User reviews

Ok, like most people, I was introduced to "Mitchell" via the comedy genius of Mystery Science Theater. It's one of my favorite episodes of the Joel era. However, I have recently seen the original un-MSTied verison of "Mitchell" and I can saw, it's really not all that bad. It's not good mind you, but it's no "Manos". The problem is they squeezed about an hour's worth of material into a 97 minute movie. And let's not forget, Mitchell is supposed to be unlikable. He's an anti-hero, something not often seen in American movies. Joe Don Baker did a decent job in this given the limitations of the material.

Mitchell the cop is a slobby, beer guzzling, mass eating, uncharismatic cop who taunts children by stooping to their level, sleeps with his prostitute girlfriend (Linda Evans? Why?) and busts her when done (Community service, I guess?), and somehow, in God's mercy I suppose, nabs the bad guy at the end of the film. What a hero. What a guy.

Take all that, add a lame, one-dimensional bad guy and equally as weak supporting characters, a bland "been there too many times, even for the '70's" plot, and an unforgettable theme song "My, my, my, my Mitchell", and you have this movie. Joe Don Baker's cinematic opus.

Yet this film makes me laugh every time. Simply put: This movie is a hoot.

Then again, I could never watch this film without the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" treatment. Even I don't have that much self-loathing. I could see why Joel would jump ship after this one. It's a completely ridiculous film, but it remains in my video library. Maybe it's the Johnny Mathis look-alike villain, maybe because it's the bane of all that is considered good taste. One of the few films that I can somehow manage to simultaneously almost kind of recommend, yet warn people to stay away from like the plague. That's the kind of movie "Mitchell" is. Check it out for yourself. Or not.

All i can say about this movie is "wow". Not that i'm blown away by it, but that i can't believe that joe don baker and linda evens were that hard up for cash to make this bowser.

The script is pretty flimsy, sometimes with 2 or 3 subplots going their own directions and then somehow overlapping, yet it doesn't quite work. There are so many "bad guys" yet for some reason you can never quite figure out who is crossing whom, and what each person's relation to each other is. Towards the end, it starts to become more apparent, but it's still not that exciting.

Then, Joe Don Baker as Mitchell really does a poor job...I don't think it's his fault..just that the character was not that likeable. I mean, a boozing slob of a cop is not exactly what you think of when you think of great detectives...

I agree that this movie is amusing if you watch the MST3K version of it...in fact it's one of my favorites, just because they jab Joe Don and this movie EVERY chance they can get, and I'd say that it's more than deserving of every single one.

Overall - one and a half out of ten stars.

While this film is undeniably bad, one can't help but respect the filmmakers for trying something new. Movie cops are usually strong, resourceful, quick-thinking and quick-acting. They don't usually play by the rules, but they get the job done. They're usually played by attractive, young, popular actors that people like, and usually get the classiest ladies. Now, take a look at MITCHELL. MITCHELL stars Joe Don Baker as Mitchell, a cop who fits none of the above, "cookie-cutter" prerequisite stereotypes. Mitchell is fat. Mitchell is sloppy. He's an alcoholic. His apartment is filthy and littered with porn. The only woman he can get is a prostitute, and he treats her like a lowly dog. Mitchell is stupid. He's incompetant. The only way he gets any crimes solved is purely by accident, and because the villains in the movie overestimate him. Joe Don Baker is not a hot young actor. He's not popular and he's not good looking. So, kudos to the filmmakers! Way to break down barriers.

Joe Don Baker plays a police detective with an affinity for booze and blondes and not much else. His life is miserable. One finds oneself wondering why anyone would want to tell the story of someone so unhappy and why we the audience are spending 90 minutes of our lives being exposed to his misery.

Despite his lack of personal morals in his own life, and his inability to engender anything more than disdain from his fellow coworkers, somehow Baker has acquired a near zero-tolerance for any criminal behavior among other people. He's simultaneously amoral and noble, and we the audience are left wondering why, because the script never manages to explain it for us. There's very little to love about Mitchell, but Baker manages to muddle through the script nonetheless; not an easy job for any actor. Baker should have received an award for tolerating the terribly written script that was given him.

