Special Delivery (1976) | Blu-ray Review
This forgotten oddity from the mid-1970s features Cybill Shepherd shortly out of the shadows from Peter Bogdanovich and Swedish import Bo Svenson. A bank heist thriller moonlighting as a romantic comedy, there’s not much special about Special Delivery (1976) other than it serves as the final theatrical release of Paul Wendkos, who would work exclusively in television afterwards despite having previously directed some other notable cult favorites such as The Mephisto Waltz (1971) and the George Peppard headlined Cannon for Cordoba (1970).
Svenson stars as Jack Murdock, an all-around swell guy leading an ill-fated bank robbery in Los Angeles. When their plan to utilize Los Angeles rooftops fails miserably and only Murdock gets away, he is forced to hide his bundle of cash in a mailbox, which is unfortunately locked until midnight. Several eyewitnesses to Murdock’s ordeal play an important part in his continued success eluding the police, including a beautiful blonde (Shepard), who desires to assist. The only trouble is, she’s not the only one who saw Murdock stash the cash.
Featuring a stellar supporting cast of notable players, Special Delivery perhaps plays best as a time capsule than anything else. Svenson would be one of the many actors from this period usurped and regurgitated into Tarantino’s pastiche cinema (appearing in Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds), while Shepherd would go on to several distinct chapters in her career. Together, they don’t make much of a team in Special Delivery, which is often silly and almost always a bit hare-brained. A sole exception is a sequence designed to showcase Murdock’s kindness when he comes to the rescue of a bum being terrorized by a couple of thugs (one of whom later accosts Shepherd in a back alley alongside none other than Jeff Goldblum).
Kino Lorber presents the title in 1.85:1 as a brand-new HD master from a 4k scan of the original 35mm negative. Picture and sound quality are serviceable in this transfer which features a commentary track from film historian Lee Gambin.
Film Review: ★★½/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Review: ★★/☆☆☆☆☆
