Lee Marvin is Walker, a "very bad man, a very destructive man", a man who is determined to get his ninety-three thousand dollars from a group of organised criminals. After a false start in which he's left for dead, Walker is endlessly one step ahead of the other people in the film as he performs all kinds of judo-style manoeuvres using his opponents' weaknesses against them, getting the criminals to shoot one another, betray one another, or otherwise end up defeated by their own folly.
It's beautifully made, acted and plotted, with superb performances from Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, and the other cast. The photography and music is also wonderful.
Somehow I doubt this is based on a true story though.
After watching this film I tried reading the series of books it was based on by Donald Westlake, but I really didn't like those so much. The character Parker in Westlake's books is not much like Walker, more like a relentless psychopathic murderer.
There is also a remake with Mel Gibson called Payback but it's not as entertaining as this, since the villains lack the charm.
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