is a Donald E. Westlake character who appears in his Richard Stark -signed novels. Parker is a quintessential professional criminal. His first name is never mentioned in the novels and there are many details about him which remain unknown (such as his tradition of waiting for people by sitting on sofas in dark rooms). Parker is scary, not just because he is cold, methodical and efficient, but he is believable. Parker does not pull off extreme stunts or become unreal; he acts realistically, always taking the most direct route in his actions.
The first novel in Parker's series is ''The Hunter'' (filmed twice, first as '' Point Blank '' (1967) and '' Payback '' (1999)), in which he chases his ex-partners and ex-girlfriend who have betrayed him in a heist and left him for dead. He survives, but is arrested by the police. Slowly and methodically, Parker kills all his betrayers one by one. When the mob protects one of them, Parker takes on the mob.
In subsequent novels, Parker has numerous memorable adventures including robbing an entire town in ''The Score'', or an Air Force base in ''The Green Eagle Score''. Always perfectly blueprinted coups, they fall apart in the execution because of greed or incompetence on the part of Parker's partners.
Parker has been portrayed numerous times in movies although curiously never with the name "Parker": Lee Marvin (as the renamed Walker in ''Point Blank''), Jim Brown (as McClain in ''The Split''), Robert Duvall (as Earl Macklin in ''The Outfit''), Peter Coyote (as Stone in ''Slayground''), and Mel Gibson (as Porter in ''Payback'').
- ''The Hunter'' ( 1963 , aka ''Point Blank'', ''Payback'')
- ''The Man With the Getaway Face'' (1963, aka ''The Steel Hit'')
- ''The Outfit'' (1963)
- ''The Mourner'' (1963)
- ''The Score'' ( 1964 , aka ''Killtown'')
- ''The Jugger'' ( 1965 )
- ''The Handle'' ( 1966 , aka ''Run Lethal'')
- ''The Seventh'' (1966, aka ''The Split'')
- ''The Rare Coin Score'' ( 1967 )
- ''The Green Eagle Score'' (1967)
- ''The Black Ice Score'' ( 1968 )
- ''The Sour Lemon Score'' ( 1969 )
- ''Deadly Edge'' ( 1971 )
- ''Slayground'' (1971) — First chapter shared with ''The Blackbird'', a novel in Westlake's Alan Grofield series.
- ''Plunder Squad'' ( 1972 )
- ''Butcher's Moon'' ( 1974 )
- ''Child Heist'' (1974) — Not really a novel but a fictitious book within a book. In ''Jimmy the Kid'', a novel in Westlake's John Dortmunder series, the gang plans a caper based on this Parker novel they have. Chapters alternate between Parker committing a kidnapping and the Dortmunder Gang screwing it up as they try to imitate him.
- ''Comeback'' ( 1997 )
- ''Backflash'' ( 1998 )
- ''Flashfire'' ( 2000 )
- ''Firebreak'' ( 2001 )
- ''Breakout'' ( 2002 )
- ''Nobody Runs Forever'' ( 2004 )
- '' The Score '' (1964), was based on the novel of the same name. Its title in the United Kingdom was ''Killtown''.
- ''Made in USA'' (1966) was unofficially based on the novel ''The Jugger'' and directed by Jean-Luc Godard . It starred Anna Karina as a female Parker. Westlake apparently did not like the movie, and Godard never paid for the movie rights, so the film is not pemitted to be shown in the United States . The film is also known for characters named after the writer David Goodis and actors Don Siegel and Richard Widmark — people influential in the film industry at the time.
- '' Point Blank '' (1967, MGM ) was based on the novel ''The Hunter''. It was directed by John Boorman and starred Lee Marvin as Walker, the Parker character. The film also starred Angie Dickinson and Keenan Wynn .
- '' Mise À Sac '' (1967) was a French Film based on the novel ''The Score'' and directed by Alain Cavalier .
- '' The Split '' (1968, MGM) was based on the novel ''The Seventh''. It starred Jim Brown as McClain, the Parker character. It also starred Gene Hackman , Warren Oates and Ernest Borgnine .
- '' The Outfit '' (1973, MGM) was based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by John Flynn and starred Robert Duvall as Earl Macklin, the Parker character. It also starred Joe Don Baker .
- '' Slayground '' (1983) was based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by Terry Bradford and starred Peter Coyote as Stone.
- '' Payback '' (1999) was based on the novel ''The Hunter''. Brian Helgeland and Terry Hayles wrote the screenplay. It was directed by Helgeland and starred Mel Gibson as Porter, the Parker character. It also starred Deborah Unger , Kris Kristofferson , John Glover , Lucy Liu and James Coburn .
Bibliography and filmography from The Thrilling Detective Web Site .
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