The film is more like a failed pilot for television than an actual silver screen cop action movie. The plot is difficult to describe without the use of censorable and colorful adjectives. There appears to be at least two different plots going at the same time, and the plot with John Saxton in it starts the film but then peters out about halfway through. The other plot involves Baker sitting outside a rich guy's house because he's somehow involved in drug smuggling, and eventually finding himself being beat up and shot at. He's even accosted verbally by a young child on a skateboard. Attempts at humor abound, but nothing seems to really engender a good laugh. Linda Evans uneventfully plays a prostitute who is hired to make love with Mitchell, and for some strange reason falls in love with him despite the audience's inability to comprehend why.

Mitchell features what is perhaps the slowest car chase in the history of cinema, and that alone is worth watching the film for true action flick fans, if nothing more than to see what film makers should never do. Mitchell acquired a renewal of sorts in the form of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the mid-90s, when the film was featured as the form of torture used by mad scientists on an innocent Joel Robinson and his lovable robots. This particular episode of MST3K is the turning point of that series, because it's the one where Joel Hodgson left the series and was replaced by head writer Mike Nelson. So all fans of MST3K hold a special place in their hearts for this, the worst cop flick ever.

Awful. Gloriously, fabulously awful. My-my-my-my goodness this was a piece of work... If the hideousness of this movie had been intentional, I doubt it would be so amazingly funny. I laughed so hard I almost passed out. What I wouldn't give for "Mitchell 2: the Geritol Years."

"Mitchell"...oh boy, that was weird to watch. In a bizarre way it fulfilled all my expectations as being a bad film. I was searching for something like that after a successful stream of good projects coming my way, not to mention I was curious in seeing the great character actor Joe Don Baker as a leading man. But the reality of "Mitchell" was far beyond any possible expectation; the outcome seen was a manageable disaster that didn't claim lives but managed to destroy a few brain cells on the way. It's so bad that it's good (for brief moments) and it gets a few laughs from the audience even though this isn't a comedy...but it's extremely hard to take it seriously. For the most part, it's just a troubled and boring wreck, and thanks to MST3K which made this a cult hilarious flick that we can enjoy some of its lousiness.

Baker plays the title role, a reckless and sleazy detective obsessed with two on-going investigations: one which revolves heroin dealers and other about a rich guy (John Saxon) who killed a burglar in his house. Obvious even to the clueless viewers that apparently those two actions are connected in some way. Mitchell tries to act like Dirty Harry (there's even a similar sequence when he shoots a running suspect on his knee) but doesn't have the same bite. He's too weak for it. He's drunk, clumsy and falls for the slightest possible weakness and that is when a prostitute is thrown on his lap, paid by the people he's investigating - which delivers the funniest scene of the film, a sex scene with an idiotic and funny theme song about his character. As I write this, that song still echoes in my head (My, my, my Mitchell...).

Trying to establish why "Mitchell" fails in so many levels is a difficult task and one that wouldn't fit in the limited lines we're allowed in here. It's just too much. While the few action sequences are actually interesting to watch (problem is that they always revolves around car chases, except the opening with the burglar), the rest of the film, the investigations, lame sex scenes that doesn't add anything to the film and the cringing dialogue with the kid on the street...they just don't work. And don't get me started with the dialogues between Mitchell and Martin Balsam character (whom is there to help the detective with his heroin case), which dragged on and on. I wasn't amused nor thrilled, just waiting for the "climatic" ending because the ridicule was going for far too long. No wonder that the writer only developed TV scripts after this wreck, making of this film his only theatrical screenplay.

