Paul Mercey, an actor known for his role in the 1973 film Hit!, brings a distinct energy to the world of exploitation cinema. In Hit!, he navigates the gritty underbelly of crime, embodying a character that resonates with the film's raw aesthetic. Though his filmography may be limited, Mercey's performance adds a layer of authenticity to the cult film landscape, making Hit! a noteworthy entry for enthusiasts of the genre.
Hit!
The film opens on two separate storylines intercut with each other. In Marseille, a man and his girlfriend board a yacht. He retrieves a bundle of opium attached to a sea buoy and delivers it to a man in a chateau who process the opium into heroin. The chateau man transfers the processed heroin to the ringleader who takes it to the docks and hides the drugs inside bicycle frames designated for transport to the U.S. In Washington, D.C., Jeannie Allen gets picked up for school by her boyfriend. After school, Jeannie’s boyfriend buys some heroin and injects Jeannie with it. She has a fatal overdose. Nick Allen is horrified to visit his daughter's grave. He tracks down the drug dealer who sold the heroin and nearly beats him to death until the dealer convinces Nick that the real villains are the ones supplying him. The Director of Nick's unnamed federal agency offers his condolences over Jeannie’s death and suggests an easy assignment to get Nick’s mind off the tragedy. Nick suggests instead going after the head of the heroin ring. Nick’s supervisor wants nothing to do with the conversation and washes his hands of Nick. Nick assembles a team of outcasts by pressuring each in different ways. Agent Dutch Schiller is near retirement and frustrated that his violent tactics get drug pushers released back onto the streets. Nick convinces him to go to France and reconnoiter on the drug cartel. Nick offers an addict prostitute, Sherry Nielson, a daily supply of dope. He also enlists Barry Strong, a former military sniper by pressuring him on his unpaid taxes. Mike Willmer is a former Navy sailor whose wife was raped and killed by a junkie. Elderly Ida & Herman have mysterious backgrounds in clandestine operations and they had a son who died from drug addiction. The Director of Nick’s agency sends two goons, Carlin & Crosby, to assassinate Nick, but he escapes and hurries his team to a hideout on Hamilton Point in British Columbia. Dutch presents all the intelligence he’s gathered on the heroin operation and identifies nine targets, claiming that the cartel will collapse if they are killed. The team trains for a week before heading to Marseille where they carry out their operation. Herman kills his target with a shotgun in a movie theater as the man watches The Godfather. Ida stabs hers in the bathroom at a restaurant. Mike shoots the yachtsman with a speargun as he tries to retrieve another package of opium. Barry and Dutch drive straight onto the grounds of the chateau and shoot the opium processor. Sherry poses as a waitress and poisons another leader of the ring. Barry and Sherry go to a fashion house and assassinate two other ringleaders there. Meanwhile, Nick poses as a gas serviceman digging a new trench for a pipe at the mansion. He kills his target with a bazooka. The Director confronts Nick after the operation is complete and offers a solution to coverup what happened, claiming the French are furious at the U.S. Nick sees through the ruse and says that the Director is furious because Nick showed how easy it was to destroy the cartel with a ragtag team. The Director threatens to have Nick killed. Nick smiles and leaves.
