Prime Cut (1972) Novelization

Written by Mike Roote.  Based on the 1973 film written by Robert Dillon and directed by Michael Ritchie. It starred Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, and Sissy Spacek. 

An odd film that benefits from an outstanding cast, it is a film punctuated by repellent violence and misogyny, with the always dependable Lee Marvin grounding it and making it watchable. You could also make the point that the film is also trying to make some grander commentary on America, but I'm not sure I buy it. Hackman had just made THE FRENCH CONNECTION but it hadn't been released yet, so this film is truly his last movie before he hit it big. Sissy Spacek gives an utterly fearless performance as Poppy.

This is a slight novelization, but the movie doesn't have a lot of plot either. The biggest differences between this and the finished film is that Hackman's character is described as much older and more overweight, and the film keeps Marvin's and Spacek's relationship more ambiguous. There is also more sex in the book than in the finished film. This is well written and gives needed detail to Hackman's character.  While the film has its merits (Lee Marvin and the, ahem, nudity), I found the book to be the idea presentation of the story.  It flows better than the film, which at times seems as though it is trying to play down the action film aspects.

Excerpt:

She stood on the pavement outside the bar, drawing an exquisite fur over her perfect shoulders. Many, many small, high-priced animals had died squealing to make that sable stole for her, and you got the feeling she would have liked to watch them die, her small pointed tongue glistening on her cherry lips and her eyes aglow like a cat's. She was that kind of woman. Her body was so spectacular that it would be a long time before you looked at her face, and she knew it. The satin dress, shiny with jeweled beading, clung to her impossibly small waist and defined her round and swelling hips. The bodice was cut low to display breathtaking cleavage a man could kill for and a warm, smooth, pulsing throat just right for biting. She was blonde, of course---she could never be anything but blonde---and her eyes were masked by an artfully cut pair of thick false lashes. Which was just as well, since above the warm body, her eyes were as cold as a snake's. She was a collector's piece, expensive to buy and murderous to maintain. But she was worth every penny, both in looks and performance.