What amazes the most in "Mitchell" is that the acting isn't all that bad as the writing. Sure, the cast was forced to deliver some of the weirdest lines of all in their whole careers, execute actions and thoughts in one of the worst projects of all time, but I think their acting isn't so atrocious as expected. Baker was in fact a good lead, in some ways I liked the character and for a brief moment when this thing wasn't so cheesy, it could actually render him a nice film series. He has charisma, some humor, plays a hard character that has some vulnerabilities but at the end of the day manages to do his job despite some unorthodox methods and his sloppy ways of acting - I've never seen a "hero" running away from trouble so many times like he does. Balsam, Saxon and others weren't so bad either. The problem stays with the script, which offers us poor dialogues, strange and unworthy of attention sequences, a waste of our time. But whatever, the damage wasn't so terrible because I've seen a lot worse and MST3K's observation of this "film" was so great that for a moment we can all say that celluloid wasn't so wasted after all. Their watching and comments on it are some of the most amusing, hilarious and relevant moments in the entertainment. It speaks volumes on this film and a lot more humored and better than most film criticisms I've ever seen ("Mittens?!?" Joe Don Baker is "Mittens"; Ooh, it's "Mitchell", the Martha Mitchell story. Joe Don Baker IS "Martha Mitchell"), not to mention the loads of references they throw on it from Johnny Mathis, "Fame" to Pink Floyd. Their version (slightly censored though) deserves a higher praise; the original "Mitchell" alone gets some note with me. It wasn't that bad though it made me feel ill for some time. And yes, this movie makes "Driving Miss Daisy" looks like "Bullitt". 3/10

You know that a movie is really bad when the best scene in it is when a woman is wearing a dress that shows her entire back torso. That's the case with "Mitchell", a fourth-rate cop flick with Joe Don Baker as the title character going after drug dealers. It isn't even so bad that it's good; it's so bad that it makes you feel like your brain just turned into mashed potatoes (in fact, that statement is insulting to mashed potatoes). Fortunately, hope is not lost: "MST3K" showed this hunk of junk and Joel, Servo and Crow had lots to say about it. As it was, that was Joel's final episode, as he was replaced by Mike. Mike did an equally good job helping the 'bots mock crummy movies.

In case of "Mitchell", I absolutely wanted to see the original version before the famous "Mystery Science Theater 3000" episode. Don't get me wrong, I really love the MST3K concept, but do think it's mainly just suitable for particular types of bad films; - notably 50s B-horror movies and cheap Sci-Fi fodder. Over the years I saw several great and personal favorite movies receive the MST3K treatment that honestly didn't deserve it ("Danger: Diabolik", "Phase IV", "Hangar 18", ...) and feared it would also be like that for "Mitchell". It's a bad movie, there's no point in denying that, but also quite entertaining and uniquely distasteful! "Mitchell" has the kind of script that makes you wonder things aloud, like "what idiot wrote this?" or "why did these stellar actors agree to star?". Unmistakably inspired by the stream of popular and excessively violent cop-thrillers of the early 70s, "Mitchell" takes the concept of the disobedient and unorthodox police detective several steps further! In fact, this movie truly deserves to be named "Dirty Mitchell", because the lead character doesn't just disobey his superiors and enforces the law rather brutally, he's also literally a dirty man due to a lack of personal hygiene and a massive overcompensation of beer! Detective Mitchell is the lousiest type of cinematic hero you could ever image. Joe Don Baker depicts him as a miserable hermit without friends or relatives who sleeps until noon in his yesterday clothes, yells against children, throws elderly ladies out of cars and doesn't wonder about who paid for the prostitutes that show at his doorstep. He naturally doesn't listen when told to lay off the rich and influential lawyer (John Saxon), of whom Mitchell is convinced he's a cold-blooded murderer. Instead he's instructed to shadow a businessman (Martin Balsam) suspected of being at the head of a cocaine-smuggling network. Luckily for Mitchell, the script is unoriginal, and the two villains are evidently connected to each other. Lumpy Mitchel wobbles from one tepid action sequence to the next, with lots of terrible dialogues and pointless footage in between. I did watch the MST3K-version afterwards, and they nailed the description of the stunt work: "This car chase makes Driving Miss Daisy look like Bullitt!". Mitchell has his very own theme-song, but the lyrics aren't exactly inspirational and the singer (Hoyt Axton) sounds like he's about to die from throat cancer. Can't say for sure if Joe Don Baker properly realized what turkey he was starring in, but John Saxon and Martin Balsam perform poorly, in accordance with the script (and probably their paycheck as well). I would recommend watching "Mitchell" in combination with playing marginal games, for example: try and drink as many beer cans as Joe Don Baker does throughout the film! Massive delirium guaranteed!

