as his creative juices seem largely to have dried up for this one. I hate to say this, because two of my old pals were involved in the production: George Davis ('in charge of production') and Roy Parkinson, Production Manager. George and Roy liked to work together whenever possible, and I can just imagine that George raised a sizeable portion of the budget for this project. He died just after Christmas in 1999, and most of the films he worked on in his long career are not listed on IMDb. Production accountants often get no screen credits, although they are the custodians of all the producers' darkest secrets, and I learned a few from George! As for Roy, it appears that he is still alive aged 95, and I hope his charming wife Lana is too. George and Roy were two of the most honest and decent men I ever knew, and this seems a fitting occasion to pay tribute to both of them. There was one occasion in particular when I had to consult with them about a most important and difficult decision involving the jobs of many people, and their support helped me to make it and eased me through a crisis of conscience caused by an act of financial corruption by the Boulting Brothers. George Davis and Roy Parkinson came from a generation when loyalty and values still existed and were widely held, though such qualities are today a vanishing commodity in a world ruled by greed. George Kennedy was a curious choice for a lead actor in this action movie, as he was already a bit old and getting overweight. Of course, he is good, but he would have been better 10 years earlier. And this is in any case really a sixties movie made in the seventies. Much of the casting is of well known names from an earlier era who are either given very little to do so that their talents are wasted (such as Rita Tushingham and John Mills) or who look shockingly past their sell-by date, such as Raf Vallone looking like a ghost of himself. The script is weak, and Dmytryk does little to save it. This is one of those films where in the story vengeance is seen to be done, and there's none of that 'they should have a fair trial' stuff, so this is a particularly gritty suspense film. I only wish it had been a better one.