Hard Contract

On election day, John Cunningham, James Coburn, a CIA assassin with nerves of steel and no conscience, kills a man, votes in the local election, and spends the rest of the afternoon with Ellen, Karen Black, a prostitute. The next day, Cunningham goes to see Ramsey Williams, Burgess Meredith, his mobilizer whose cover is a job as a college physics professor.

Ramsey offers one final, lucrative “hard contract” as he calls it, consisting of three hits, two in Spain and Belgium, with the last victim to be revealed after the first two are dispatched.

On his way to Spain to make the first hit, Cunningham meets two women in Tangier who will change his life: Sheila Metcalfe, Lee Remick, an American tourist and jet setter, and her naive but good-hearted friend, Adrianne, Lilli Palmer.

He kills the first two victims, but remorse slowly takes hold, and he cannot bring himself to kill his third target, former top CIA hit-man Michael Carson.

Ramsey flies to Spain to persuade Cunningham to complete the job, and promises that if Cunningham refuses, he will himself be killed, and so will Sheila.

Cunningham drives Ramsey, Sheila, Carson, and everyone else who knows about him back down a mountain, and is close to deliberately causing a car crash that would free him for all time, only to relent at the last moment, telling a confused Ramsey afterward that murder is obsolete.

Ramsey is then romanced by Adrianne, much to his bemusement, and it’s unclear if he has also weakened in his resolve.

The ending is enigmatic, with Cunningham and Sheila running off together and beginning to make love, as Cunningham tells her that the worst deeds can be done for the best motives. The final image narrows to a circle around their heads, reminiscent of the rifle scope.

Last Updated: October 07, 2025 at 09:23