How many people who laugh at this film have actually seen it complete? I don't think very many since this film was used as one of the funniest episodes of Mystery Science 3000. But even I have to admit that when you remove a third or more of a movie its very easy to make fun of it.

Thats a shame because as exploitation films from the 1970's go this one is one of the best. No it won't win an award but its unrepentant trash with sexist remarks and dopey action. Joe Don Baker was never a great actor but he could turn in a good exploitation performance before becoming simply a cartoon character.

If you're in the mood for a good mindless action film give this a try. Its better than you think and certainly better that being near the bottom of a worst film of all time list.

Mitchell is one of those movies that just didn't stand up to the test of time. (then again, it wasn't great to begin with.) Joe Don Baker probably drank so much as Mitchell to ease the pain of being in this movie. That and having to make out while Hoyt Axton (sounding like a very drunk Mac Davis) sang a song. Other lowlights include the treatment of the old lady Mitchell hired when he picked up the suitcase; the use of the little kid who came to Mitchell when he was in his car; The death of Benton; and the list goes on. Avoid this one unless you're seeing the MST3K version. That is somewhat more easier on the stomach.

I had watched "Mitchell" many many times on MST3K and had basically memorized the entire show out of love. One day my brother and I were talking about a local diner/bowling alley in Woodland Hills, California -- "Woodlake Bowl" -- and we were remarking how much our dad liked it and how it wasn't what it once was. My brother said, "You know who I see whenever I go there? Joe Don Baker." I was thrilled to hear this but next time I went to the Woodlake Bowl for lunch with my Dad, I wasn't thinking I'd see Joe Don. It was a rainy day and as I exited my car and waited for my Dad to get out of the passenger side, an aged Datsun 240Z with cracked and fading paint pulled up in the spot next to mine. I started walking in a minute or so later and then I heard from behind me - in an unmistakable boomy Texas drawl: "YOUR HEADLIGHTS IS ON." I turned around to stare Joe Don face-to-face! I was starstruck, like I had met Brad Pitt or Marilyn Monroe or something. It was raining and Joe Don was in a long coat and droopy hat. And yes, he said "is on", not "are on"! I thanked him and he went on his way. I couldn't help but think of his face and of MST3K's description of him: "A melting bear". It was spot-on. As I walked past his rust-bucket 240Z, I couldn't help but have a peek inside. I remember the interior was just as bad as the exterior and he had a lot of softball equipment under the hatchback. I sort of imagined Joe Don as a little-league softball coach at that point and for all I know he is! But overall I was left with the feeling he was a lonely bachelor type who ate meals alone at a divey diner every day and drove a junkbox of a car -- hey, sounds like Mitchell! But seriously, I felt he is too much maligned as he seemed like a melancholy but nice guy. You go, Joe Don!

I don't know what persuaded the makers of this movie to release it. I don't know why they hired the editor they did. He should be lynched for technical ineptitude--not that he had much to work with. And so should anyone else associated with this movie.

UNLESS you are viewing the MST3K version. Then this movie becomes a real laff riot.

Unintentionally funny, directionless, poorly scripted and poorly acted movie. The title character, portrayed by Joe Don Baker, is simply odious, and he's supposed to be the "hero." The attempt to turn Joe Don into an international sex symbol seems to have failed here.

MITCHELL goes downhill from there, and never stops its deep, agonizing, downward spiral, even as the ending credits roll. Despite the presence of a Hoyt Axton song or two, nothing works...including MITCHELL, the protagonist himself.

MST3K does give it the treatment, and makes it a memorable motion picture event, though. Hands down, definitely opt for this version.

