Filmmaker Michael Winner’s crime thriller The Mechanic is first released in New York City on November 17th, 1972. The film stars Charles Bronson, in his first collaboration with Winner, along with Jan Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, and Bronson’s real-life second wife, Jill Ireland.

The story centers on Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson), a top assassin who takes a new recruit under his wing named Steve McKenna (Jan Michael Vincent). McKenna is the ruthless and ambitious son of mobster Harry McKenna (Keenan Wynn), the former head of the secret organization for which Bishop works.

The Mechanic is noted for its opening sequence, which features no dialogue for the first 16 minutes, as Bronson’s character prepares to kill his current target. The title “The Mechanic” refers to a euphemism for hitman.