Recommend the straight, non-Mystery Science Theater 3000, version to someone you loathe.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Movie 2/10---MST3k 8/10 Awesome MST episode with lots of (required) fat, beer, food, sweat jokes. Awful, boring, lifeless movie which rises to the occasion with Joel and our friends Tom and Crow. Nothing happens, it's something about drug dealers, and John Saxon's in there somewhere....Worthless without the gang's running commentary, especially their "Mitchell" 'theme song'.

"Mitchell" is something else: a hilariously *stupid* and *ridiculous* cop-movie-action-thriller featuring an unusual sort of hero. Joe Don Baker of "Walking Tall" fame is the title character, a slovenly, unlikable, not terribly competent police detective. Add to that the fact that Mr. Baker is not exactly a "matinee idol" sort of star. The only woman who will have sex with him is a hooker (Linda Evans of later "Dynasty" fame) who he didn't even pay for, and whom he treats like dirt. He gets an assignment to "lean on" an import racketeer (Martin Balsam, "Psycho"), while being told to ignore the case of a hotshot attorney (John Saxon, "Enter the Dragon") who shot an intruder in his home.

Fairly invigorating action scenes (a dune buggy chase, a pursuit on the open ocean between a boat and a helicopter) are outweighed by the extreme silliness of the script by Ian Kennedy Martin, a veteran of TV series such as 'Juliet Bravo'. However, the very inanity of the dialogue and characters helps to make "Mitchell" entertaining in a train-wreck sort of way. Most of the actors do manage to keep from looking too pained, with Balsam a standout. Other familiar character actors like Morgan Paull "Blade Runner"), Harold J. Stone ("Spartacus"), Robert Phillips ("The Dirty Dozen"), Rayford Barnes ("The Wild Bunch"), Jerry Hardin ('The X-Files'), and Sidney Clute ('McCloud') round out the cast. Football star Merlin Olsen has a substantial supporting part as Balsams' none-too-bright lackey.

The movie isn't necessarily badly made, with attractive photography and some decent location work, but it's all negated by the silliness on display. The worst moment (or best, if you totally dig "so bad they're good" movies), is the WTF, totally out-of-nowhere exchange between Mitchell and a young boy.

It's entirely possible that this was meant to be a parody of cop thrillers with tough guy heroes, so it may help you in your enjoyment if you think of it that way.

Five out of 10.

He drinks. He sneers. He drinks. He eats. He drinks. He fights. And then he has another beer. Beer, it seems, is Joe Don Baker's favorite good group. Fortified with all the essential proteins and vitamins a growing boy needs By the end of this movie you question whether Joe Don Baker is acting like a fat ugly cop, or whether a fat ugly cop is acting like Joe Don Baker - you can't really discern who is portraying who. If there is a redeeming quality to this film it's that Joe doesn't have to work hard to portray a drinking slob - in fact, he seems to have been born to play the role. He likes it by the can, and if you watch this movie you'll like it by the keg. Have one or two and race Joe Don Baker to the finish to see who can get wasted first.

Mitchell (1975) 3/10 This was the MST3K "transistion" episode, The last show for Joel, and where Mike Nelson took over. All MSTies agree this was a memorable show, not only because of the character change, but it also was another work of art by Best Brains, Inc. Joe Don Baker stars as a slovenly, sloppy alki detective. He sleeps with hookers after spilling beer on them, he had to get her drunk first. Yup, he's a smoothy. The love scene (bleah) is probably the most hysterical one I've ever seen. Picture this: After the implied (thank God) act of coitus, a big, stinky Mitchell-foot sticks out from under the blankets, and proceeds to pick up a....six pack? His toe hooking the plastic collar?? This is the romantic and classy side of Mitchell.

There is a 15 mph car chase that has all the suspense "Bullitt" never did. What, the cameraman was on a bike? Vroom vroom. My favorite part is the inane argument he has with a nine-year old kid on a bike. Mitchell wins the argument by screaming and frightening the kid away. At this point the 'bot Tom Servo can't take anymore and screams: "AAAAAARHGHH". I would have empathized, but I was too busy laughing. Joe Don Baker has vowed to smack the writers of MST3K if he ever comes across them. Hey Joe, where are going with that gun in your hand? C'mon, if it wasn't for MST3K, their severe (and much deserved) ribbing of this movie, it movie would have sunk to the depths of anonymity. We can't hate him though. after all, he's our Mitchell. Other than that: it's just another 'B' cop movie

What's the attraction of this movie? Why do I keep popping MITCHELL into the VCR? Surely it can't be the title character, as portrayed by Joe Don Baker, is appealing. He's not. Mitchell is a complete slob. He's dim and slipshod. He slurs, he slouches. He's inert, unkempt, and lagging. Dozing at will, drinking scotch by the quart, Mitchell is the very antithesis of the classic action hero. So why do I love this movie? Episode #512 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is arguably the funniest experiment ever unleashed by the evil Mads on poor Joel and the bots. It's through their painful struggle that we find the courage to laugh in the face of this terror. On its own, Mitchell is a bad, bad film blurred by unclear subplots and even hazier characters. As an action movie, there really isn't a whole lot of it. The sluggish car chase, for example, makes "Driving Miss Daisy look like Bullitt." And the beery sex scene between Baker and Linda Evans in which Mitchell rings a six-pack of Schlitz with his toe is easily the film's most uncomfortable, queasy moment. But in spite of these obstacles, Joel, Crow and Servo are relentless in their onslaught of insults and wise-cracks. Bloodied but unbowed, Mitchell keeps coming back for more; the abuse never stops. By movie's end, Mitchell is a broken, beaten man. Hoyt Axton's songs offer little relief. There are no apologies. That's why I love this movie. However... This is NOT the MST3K version. This is the real thing, kiddies. No bots, no Mads, just Joe Don Baker and you. Kinda scary, eh? Well, if you loved experiment #512, you've got to see this "unplugged" version if only to answer the question, "Wasn't John Saxon in this movie?" There are all sorts of scenes not covered in the MST3K episode that will have you laughing and/or squirming on your daktari stool. And you can't help riffing at the TV when something stupid happens. Get it, I say, and have a party. Break out the Schlitz and porkrinds and get ready to porkapalooza! Who's the puffy guy that's a big, blurry sex machine? MITCHELL!

Warning! Spoilers Ahead

This movie could not have been intended as anything but a farce or comedy. Nobody who watches this movie will take Mitchell seriously as an action hero. Everything about this movie smacks of parody or over-the-top exaggeration. I think "Mitchell" was intended as a weird, eclectic comedy about an inept, fat, trigger-happy cop who shoots first, asks questions later, and beds hookers before throwing them in the slammer. The people who rate this the Worst Movie Ever have it all wrong: "Mitchell" was never intended as a serious movie, the way a Steve McQueen or Clint Eastwood "Dity Harry" movie might. "Mitchell" might be seen as a parody of those. C'mon, how else can you explain the pile of beer cans on Mitchell's floor, the generally filthy appearance of his apartment, the wacky "wa-wa-waaa" music after he abruptly shoots a suspect in the leg, or the cornball "my, my, my, my Mitchell" song while he and Linda Evans are in bed? Don't forget the famous chase scene with "hot merging action!"

Speaking of which, "Mitchell" is part of a deservedly classic "Mystery Science Theater 3000" episode, chock full of fat and alcoholic jokes to complement Mitchell's glowing screen presence. The film alone might not be funny enough to merit a view, but the MST3000 commentary elevate this film to comedy gold status. Most of the comments are dead on, though there are some esoteric film jokes or dated jokes (the '70s soft rock score sounds like a 3M commercial? I don't really get it). Still, in spite of all that, "Mitchell" warrants a view if it is complemented by MST3000's sarcastic comments and mock lyrics to the chase music. Buy or rent the MST3000 episode and enjoy the antics of "the chubby blue line".